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At the Celtic cup or Celtic challenge game this evening - nobody here quite sure which the name is!

One success from this is that it's united several of our clubs in like minds - the guys here all agree that their clubs are being paralysed by it!

It's been a long-standing issue that senior county teams can halt club action - looks like we start early now and I don't mean the month of the year!

I have to question the wisdom of such ventures in the grand scale. What is really achieved by this tournament and the like and is it enough to warrant our underage hurlers around Antrim to be denied meaningful trainings & development?

It strikes me that we're focusing on the few at the expenses of the many.
This is shrinking our playing base. Something we simply cannot afford to do any more!

Thoughts anyone?

Biggest question and joke of all is how are Gort na Mona, St Pauls and Cushendun junior. Farce.

Couldn't agree more, I was harping on about this a few years ago but was just banging my head against a brick wall. Being from what I perceive to be a 'real' Junior club it is more than frustrating watching Team after Team make the voluntary drop in grade to try and get a crack at an All Ireland. I haven't heard how St Pauls Motion went in regards getting promoted back into Intermediate championship??? or did they not appeal that, happy enough to mix it with the weak clubs with an all Ireland at stake but just not for the league.

That is the grey area for me. What if a club who are perceived to be an intermediate club or senior club drop down a championship as players have retired or other reasons, is that wrong? I get what you're saying and agree but clubs have gotten bad press and accusations thrown at them in the past when other clubs didn't know the story within the club at that time.

What is a "real" junior club? I can't speak for GNM or St Pauls,but you can rest assured that Cushendun have not volunteraly made the drop to junior hurling.If anyone had seen us over the past 3/4 years they would know that that is the level we are at.Gone are the days where we held our own in Div 1(15 years) and played senior championship.Due to limited numbers,over the past few years,we have regularly had to call on the boys who played senior hurling 20 years ago to make up a team!

No arguments C'Dun are currently a junior club, they couldnt get past a team from the division below who couldnt win their own league. St.Pauls again currently a junior club and are in search of the feel good factor that will turn the tide for them. GNM maybe not so much, they have dipped but jumped to junior too soon imo and could be viewed as opportunistic. I dont think it will be as easy as they think though.
So having established the levels and taking GNM out, how do 2 clubs that were relegated from division 3 last year plus another that couldnt win division 4 think that they should be playing division 3 teams without having earned the right to do so. The prize won on the floor of the county committee room. Maybe you should put your efforts into achieving honest results on grass rather than political horse trading on the carpet.

Here here.

Cushendun and St Pauls should be ashamed for what they requested regarding leagues. They got relegated last year because they weren't good enough, hard lines. Stop your crying and get back to the pitch and try to improve.

Gorts have also let themselves down, looks like they are jumping down a chsip far too soon.

+1 with usain & gizzy on this one.
Not sure who could actually agree with it.
Yet here we are - Antrim all over.

Is anyone able to post each league - and the teams in it.

I think we should pass a motion that leagues will be decided fresh every year - after all that's the only motion that we'd actually stick to.
The tampering with leagues has long been farcical (from teams all over the county) and this time under the cloak of improving Belfast hurling is no different.
Shouldn't even need to say it - but teams are promoted/relegated for a reason.

We'll be here again next year however - leagues changed to suit someone with some motivation.

[A couple of St Pauls players on sanction to Rossa were complete bollock's against us in the minor league decider at the end of last season and got the line for their antics. One of those guys I'd assume.]

A couple of St Pauls players on sanction to Rossa were complete bollock's against us in the minor league decider at the end of last season and got the line for their antics. One of those guys I'd assume.

A strong school would be trying to put a bit of discipline into someone who is developing in this way ...rather than be tempted to ignore such sc**bag behaviour for the good of the school. Best of luck to him when he tries that at senior.

Sharing morning coffee with a Rossa man who tells me "we're looking at not using sanctioned players anymore".

I understand the reasoning but again my worry is do such players stop playing altogether?

On a different sour note, one of our Minors got a bad face representing the County u17/minor squad against St Mary's CBS the lads where giving St Mary's a helping hand for their forthcoming All Ireland Campaign when a St Paul's/Rossa lad pulled the helmet of him and struck him 3 times , and nothing done about it because (a) it's a friendly or ( b) it's the Assistant County Treasurers Son who Again was involved!! Not good enough, why would young lads turn out for the County to be assaulted without retribution?

Sweep sweep... its the way forward.

And we wonder why people look to the courts for justice.

I wouldn't say Belfast GAA is dying at all. Yeap there are some clubs not fielding at all levels, but there are some other clubs where at underage level they are flying.. St Pauls, Sarsfields, St Brigids, Bredagh, Rossa +Davitts (Hurling), St Galls. There are more clubs hurling in the SA leagues than in recent years.

However there is a problem at the teenage years and BrendanAntrim and Usain call it correctly, the lack of games or lack meaningfully games from at U14 and U16 in SA is worrying.

8 league games for U16 Div 1  (a fair chunk of them over GCSE exams) is not going to develop senior players of the future.

At U14 all the clubs are lumped into one "grading" league, this results in a lot of one sided games, and FTFs.

Surely the County officials/and coaching need to be urgently looking at the structure at these levels? As SA clubs seem to be more concerned with U12 teams not having numbers shirts.

Valid points indeed.

i know from being involved in the camogie that its also really bad as well. theres not a single belfast club competes in the county minor championship and only 1 in div 1 at U16 level as well.

For some reason the girls football is doing really well in belfast so something is being done right on that end.

It's the girls football that's killing the camogie.
Nature of the sports is it's easier to teach and learn.

Just seeing and catching up on this.
Huge area but here goes wrapping around a few points that have been made:

1) Clubs folding
Whilst I don't take any pleasure in this, I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't agree we have too many Clubs in Belfast. Call it Darwinian, but some have got to go.

2) Hard work
The point about some clubs having worse facilities because they didn't put work in was as comical as it is insular. Not even worthy of discussion.

3) Facilities
Yes we lack behind - with land area the main reason. On the other side there's no shortage of facilities for hire, but boy do they know how to charge!

4) Community
Rural clubs are a fantastic community focus in more ways than city clubs unfortunately. But there's no point crying about it. As incredible as it sounds the ceasefire took away some emphasis for parents to throw kids into the GAA as an expression of Irishness - soccer rugby and some outlandish activities are even more of a distraction now.

5) Divisional Boards
If there's meaningful games happening at a certain level or code great, but the county must step in if this is not the case - and prioritise an all county set-up to provide this.

So what do we do about it?

Jeez lads I wish I knew!

Certainly no shortage of hard-workers across clubs.
Easy to say get into the primary schools, and that's true, but there's so much more problems to overcome there than merely GAA promotion.

I suppose the one thing we all agree on in that our youngsters need to be playing meaningful well run games week in week out. That's the building block - and it's not always happening at present.
Maybe then we can tackle the on going massive drop off from U16/minor to senior level.

Justa bit of a rant off my head from memorising some of points on the thread there!

Would have hoped for a win when Carlow went down to 14 men but in the absence of McManus could have swung it.
Hopefully management see an upward trend.

I was at the Waterford game - thought the saved penalty may have lifted the deise but the physical strength of Tipperary is really something else. They will take some beating this year and it will have to in a semi or a final because of beaten early doors they will likely come through the back door to win!

Very often it's Sambo will be deciding fixtures not Eamon.

[Eamon Grieve]

Eamon Grieve is CCC chair.

Fixtures to be available next week.

Some draft fixtures available on some club websites  but have to refined so that clubs aren't undertaking big journeys for mid week games in march/ April

A new fresh face saffron vision

Gort already looking further than Antrim for the Junior which they should indeed win without a lot of fuss.
Intermediate I think much can happen and won't be straightforward. 
Senior as usual has some questions around what season teams will have going forward but I would opt for Cushendall.

To be honest, I thought all those groups were just a front for the Shinners.

Well I did say I was no fan of such quangos

A quango is a completely different animal to a 'community group' and is it now starting to become clearer after HS's input? 

All the same it's nice of these people to give up their free time to volunteer to help West Belfast to develop without a brass farthing changing hands.

Its warms the heart that type of community spirit.

Not sure your point here JC?
Nobody said they were volunteers?
They are full-time salaried jobs.
Fully paid, well paid, and over paid I would say.

[QUA]

To be honest, I thought all those groups were just a front for the Shinners.

Well I did say I was no fan of such quangos

A quango is a completely different animal to a 'community group' and is it now starting to become clearer after HS's input? 

Quango - QUAsi-Non-Governmental-Organisation

So Visit West Belfast/ Failte Feirste Thiar falls into exactly that category.

Fully agree on the Shinners cartel on alot of these - hence my original point.

Which is separate to the other points.

Simple - unless you want to invent a conspiracy

To be honest, I thought all those groups were just a front for the Shinners.

Well I did say I was no fan of such quangos