Topics

At the weekend there we seen fights in Clones ad fights on the Hill. What can we do to stop young ones congregating to matches full of Drink and drugs acting like soccer hooligans.

Are the GAA in the process of getting an app which will do away with teamsheets?

The IFA have a great APP for soccer.

Has any club moved towards the robotic mower? What are the advantages or disadvantages of these?

Does anyone have advice on using an online provider for cheaper glasses? Opticians are ripping us off IMO

Derry GAA were given permission at Saturday's Central Council meeting to lease their Centre of Excellence facilities at Owenbeg to Derry City FC on a temporary basis while the League of Ireland side completes development work over the next two years.

What are your thoughts on this? I believe soccer clubs will start going after GAA grounds in towns and villages in Ireland ?

I saw a few comments online about streaming services being too expensive. Armagh was £10 a game at the  weekend. Are costs becoming too much?

Does anyone have one? What is the best time to get one?

One thing that struck me yesterday was the low attendance at the games. How can we get the people back? The prices are far too high.

Can someone explain what the LGFA and camogie players want of the GAA?
Can their own organisations not support them?
What is the basic thing they need?
Why does the GAA always get the blame!

Funding for specialist sports coaching in primary schools will end, the Department of Education (DE) has said.

The school sports programme was delivered by coaches from the Irish Football Association (IFA) and Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).

It was run in more than 200 schools each year by 22 coaches and cost about £500,000 a year.

The department has told the sports bodies "no further funding is available".

It said due to budget cuts "difficult decisions have had to be made" to halt funding to a number of third party organisations.

In a statement, the IFA and GAA said they and a number of assembly members (MLAs) have requested an urgent meeting with the department's permanent secretary about the decision to end the funding.

The department has already stopped a number of schemes to save money, including the school holiday food grant for children entitled to free school meals.

That came after funding for education was reduced in the 2023-24 Stormont budget.

In their letter announcing it was ending the funding for the scheme, the department said: "Faced with this extremely challenging position the department has had no choice but to take a number of very difficult decisions."

'Major health concerns'
The coaches from the IFA and GAA went into schools to provide extra PE classes.

They delivered lessons for pupils in athletics, dance, games and gymnastics as well as soccer and GAA, and provided advice to teachers.

The low level of physical activity among children and young people in Northern Ireland has previously been described as a "major health concern" in a Stormont report.

It said more than a quarter of children in Northern Ireland were classed as overweight or obese.

A separate report from the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) said that about three-quarters of primary schools were not providing the recommended amount of PE.

The ETI had said that the IFA and GAA scheme gave teachers "access to specialist local knowledge and skills which improve the quality of their planning for PE and extra-curricular physical activities".

A football sits in the foreground on a white line while children take part in a coaching session in the background
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Concerns have been raised about inactivity among children
In a joint statement to BBC News NI, the IFA and Ulster GAA said the school sports programme supported 900 teachers and 24,000 children, delivering more than 400 PE classes a week.

IFA Foundation director James Thompson said the decision to axe the funding "has been taken at a time when physical inactivity risks long-term harm to the physical and mental health of children".

"Three quarters of primary schools are unable to provide the recommended two hours per week for PE," he said.

"If this was the case for any other statutory subject there would be government support rather than a reduction in provision.

"We are asking our MLAs to take all possible action to protect this vital programme and, most importantly, the health, wellbeing and resilience of children in Northern Ireland."

Ulster GAA director Eugene Young said ending the scheme "would be a significant loss to our children and schools".

"We cannot allow children to have decreased access to the statutory curriculum for PE and call on our political representatives to support the campaign to retain the wide-ranging benefits of this programme," he said.

Thomas McKee, who is principal of Our Lady's Primary School in Tullysaran, County Tyrone, said the coaches provided by the school sports programme were "absolutely vital" to the physical and emotional wellbeing of his pupils.

In a statement, the Department of Education said it "recognises how disappointing this decision will be for everyone involved in the delivery of the programme and for the young people who have benefitted from it".

It added: "The education budget has been reduced by 2.5% and faces estimated pressures of £382m.

"While the department acknowledges the value that both organisations have added to support and enhance the delivery of the curriculum, difficult decisions have had to be made to cease funding to a number of third party organisations."

When will the GAA integrate with the LGFA?
The numbers in the LGFA are huge and they need a place at the top table soon.

Question

Are there any other official match balls other than O'Neills?

What is everyone's take on this?
I thought they were right wing nuts but the stabbing in Killarney has annoyed me.

Personally the six counties deli-counters are far superior to the free state. Some counters are excellent while others are crap. Any tips for a man who travels a lot on the best delis or ones to avoid. The Milestone in Rathfriland is the best I have ever been too IMO.

A big decision for Jerome Johnson this week as he has to make a decision to manage versus his own club and 3 sons. Would you do it and I personally couldn't?

I seen a few counties have adopted silent silences up to a certain age. How has it worked and how has it been enforced? This should be across all codes up to u13 IMO

Let the kids make their own decisons

Louth GAA's new stadium project looks to be firmly back on track thanks to a remarkable €14.8m windfall from the Government's 'Irish Immigrant Investor Programme'.

37 foreign investors have pledged €400,000 each to the greenfield development on the Dundalk bypass in exchange for Irish residency.

Despite raising an impressive €1.2m from a successful double house draw, spiralling building costs saw the overall outlay for the stadium project balloon from an estimated €12m to between €18-19m.

And with potential funding from Croke Park and the Government's Large Scale Sport Infrastructure programme also drying up, many supporters were left questioning if the ambitious project was still feasible.

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But while the plan appeared to be stalling from the outside, county board chairman and Independent TD, Peter Fitzpatrick, along with county treasurer Aidan Berrill and Operations Manager, Francie McMullen were busy rounding up potential overseas investors, eventually coming up with 37 donors.

Fitzpatrick now expects e-tender invitations to be released by the end of this month, with construction to start early in the new year.

However, the bulldozers could be back on the Inner Relief Road within weeks, as the County Board have agreed a deal with Prunty to begin laying the pitch immediately.

"it's been our dream to have our own home for 60 years and it's finally becoming a reality," Fitzpatrick said, after breaking the news to the Louth County Board Managament Committee on Monday night.

"We've been saying for the past 18 months that we do have a plan B and this is it. We'll be getting €14.8m from 37 investors, the approval came through last Thursday, and there shouldn't be any reason why we won't have a stadium built in the next 18 months or so."

Before the pandemic the stadium was reportedly high on the list for Government and Croke Park grants, with each initially expected to donate in the region of €4m, however, if the revised outlay of €18-19m proves accurate, Louth GAA will now only need between €3-4m to get the project over the line.

They could also potentially raise additional funds from naming rights and advance ticket sales.


The project already has full planning permission and the site, acquired from Louth County Council, has already been filled and drained at a cost of around €500,000.

When complete the stadium, will accommodate 14,000 spectators with a stand housing 4,080 on one side and a covered terrace accommodating 8,500 along the opposite touchline. There will also be some terrace space behind one goal.

The news is sure to send shockwaves through the wider GAA  community as many county boards, had  halted plans to redevelop their county grounds due to a lack of funding.

The 'Irish Immigrant Investor Programme' came to public attention last year, when the Meath County Board informed their clubs that they hoped to raise up to €2m for the redevelopment of Pairc Tailteann.

The programme was set up by the Government in 2012 and is aimed at facilitating migrant entrepreneurs and investors from outside the European Economic Area who, in return for permission to reside in the State, are prepared to invest in certain projects.

Up until recently the scheme did not cover sporting bodies or sports infrastructure projects, but the programme was tweaked to allow non-European Economic Area nationals to make a "philanthropic donation to a public project that benefits the arts, sports, education or culture within Ireland".

The scheme is strictly administered by the Department of Justice and facilitates non-EEA nationals and their families to acquire residency status in Ireland.

The GAA needs to change the rule of Gaelic football- its becoming so tedious and boring. Every game over the country is played the same way. Keep the ball, puke football. How can we change it?

I laughed today thinking of having the family zoom quizzes over lockdown, Jesus they were crap.

What were your favourite memories or things from lockdown that you cringe or can laugh about?

Is anyone here a member? Is the organization strong in Ireland and what sort of things do they do?