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Killeen and Kilcruise looked very old last year, I fear they will both eventually wilt away if they dont sew up old wounds.

There is only one long term solution to football in that part of the world and in fairness, they've addressed the problem with Na Fianna Og. The only way they can continue to keep their head above water (Kilcruise, Killeen and Barrowhouse) is to pool their resources and make life a little easier for themselves. You're talking about a relatively small area even with the three combined, so splitting them up after underage is ridiculous.

I welcome amalgamations because it shows a degree of ambition. It also shows that people are thinking about the future and the changing nature of modern life and how we contribute to the GAA. None of us have the time and dedication that previous generations had, and with admn, sponsorship and coaching, our clubs are a very different animal to what they were even 20 years ago. So in my opinion, there is strength in numbers and there is prosperity in numbers too. It's never nice to see the end of great clubs, but there are too many clubs in Laois that are hanging on by their fingertips or worse still, stuck in some sort of twilight zone where they never really compete for anything. I know club officials in some clubs who are worn out just trying to keep the thing functional, and it's no fun whatsoever. Not for them, not for the members and probably not the players. I'm all for giving yourself the best possible chance of succeeding, and I just believe that the very rare golden period is not enough to sustain a club over a lifetime. I respect and admire the opposing point of view of course, and I appreciate it's not as black and white as I've painted.

There are 2 sides to the argument and when a club like Mullinalaghta comes along everybody is warmed by what is almost a fairy tale. The reality is that organised team sport is in decline which is a reflection of modern society. Ironically, I think small town clubs are in deep trouble due to lack of volunteers. There is a greater chance that  Kilcavan, Trumera will survive due to the community spirit. That's why Abbeyleix and Ballinakill coming together makes sense as a combination of urban and rural areas will give them a critical mass to survive. I have always admired Ballinakill who always produce quality hurlers from a small base. Abbeyleix also have a proud hurling tradition but it pulls mainly from a town and  hurling is in trouble in small towns all over Ireland. The people looking to put this amalgamation together are hurling people first and foremost and putting the promotion of the game ahead of holding on to two GAA units that are probably going to struggle on their own.

Well done to Portlaoise. On a separate note, any truth in rumour of a tie up between Abbeyleix and Ballinakill.

And the u21 still hasn't even started yet . Another farce

If I'm not mistaken, Laois GAA proposed to get rid of under 21 but they were outvoted by the county committee who wanted both under 19 and under 21. Personally I like the under 21 competitions but I don't think there is any room in the schedule for them anymore. For starters the modern adult hurling and football game is a young player's game.   

Ridiculous to be shoe horning these competitions in. This was inevitable. And when a few clubs do it, it suddenly becomes acceptable and more clubs do it.

What's the alternative? Most under 19s worth their salt are playing adult during the summer months. Try fitting this competition in when clubs are in the final stages of the adult championships.

The hurlers managed a Senior B championship what is it about the football clubs that makes this so bad. They have already changed the league structure to 1a and 1b.

Senior A if I'm not mistaken.

Senior A is the most ridiculous name for a second tier competition. It's a embarrassment when I hear it mentioned as it should be called what it really is which is intermediate. I reckon a fair few junior Kilkenny clubs would compete in our so called Senior A in hurling. Back to the thread, We should at the very least divide the current Senior championship into 2 and called it Senior B even if to keep clubs happy. At least it would be progress.   

simple way of reducing the championship from 16 to 12 teams. In Limerick they reduced their hurling championship from 16 to 12 in one year by dividing the 16 clubs in 4 groups of 4. The two team teams in each group progress to quarter finals. The bottom team in each group automatically relegated.

Unfortunately you are left in the position that the intermediate champions do not gain automatic promotion that year. If you wanted to give them promotion then you could have the 3rd place teams in the group play relegation semi-finals and relegation final with one team eventually losing out. 

If you were to go the whole hog (which I would do). Top eight teams progress to quarter finals and bottom eight teams relegated to intermediate.
Then for the start of the following year's championship (2020) I would then create my four regional sides meaning that their are 12 teams in the championship (8 individual clubs and 4 regional sides). Any club that is not playing at senior level, their players are eligible to play senior for their regional side (similar to kerry model). If a club is promoted to senior then those players are no longer eligible to play for the regional team. Therefore every club is playing individually at their right level and it will do away once and for all with some of these ridiculous amalgamations that we have e.g. crettyard/spink where some of the spink (in reality Ballinakill hurlers) players are kicking a football for the first time that year playing in a competitive championship match.

It's just a thought but it would really strengthen our championship and could be fully up and running by championship 2020.

Great post and it should  definitely be considered by the county board. Let's hope they are reading 😉

Great point but I'd be surprised if county board bought into some common sense though.

The county board do not make those decisions. They can merely come with proposals. The clubs make the decision. Those idea(s) mentioned above are very good but it would mean a lot of clubs voting, in effect, to relegate themselves. I have yet to see a turkey vote for Christmas.

A number of other counties have voted recently for significant overhauls of their championships but I think the vibes in our own county are fairly negative when the subject is mooted.  One of the reasons why Cork and Kerry win a lot of the All Ireland intermediate and junior football champions is the divisional system. It's the same in hurling with Kiilkenny who have such a competitive intermediate and junior championships because there are only 12 clubs in the top 2 tiers. 

This would of course be the ideal situation as we have far too many senior clubs. Kerry only have eight I believe. The 4 area teams you have outlined would work but it's the getting down to 8 that is the problem . I think we had a ridiculous number of senior teams in the mid 90s, definitely in the 20's possibly more.

Most counties have pared back the numbers at Senior level over the past decade. Tipperary, Wexford and Galway have cut numbers in a big way. Kerry has 8 senior clubs  while Laois are persisting with 16. 12 senior sides and 4 divisional sides would make things interesting. We also would then have a decent intermediate championship. The problem in Laois is that any team apart from Portlaoise can be relegated in a given year with the converse that all teams could potentially reach the final if they avoid Portlaoise. In 2017, Ballyfin arguably  the weakest in Senior going into 2019 were capable of beating Stradbally only last year. 

Himself, Dooley and I think one of the Burke's showing off their teeth and gums in s pub

Just saw it there. Outrageous. 

The camross defeat is shallow ...the 3 players in question should be ashamed i hope they get hammered in the leinster

A lepard never change his spots

Scum

Spoke to a few people today at work and the word that came up more than once was  neanderthal which was used to describe Laois hurling. I think overall this was unfair as most clubs behave themselves as good if not better than in any other county. Since Delaney was  not booked, I think the county board should review the video evidence to see what role he played in the incident. 

Maybe then  teams should just amalgamate  every year and if they have a particularly  strong number on certain  years pit in an A and a  B team.  So then you pick your club to join up with and your stuck with them for better or worse for a minimum  period of say 10 years
As regards the senior hurling  I wasn't  in cos I was  working  but it's sad that once  again we're  back discussing  an act of thuggery.  I talked to around 10 different  people who were at the match  and they were consistent  in saying that it was a blatant  dirty act and that the ref or linesman couldn't have missed it.  Why does this be allowed.  On another thread here people are saying a fella should be able to play the county final after being sent off for what was admittedly a harmless enough punch but now we have a young man in hospital  with serious injuries after being struck  repeatedly  with a hurl.  And the scum  that did it got to play  on!!!! Beggars belief! Time to come down hard on that stuff.  If a video  is there the man should be banned  for life and prosecuted  for assault  too

Unfortunately I think that can't now happen because he got a yellow card.

If the ref had done nothing, it's possible that the incident could be looked at again. However, with a yellow that's it.  Serious consideration has to be given to an outside ref as the local refs are too close to the teams as there is such a small pool to pick from. They referee them in challenges all the time.  I thought that John O'Brien was a breath of fresh air when he came here first.  However, he cannot be proud of the events he presided over yesterday. It was either a red or nothing. All he had to do was to look at Roddy's face and know this was serious. Nevertheless, it's easy to blame one man when the organisation is responsible to a greater extent. At a higher level, the GAA has a duty of care to all players. Yesterday we as an organisation fell well short. 

Was it a strike with the hurl into the face? Roddy up in a Dublin hospital anyhow

If Camross have any credibility, the player in question should not be seen on the field for the rest of the year at the very least. Doubt that will happen. I don't think type of stuff will be stamped out unless someone goes the legal route. We had an incident in the courts earlier in the year where the Judge was fairly candid on the GAA's attitude to violence.

I agree Keyser.

I've no problem with CB, Mountrath, Trumera; well done to the young lads. Not many Minor A medallists in any of those clubs. I don't want this discussion to detract from their win; they were the better team and some of the performances were excellent.

But The Harps have brought a team from U6 to U17 and were denied by an amalgamated team, manufactured out of convenience. Yes, the reasons are valid and can be logically defended but it doesn't make it 100% right.

Again, I'm not criticising the individual clubs but it's a bitter pill to swallow for those young men who were the best U17 'club' in Laois but have nothing to show for it.

Funny enough no mention of a Crettyard player who probably should have been with Slieve Margy

Not funny at all.
I happen to know the young man and his family.
He's hurled with The Harps since before Slieve Margy were formed. Should he have been forced to go back and hurl at B or C grade?

You  back up my earlier point that no player should be  forced to play B and C. The notion that the Harps are purer than snow when it comes to this type of stuff is a bit of a myth. They picked the best out of Ballinakill for years before Ballinakill got their act together.

I agree Keyser.

I've no problem with CB, Mountrath, Trumera; well done to the young lads. Not many Minor A medallists in any of those clubs. I don't want this discussion to detract from their win; they were the better team and some of the performances were excellent.

But The Harps have brought a team from U6 to U17 and were denied by an amalgamated team, manufactured out of convenience. Yes, the reasons are valid and can be logically defended but it doesn't make it 100% right.

Again, I'm not criticising the individual clubs but it's a bitter pill to swallow for those young men who were the best U17 'club' in Laois but have nothing to show for it.

Funny enough no mention of a Crettyard player who probably should have been with Slieve Margy

It was a dirty dirty belt that should have been an automatic red. This referee seems to want to use his own personal rule book to "let the game flow". Every game is a controversy, and the duty of care bit is very true. One of the players booked in this incident should have been sent off for a headbutt (right in front of the referee) after about 5 minutes.
The man should not be rewarded with Senior finals.
The incident, and more importantly the outcome of it, had a major effect on the game thereafter.

I don't agree with earlier posters re the minor amalgamation.
You can always step back to B in the odd years you are not particularly strong and use your own u15s/16s. Isn't that what rural clubs have always done.
I don't think this win will be of much benefit to any of the 3 clubs involved (Yes there were 3 involved).

Also, The Harps underperformed today. But it is a bit dramatic to start talking about disbanding the club as a magic fix.

Have to disagree. all clubs involved will benefit from this win. "B" football and hurling in this county is putrid and any player with any self respect should be playing "A".  I expect at least 10 of the team to play for their adult clubs. The amalgamation had at least 5 under 15s playing today and a lot of them are playing with the county already.

So should every club look around in advance of their "weaker years" and find someone else in a similar situation and jump into bed with them for a year?

Seems a sensible enough approach to me if a team hasn't got the numbers.  It's been going on in Laois since time immemorial and will continue if we want our 48 clubs to survive.   

It was a dirty dirty belt that should have been an automatic red. This referee seems to want to use his own personal rule book to "let the game flow". Every game is a controversy, and the duty of care bit is very true. One of the players booked in this incident should have been sent off for a headbutt (right in front of the referee) after about 5 minutes.
The man should not be rewarded with Senior finals.
The incident, and more importantly the outcome of it, had a major effect on the game thereafter.

I don't agree with earlier posters re the minor amalgamation.
You can always step back to B in the odd years you are not particularly strong and use your own u15s/16s. Isn't that what rural clubs have always done.
I don't think this win will be of much benefit to any of the 3 clubs involved (Yes there were 3 involved).

Also, The Harps underperformed today. But it is a bit dramatic to start talking about disbanding the club as a magic fix.

Have to disagree. all clubs involved will benefit from this win. "B" football and hurling in this county is putrid and any player with any self respect should be playing "A".  I expect at least 10 of the team to play for their adult clubs. The amalgamation had at least 5 under 15s playing today and a lot of them are playing with the county already.