Gaelic Life

[ziggysego]

Well they had the link to the Tyrone website wrong on their website. I emailed them last week about it and they've corrected. Howevere, they've got the coding wrong and it still doesn't work.... Good Luck lads!

That all said and done, I'll still be buying it.

[heganboy]

just on that note ziggy- I had a look at the various county websites that are up there- Jaysus but some of them are terrible. Tyrone's though does look impressive- Armagh's looks very well too (if it were 1994)

[ziggysego]

Tyrone's though does look impressive

The old one was embarrassingly bad. They only launched this one, two or three months ago. Definately is good, but it all depends on the people who are updating it and if they continue to do so. I was at the launch for it and this is only that start of it. They have big plans for it in the future.

Armagh's site isn't so bad. Surely it mightn't be visually as exciting as Tyrone's, but it has all the information you would want or need.

[never kickt a ball]

Well they had the link to the Tyrone website wrong on their website

Noticed that Ziggy. Mind you they had a good Tyrone youth website up last year which was good.

[nrico2006]

Looking forward to seeing what it was like, the Game was a decent enough paper, but I think there would be an interest in this new one if its a good publication.  Mag's like hoganstand are ok, but its good to read about the game locally, here in Ulster.  At the minute I just look forward to Tuesdays Irish Star pull out, which is as good as it gets for local GAA.

[Blue Boy]

Gaelic Games Magazine is decent enough - it seems to have a number of the top GAA writers do pieces for it. But anytime I went to buy it I had to go to Easons, nowehere else seemed to seel it.

In relation to the state of the county websites, this was on http://www.setanta.com/portal/sport/gaa



How does your county rate in cyberspace?

     
Well, we've rated the GAA's sites county-by-county and the results bear little in common with their respective on-field performances.

Tommy Murphy Cup runners-up Leitrim and All-Ireland SFC Qualifier Round One departees Antrim are the best maintained and visually enticing websites, while All-Ireland football champions Kerry have not updated their site since claiming the Sam Maguire Cup in autumn.

We have analysed each county website and given ratings based on their e-communication structure, site appearance, regularity of updates, local and national news diet and other useful features.

The sites have then been placed accordingly in a four-division league, similar to the structure the 2008 National Leagues will take.

Antrim have arguably the best website alongside Leitrim's. The Saffron site has all its club league tables and updates results via the clubs who are obligated to text in scores to a hotline where all the information is collated.

During the championship there were updates on county teams and panels, a diet of national news and a photo gallery.

It also has a special feature - which other counties would do well to copy - a forum is available to users whereby they can question an administration team on a wide range of topical issues.

Tyrone's site, meanwhile, could well challenge the top two in 2007. It has been recently launched and avails all the latest in terms of flash plug-ins etc and a lovely map showing where all the clubs are located. So there are no excuses for being late games.

Counties like Donegal and Derry, have made it into the top tier primarily as a result of their regularity of updates and volume of information, but their aesthetic features somewhat detract from the overall product.

Kerry would have secured a place in Division One but for the fact that once the championship was sown up, information dried up. Perhaps it was overloaded by a 34th All-Ireland crown.

A number of counties would effectively be better off not having a site so bad is their offering. If we play a name and shame game, the likes of Westmeath, Waterford , Cork and even All-Ireland hurling champions Kilkenny are all in dire need of a complete makeover.

London's website, meanwhile, was shut down over abuse received on its discussion forum. While it can still be accessed it has not been updated in months.

A well-informed source within the GAA has however confirmed that the GAA's central website – gaa.ie – an old warhorse, is set to be rebuilt, and a tangent to this initiative will be bringing county sites inline as the GAA moves forward.

DIVISION 1

Leitrim - www.leitrimgaa.ie

Antrim - http://antrim.gaa.ie/

Longford - http://www.longfordgaa.ie/

Dublin - http://www.hill16.ie

Tyrone - www.tyronegaa.ie

Kildare - http://kildare.gaa.ie

Donegal - http://www.donegalgaa.ie

Derry - http://derry.gaa.ie/

DIVISION 2

Meath - http://meath.gaa.ie

Tipperary - http://tipperary.gaa.ie/

Kerry - http://kerry.gaa.ie

Galway - www.galwaygaa.ie

Mayo - www.mayogaa.com

Offaly - http://offaly.gaa.ie

Clare - http://www.claregaa.ie

Down - http://www.downgaa.net

DIVISION 3

Wicklow - http://wicklow.gaa.ie

Kilkenny - http://kilkenny.gaa.ie

Sligo - http://sligo.gaa.ie

Laois - http://laois.gaa.ie

Armagh - http://www.armagh-gaa.com

Carlow - http://carlow.gaa.ie

Louth - http://www.louth.gaa.ie

Limerick - http://limerick.gaa.ie

DIVISION 4

London - www.londongaa.org

Wexford -http://wexford.gaa.ie

Roscommon - http://www.gaaroscommon.ie

Fermanagh - http://fermanagh.gaa.ie

Westmeath - http://westmeath.gaa.ie/frame.htm

Cork - http://cork.gaa.ie

Cavan - http://cavan.gaa.ie

Monaghan - http://monaghan.gaa.ie

Waterford - http://waterford.gaa.ie

[never kickt a ball]

Looks suspiciously like a thread from this discussion board a few months ago 

[Out in Front]

Jarlath Burns and Joe Brolly are just two of the columnists signed up to Gaelic Life.

PW

[tayto]

Just saw the add on TV, very slick, hope it works, shame we don't have anything similar for Leinster.

[Cloc Mor]

Looks good alright - a few ££££ spent there.  Does seem to be alot of money, in general, being pumped into this magazine.

[ziggysego]

I enjoyed Jarlath's article everyweek in the Daily Ireland when it was still about. Mmmh, I'm more tempted to get the Gaelic Life now.

[ONeill]

I thought Jarlath's articles in the DI were too often inaccurate to be taken seriously. I'll be purchasing the GL to read Brolly if anything - a man not afraid to speak his mind.

[muppet]

Looks suspiciously like a thread from this discussion board a few months ago 

Funnily enough I thought so too.

Here is the original thread from Maroon Heaven: http://gaaboard.com/board/index.php?topic=563.0

More accurately though here is Lone Sharks rating of the websites from that thread:

(1) Top Class - Informative and well presented

Leitrim
Antrim
Derry
Kerry (up until it went offline after the All Ireland)
Longford
Meath
Dublin

(2) Not bad - generally had the information, but could be better

Mayo
Down
Offaly
Donegal
Clare
Tipperary
Limerick
Louth

(3) Not great. Hit and miss, looks poor.
Sligo
London
Fermanagh
Cavan
Monaghan
Waterford
Wexford

(4) Awful or non-existent
Cork
Kilkenny
Armagh
Westmeath
Carlow
Wicklow
Galway
Roscommon
New York

Here is the rating from that article:

DIVISION 1

Leitrim - www.leitrimgaa.ie
Antrim - http://antrim.gaa.ie/
Longford - http://www.longfordgaa.ie/
Dublin - http://www.hill16.ie
Tyrone - www.tyronegaa.ie
Kildare - http://kildare.gaa.ie
Donegal - http://www.donegalgaa.ie
Derry - http://derry.gaa.ie/

DIVISION 2

Meath - http://meath.gaa.ie
Tipperary - http://tipperary.gaa.ie/
Kerry - http://kerry.gaa.ie
Galway - www.galwaygaa.ie
Mayo - www.mayogaa.com
Offaly - http://offaly.gaa.ie
Clare - http://www.claregaa.ie
Down - http://www.downgaa.net

DIVISION 3

Wicklow - http://wicklow.gaa.ie
Kilkenny - http://kilkenny.gaa.ie
Sligo - http://sligo.gaa.ie
Laois - http://laois.gaa.ie
Armagh - http://www.armagh-gaa.com
Carlow - http://carlow.gaa.ie
Louth - http://www.louth.gaa.ie
Limerick - http://limerick.gaa.ie

DIVISION 4

London - www.londongaa.org
Wexford -http://wexford.gaa.ie
Roscommon - http://www.gaaroscommon.ie
Fermanagh - http://fermanagh.gaa.ie
Westmeath - http://westmeath.gaa.ie/frame.htm
Cork - http://cork.gaa.ie
Cavan - http://cavan.gaa.ie
Monaghan - http://monaghan.gaa.ie
Waterford - http://waterford.gaa.ie

Maroon Heaven and Lone Shark when the cheque arrives don't forget to let the taxman know about it.

[never kickt a ball]

The Game disappeared around this time last year (I think). I can remember them taking a Christmas break never to appear again. It was strange in that most publications start at a certain price and then increase as time goes on. The game started at about £1 and then fell to 60p. I think it was from the same stable as Teamtalk Magazine who produce a colour magazine for the Tyrone market every once and a while (and the All Star Awards). While the Game was aimed at a wider audience I always thought there was more than a hint of Tyrone in every issue. I have never heard an explanation as to why it stopped. Gaelic Life is definitely from a different stable.

[aontroim]

Slightly off main topic but in line with what has gone before i see more lazy journalism today in the Irish News who also have done a bit on rating county websites!