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Topics - Jinxy

#1
GAA Discussion / Physio taking care of business
September 19, 2018, 02:37:27 PM
You've probably seen this doing the rounds today.

https://twitter.com/TomasORuanaidh/status/1042347180474949633

I feel awful bad for yer man!
He was just running after the kick-out, he wasn't running to hit the physio.  :-[
He'll never live it down...
#2
GAA Discussion / Violence in Adult Club Football
September 17, 2018, 09:54:12 AM
Just trying to get a sense of the general landscape here.
In Meath, for my money violence has significantly decreased.
Then again the worst rows I ever saw were at underage level, not adult football.
#3
GAA Discussion / Paul Kimmage interviews Sean Cavanagh
September 09, 2018, 08:44:59 PM
https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/paul-kimmage-sits-down-with-sean-cavanagh-to-talk-retirement-the-mcmanus-incident-and-how-he-never-really-knew-mickey-harte-37297045.html

I enjoyed this interview I have to say.
Which Cavan savage is he talking about in the excerpt below?

PK: Three years later you're playing Cavan in an Ulster Championship semi-final - a game you recall in a passage in the book that is just extraordinary. You shake hands with this guy, the game starts and he's grabbing and pulling you off the ball.

SC: Yeah.

PK: Then he spits in your face?

SC: Yeah.

PK: And he keeps spitting in your face?

SC: Yeah.

PK: And the officials do nothing about it?

SC: That was the thing that really got to me. I remember going to the referee and the linesmen with the 'gob' running down my face and asking: "How can you let him away with this? How is this legal?" And the referee saying: "I didn't see anything."

PK: And you go in at half-time and break down in the dressing room?

SC: I was inconsolable. I remember Mickey coming over: "What's up? What's gone on?" And I just kept saying: "This is not football." It wasn't my vision of sport, or my sport.

PK: Now you're 23 years old at this stage. You've had your teeth smashed-in and guys who've run onto the pitch to punch you in the head. But this is the day that breaks you?

SC: He was spitting at me and biting me. I was getting nipped repeatedly and violently. I remember taking off my top that night - Fionnuala took a picture of it - and there was bruising all over my chest and back and und er my arm. I could accept getting the shoulder and having my teeth knocked out - whether it was intentional or not I don't know - but spiting and biting was crossing the line.
#4
Post your misty-eyed nostalgia, anecdotes & acts of violence here.  :)
If any Tyrone men are taking notes on how to tackle Dublin, here's some old school, manly corner back play, Offaly-style.
https://twitter.com/CappincurGAA/status/1029023412692369409
#5
GAA Discussion / End of an Era
August 22, 2018, 12:53:26 PM
The Big Tree is closing down.  :'(

Animals roaming the bar, Sam Maguire going 'missing' and Cavan's big day out - staff share memories as iconic GAA pub set to close

'Some staff members have less enjoyable memories about culchies descending on Dorset Street, however.

"That time Cavan got to Croke Park for the first time in years back in 2013 was like the animals in Dublin Zoo had been let loose," says one former barman, choosing to remain anonymous for fear of a Cavan reprisal.

"I was trying to get through the crowd with about ten empty pint glasses when these bunch of yahoos decided to try tickle me. Glasses smashed everywhere and I prayed that day that Cavan would never get to Croke Park again," he laughs.'


https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/animals-roaming-the-bar-sam-maguire-going-missing-and-cavans-big-day-out-staff-share-memories-as-iconic-gaa-pub-set-to-close-37223965.html

I think I was only in there a couple of times myself mind.
Always preferred Gills or Phil Ryans.
Where does everyone here typically go to meet up and/or have a couple of pints before heading in for the game?
#6
Pretty sure these are the only five topics we ever discuss.
Which is your favourite?
#7
Martin McHugh: 'Ulster coaches have destroyed Gaelic football'

"I think Ulster coaches have destroyed the game. They took it to a level where it's going on in schools in Ulster and it's going on all over coaching. It's coached to get your defence right first and try to break. When teams copped on to that, they sit and allow that.

"Dublin are very good at it now and they know how to play against it. The game is definitely not as good a spectacle to watch.
"I'm an Ulster man myself and it's Ulster that did start it and are doing it. It's not attractive and it's going on at club level and everything else."


https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/martin-mchugh-ulster-coaches-have-destroyed-gaelic-football-857422.html
#8
GAA Discussion / Which super hero are you?
July 09, 2018, 12:35:59 PM
Eight Super heroes battle for control of the football universe



https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/eight-super-heroes-battle-for-control-of-the-football-universe-853841.html

Not even sure who Kildare are supposed to be here.
'Ham Man' maybe.
Meath would probably be Wolverine in his later, wilderness years.
#9
Listening to John Horan this morning, I got a sense he recognises which way the wind is blowing in terms of the sentiments of the broader GAA membership, and the level of disillusionment out there.
He was very firm in his stance that Conleth's will be Kildare's home venue should they make the Super 8s and he also wants to do away with Summer concerts.
GAA HQ needs to fight back against the 'Grab All Association' trope (if you ever use this term unironically, you are a moron by the way), and I think maybe the DG and Chairman see an opportunity here on a number of fronts, including the club v county issues.

If there are two sides to this potential struggle, I would guess that the DG & Chairman would be in one corner, with the high-level committee men (the lifers) in the other corner.
The CCCC have just had a bit of manners put on them, and they don't like it.
Tom Ryan did a lot of work behind the scenes to resolve this by all accounts, so is there a sense within the CCCC that the DG undermined them?
It's easy to assume that the professional staff are always the bad guys, whose only concern is maximising revenue, but maybe the bigger issue is the power that resides in the various committees and their resistance to change?
#10
GAA Discussion / Tom Parsons
May 31, 2018, 09:55:52 AM
Great interview with Tom on Off The Ball yesterday evening.
Fantastic attitude to the road ahead of him as he recovers from quite possibly the worst injury I've seen on a football field.
One of life's good guys and I wish him all the best.

http://www.offtheball.com/podcasts/Off_The_Ball/GAA_on_Off_The_Ball/62290/Tom_Parsons_on_injury_recovery_and_the_road_back
#11
GAA Discussion / Tony Keady
May 07, 2018, 02:47:54 PM
This is one of the best articles I've read in a long time.
Your heart would break for his family, when you see how incredibly close they were.
I was always a big fan of Joe Canning's but the kindness he showed towards Shannon Keady after Galway won the All-Ireland is my abiding memory of the day.

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/tony-keadys-final-day-there-was-no-sign-no-ache-nothing-36878126.html
#12
GAA Discussion / 'GAA Athletes for a No Vote'
April 21, 2018, 08:17:08 PM
Mickey Harte: voters must chose between 'culture of death and culture of life'

A group of GAA figures launched the GAA Athletes for a No Vote campaign in Dublin on Saturday. Gaelic Athletes for Life said the Government's proposals on abortion are not inclusive and "seek to exclude one group of people - the unborn - from society".

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/mickey-harte-voters-must-chose-between-culture-of-death-and-culture-of-life-1.3469954

Haven't seen any promotional material yet but they should not be using the association's name at all in my opinion.
Doesn't sit well with me, regardless of which way people swing on this issue.
I wouldn't be happy if there was a 'GAA players for yes' campaign either.
#14
Just curious, are they required to sign up to any sort of code of conduct?
Do the GPA police that sort of thing at all?
Just wondering, as technically anything they say is in a private capacity and they are not 'employed' per se by their county, even though you could argue they are in receipt of taxpayer funding.
#15
KIERAN McGeeney says the GAA is in danger of getting "caught sleeping one of these days" by other sports stealing the limelight and wants the number of National League games doubled.

The Armagh boss, who captained his county to their one All-Ireland success in 2002, would like to see pre-season competitions abolished in favour of a double-round league with home and away games against each opposition.

With Ireland's rugby team having won an historic Grand Slam on St Patrick's weekend, an event which contributed to the attendance at the All-Ireland club finals being halved from its' decade-long average of around 30,000, McGeeney fears that the GAA will lose out.

"I think the GAA is losing ground big time on rugby and other sports," he said.

"There seems to be an agenda against inter-county teams this past three or four years for some unknown reason.

"There's probably a very small percentage of players that don't like it but it's fair to say the majority of players love playing for their county.

"There seems to be an agenda about over-training and stuff like that. I hate to buck the trend but I can't see the over-training. I think training has got better compared to what we did.

"We used to have pre-season in September to start in October, then another pre-season in January to start in February, and then another pre-season in May to start in June. The training's much more enjoyable now, it's all football orientated.

"We've shortened the league down to nine weeks. If anything, I'd love to see the pre-cup competitions going and just play the leagues home and away, have 14 games on the trot and then go into championship.

"I think that would be more reflective of an intermediate or senior championship then, when you've 14 games. Teams might be a wee bit more open to it then, when they're getting 14 league games every year."

He feels that giving counties more high-profile games would have a double impact, in terms of redressing the training-to-match ratio while also staving off public interest in other major sports.

The Mullaghbawn native believes having a 14-round League campaign would be achievable in the window between January and April, and that counties may be more receptive to the championship being both split-up and shortened if they had the guarantee of more games.

"If you're still down to six or seven, plus one or two maybe in a championship, then why go for a second tier?

"If you're playing 14 games, you're able to try different things and try players, and it's not lengthening the inter-county season.

"It could be done in the same amount of time, but you're just replacing games that are already there. It cuts down the training load because you can't train when you're playing week in, week out, as we know this year.

"There's no hard training, it's small-sided games at the very most in between games, trying to keep boys ticking over.

"The biggest thing for me is it would raise the profile of the game. I think we're going to get caught sleeping one of these days.

"I love rugby and soccer as much as the next person, but we have our own games to promote, and the more games we have of a higher quality, the better.

"I think if you're going to do a [tiered] championship, you have to do a wee bit of groundwork before it. It's not just a matter of 'right, everybody into a 'B' championship'.

"Give teams more games, give fellas a chance to settle into a good season that won't interfere with the club. That way you can shorten the championship and it would be over at the end of July, and the clubs are happy too.

"We should be making more out of our players and giving them more high-profile games. I'd agree with what most of the experts would say – more games and less training," said the Orchard boss.

http://www.irishnews.com/sport/gaafootball/2018/03/22/news/gaa-losing-ground-to-rugby-mcgeeney-1284609/

Is there any evidence to support the broader assertion that the GAA is losing 'market share' to rugby, or is it just more of the same thing we hear any time the rugby team do well?
#16
Horan favours a two-tier football championship


GAA President John Horan has revealed he hopes to see the introduction of a two-tiered football championship before his term expires.

In a wide-ranging interview in today's Herald, Aogán Ó Fearghail's successor outlined his ambitions for his presidency and they include the splitting of the football championship in two by 2021.

"I would have hopes that we would end up with a two-tiered senior football championship. That would be one of my ambitions.

"I think if we put it together properly, we may get engagement. I think the previous attempt to put together such a competition didn't come to fruition.

"So as part of that review in three years' time, I would hope that we will end up with a two-tiered competition."


http://hoganstand.com/Article/Index/282506

Thoughts on two tiers vs. three?
It's possible that two tiers may be more palatable to 'weaker' counties, but I think three tiers offers more scope for realistic & sustainable progression.
Still, it's a conversation that needs to happen sooner rather than later so i'm glad he's set his stall out this early.
#17
https://www.independent.ie/sport/ryle-nugent-announces-departure-from-rte-after-24-years-with-broadcaster-36644387.html

How will he be remembered from the GAA perspective?
I will mostly remember him as the RTE Head of Sport who lost all the sport.
He will be replaced internally.
Would Darragh Maloney be in the running?
#18
Paddy O'Rourke Slates 'Head-Melting' Demands Of Inter-County Schedule

Offsetting potential gratification gained against effort exerted is becoming an increasingly important consideration for inter-county GAA players.

Is it feasible or sensible to put so much of one's life on hold for the pursuit of sporting ambition?

Although it is inaccurate to suggest that such effort is ultimately in vain if no provincial or All-Ireland title is forthcoming, with so few of those playing in inter-county football and hurling ever getting even a glimpse of what the Championship can offer, thoughts regarding 'what is this all for?' seem increasingly inevitable as the preparatory steps to even mediocrity continue to rise.

For Meath's Paddy O'Rourke, the decision to reclaim some semblance of normality has won out.

Speaking to AIB, O'Rourke determined that the hopelessness of Meath's chances for success going forward informed his decision to forego the months of training and committment that would nonetheless necessitate his first-hand role in a doomed pursuit:

The idea that I had to walk away from inter-county football was nagging at the back of my head in the months before we lost to Donegal last summer.

If we're honest in Meath, we're not getting any closer to where we want to go.

Winning Leinster again or challenging for an All-Ireland doesn't look realistic any time soon, and in fact it feels like it is farther away than ever.

Undoubtedly, the Meath goalkeeper will be criticised for his willingness to walk-away. Yet, with the demands rising, and progress reducing, O'Rourke struggles to see the point in remaining.

Having played in an All-Ireland semi-final in 2009, and lifting the Leinster title in 2010, the 28-year-old has seen nothing since that would encourage him to continue:

From 2011 to now, the commitment levels have gone through the roof but we've had nothing to show for it.

Our seasons have been over by early to mid-July. Last year we lost to Kildare, which suggests we've been slipping in the province, while Dublin are well out in front, and then this new Super 8 won't help any team outside the elite.

Despite his long run with the Meath team however, the Skryne club-man is incredibly pleased with his premature decision to depart, citing "the huge upside of not being tied down to the Meath schedule for at least five days per week."

No longer waking up "thinking about what I need to get through the next 16 or 17 hours", the conclusion that "this is not worth it" any longer was a brave decision in reality. As the now former Meath 'keeper testifies, "your head would be melted" with the work that goes into it.

Whether or not O'Rourke's decision will become more common among other inter-county players of his status is unclear, but a precedence has certainly been set.

It is not inconceivable that, like O'Rourke, a number of footballers and hurlers may similarly consider that "losing so much of your life" to inter-county teams is scarcely worth a few Championship games a summer and no glory.


https://www.balls.ie/gaa/paddy-orourke-slates-head-melting-demands-inter-county-schedule-383369

Thoughts?
When you look at the increasing demands of intercounty football vs. the decreasing odds of success for most counties, I'm amazed so many of them are sticking it out.
Then again, it's mostly a game for students and teachers now.
#19
GAA Discussion / Laochra Gael
February 14, 2018, 09:42:33 AM
Have to say, the new series looks brilliant.
Preview here.

https://twitter.com/Laochra_Gael/status/963705523152470016
#20
https://www.thesun.ie/news/2091457/government-set-to-pump-e50-million-into-new-stadium-building-project-to-revitalise-some-of-irelands-oldest-sports-grounds/

The spiritual home of Leinster football will be upgraded to a 22,000 all-seater stadium.
Great news for football fans everywhere, except probably Kildare.