All Ireland contenders...

[Canalman]

Well said Heffo.

One thing often conveniently forgotten is the hard voluntary work gone into Dublin GAA in the last decade or so.............. especially in the hurling. As alluded to , it was a small group of Dublin hurling fanatics that set in train our revival that has taken I think 12 years or so to come to fruition and of which a tiny % is down to money.

Don' t forget Dublin has around 85/90 GAA clubs and that this is the measure that we should be judged on and not the 1.1 million or so in the county , the majority  who have  minimal (at best) interest in GAA.

[screenexile]

Well said Heffo.

One thing often conveniently forgotten is the hard voluntary work gone into Dublin GAA in the last decade or so.............. especially in the hurling. As alluded to , it was a small group of Dublin hurling fanatics that set in train our revival that has taken I think 12 years or so to come to fruition and of which a tiny % is down to money.

Don' t forget Dublin has around 85/90 GAA clubs and that this is the measure that we should be judged on and not the 1.1 million or so in the county , the majority  who have  minimal (at best) interest in GAA.

They should be judged on neither of those 2 statistics, player numbers are what count and Dublin's are huge!!! Ballyboden St. Enda's field in upwards of 70 odd teams throughout the Club including 5 adult football teams . . . should that be judged as one club?!

Let's not kid ourselves here Dublin have hugely underachieved in the past but it looks like they are beginning to get their act together. In my opinion they aren't a better team than Kerry at present but they beat them when it counts. They have the trophy and that's all that matters.

Tyrone look like they are poised for a second coming but the jury is still well and truly out on that one and this year will tell a tale. Donegal won't reach the heights they did previously and Mayo aren't going to cut it either. Cork, Kerry, Tyrone and Dublin are the top 4 at present!

[Canalman]

Well said Heffo.

One thing often conveniently forgotten is the hard voluntary work gone into Dublin GAA in the last decade or so.............. especially in the hurling. As alluded to , it was a small group of Dublin hurling fanatics that set in train our revival that has taken I think 12 years or so to come to fruition and of which a tiny % is down to money.

Don' t forget Dublin has around 85/90 GAA clubs and that this is the measure that we should be judged on and not the 1.1 million or so in the county , the majority  who have  minimal (at best) interest in GAA.

They should be judged on neither of those 2 statistics, player numbers are what count and Dublin's are huge!!! Ballyboden St. Enda's field in upwards of 70 odd teams throughout the Club including 5 adult football teams . . . should that be judged as one club?!

Let's not kid ourselves here Dublin have hugely underachieved in the past but it looks like they are beginning to get their act together. In my opinion they aren't a better team than Kerry at present but they beat them when it counts. They have the trophy and that's all that matters.

Tyrone look like they are poised for a second coming but the jury is still well and truly out on that one and this year will tell a tale. Donegal won't reach the heights they did previously and Mayo aren't going to cut it either. Cork, Kerry, Tyrone and Dublin are the top 4 at present!

Not disagreeing with you there too much but have to pull you up on the  well trotted out Aunt Sally argument of always quoting BBSE.

For every BBSE, Kilmacud, etc there are plenty of small adult only clubs such as Starlights, Portobello, Civil Service, AIB, Bank of Ireland, Rosmini etc. In addition plenty of clubs struggling to field teams.

We in Dublin do have advantages , but not to the extent that is often alleged. The problems the GAA encounter here in Dublin and in all the major towns and cities are too often glossed over.

[Dont Matter]

Having seen their minor and u21 teams over the last few years and the belief An AI will have given them I can't see any other outcome. Pure speculation of course.

How could they not be successful? With the amount of money gone in and the facilities they have it would be almost impossible to fail.
They're buying success, the GAA in their pursuit of extra revenue has put the interests of Dublin above the rest of the country. Hurling is struggling in many counties, these counties could have done with even a fraction of the resources Dublin were getting.
The GAA is supposed to be about amateur players competing on an equal footing, this hasn't been happening and the thing is nothings been said about it.

How could we not be successful?

Firstly instead of questioning why Dublin secured the funding they did, perhaps posters should ask why their own county didn't get it or indeed apply for it - Dublin secured the funding on the basis of a very good application - there are huge swathes of Dublin that are soccer and GAA heartlands and are GAA wastelands. Take Clondalkin for example - population 60,000 - 22 Soccer clubs and one GAA Club.

Dublin is a genuine dual county - it's football weeks 1 & 3, Hurling weeks 2 & 4 - your pitch is off on week 1 then kids who mightn't play Hurling get one game per month - result we lose more kids to rival codes who can offer a game per week.

The challenges any major urban centre has as opposed to a rural area when trying to promote GAA.

Finally, since 2005 Dublin have secured €6.8m in non-GAA grants. The Ulster Council has secured £120m in the same period. So a little realism please.

All Dublin ever do when this subject is brought up is to try and deflect attention elsewhere. Why didn't other county boards do this? Look at the money others are getting.
The truth is if any other county board went to GAA HQ with this, they would have been laughed out of the room. The powers that be saw this as mutually beneficial however.
We need to bring in the Duiblin crowds and if they have a strong hurling team aswell it can only help us they thought. Maybe they could have hurling and football double headers in Croke Park during the league even though Parnell Park is Dublins home ground apparently. 
So you can deflect all you want but the facts are Dublin received millions to guarantee them success. You've bought underage and senior All-Irelands, this needs to be highlighted. It's against the very ethos of the GAA. Give any county 7 million and they'll start winning too.

[Dont Matter]

a tiny % is down to money.

[Radda bout yeee]

Tyrone look like they are poised for a second coming but the jury is still well and truly out on that one and this year will tell a tale. Donegal won't reach the heights they did previously and Mayo aren't going to cut it either. Cork, Kerry, Tyrone and Dublin are the top 4 at present!

Shouldn't that be a fourth coming?? 

[heffo]

Having seen their minor and u21 teams over the last few years and the belief An AI will have given them I can't see any other outcome. Pure speculation of course.

How could they not be successful? With the amount of money gone in and the facilities they have it would be almost impossible to fail.
They're buying success, the GAA in their pursuit of extra revenue has put the interests of Dublin above the rest of the country. Hurling is struggling in many counties, these counties could have done with even a fraction of the resources Dublin were getting.
The GAA is supposed to be about amateur players competing on an equal footing, this hasn't been happening and the thing is nothings been said about it.

How could we not be successful?

Firstly instead of questioning why Dublin secured the funding they did, perhaps posters should ask why their own county didn't get it or indeed apply for it - Dublin secured the funding on the basis of a very good application - there are huge swathes of Dublin that are soccer and GAA heartlands and are GAA wastelands. Take Clondalkin for example - population 60,000 - 22 Soccer clubs and one GAA Club.

Dublin is a genuine dual county - it's football weeks 1 & 3, Hurling weeks 2 & 4 - your pitch is off on week 1 then kids who mightn't play Hurling get one game per month - result we lose more kids to rival codes who can offer a game per week.

The challenges any major urban centre has as opposed to a rural area when trying to promote GAA.

Finally, since 2005 Dublin have secured €6.8m in non-GAA grants. The Ulster Council has secured £120m in the same period. So a little realism please.

All Dublin ever do when this subject is brought up is to try and deflect attention elsewhere. Why didn't other county boards do this? Look at the money others are getting.
The truth is if any other county board went to GAA HQ with this, they would have been laughed out of the room. The powers that be saw this as mutually beneficial however.
We need to bring in the Duiblin crowds and if they have a strong hurling team aswell it can only help us they thought. Maybe they could have hurling and football double headers in Croke Park during the league even though Parnell Park is Dublins home ground apparently. 
So you can deflect all you want but the facts are Dublin received millions to guarantee them success. You've bought underage and senior All-Irelands, this needs to be highlighted. It's against the very ethos of the GAA. Give any county 7 million and they'll start winning too.

No deflection whatsoever here  simply an attempt to clear up the downright lies and misinformation you're spouting.

Why didn't other county boards do this? You'd have to ask them but all too often counties chase short term success and clubs and delegates and clubs are too happy to allow well meaning but incapable people fill the top tables of their County Boards.

It's a nonsense to suggest an ambitious county with a well thought out strategic plan who applied for grants of this nature on a pro-rata basis would be laughed out of it - in the same way that each capital grant application would be judged on it's merits, so would an application like this.

I would imagine that HQ want a strong Dublin Hurling team as indeed they'd like a strong Hurling team from every county - not sure where you're going with that - anyway the grants 'Duiblin' received were from the Irish Sports council - not Croke Park - you did know that didn't you?

Dublin received millions to guarantee success - as I alluded to, only a fraction of what the Ulster Council got - what did they do with that money? Spend it on magic beans?

Dublin bought underage and senior All-Irelands - The grants scheme you mentioned is a dedicated scheme where by a full or part time coach in some Dublin clubs worked with schools and Nurseries/Academy's primarily with Children from five years of age up to 7/8. I'm no mathematician, but the scheme started in 2005, Dublin won an U21 in 2010 and a Senior AI in 2011 - I didn't see too many 12 year olds on either team - were there many that I missed? Did they have that big an influence that it could be deemed that the coaching they received from 5 years of age (in 2005) up to 7/8 followed by voluntary coaching thereafter would deem Dublin as having 'bought' their AI's?

I'm all ears...

[Dont Matter]

No deflection whatsoever here  simply an attempt to clear up the downright lies and misinformation you're spouting.

Why didn't other county boards do this? You'd have to ask them but all too often counties chase short term success and clubs and delegates and clubs are too happy to allow well meaning but incapable people fill the top tables of their County Boards.

It's a nonsense to suggest an ambitious county with a well thought out strategic plan who applied for grants of this nature on a pro-rata basis would be laughed out of it - in the same way that each capital grant application would be judged on it's merits, so would an application like this.

I would imagine that HQ want a strong Dublin Hurling team as indeed they'd like a strong Hurling team from every county - not sure where you're going with that - anyway the grants 'Duiblin' received were from the Irish Sports council - not Croke Park - you did know that didn't you?

Dublin received millions to guarantee success - as I alluded to, only a fraction of what the Ulster Council got - what did they do with that money? Spend it on magic beans?

Dublin bought underage and senior All-Irelands - The grants scheme you mentioned is a dedicated scheme where by a full or part time coach in some Dublin clubs worked with schools and Nurseries/Academy's primarily with Children from five years of age up to 7/8. I'm no mathematician, but the scheme started in 2005, Dublin won an U21 in 2010 and a Senior AI in 2011 - I didn't see too many 12 year olds on either team - were there many that I missed? Did they have that big an influence that it could be deemed that the coaching they received from 5 years of age (in 2005) up to 7/8 followed by voluntary coaching thereafter would deem Dublin as having 'bought' their AI's?

I'm all ears...

You think they spent the 7 million on coaching 5 year olds? Are you joking? Every club has a games promotion officer.
The money has to go through HQ, without their approval Dublin would have received nothing.
The GAA wants Dublin to be successful because it suits them, they have done everything to support them to the detriment of other counties. This is fact!
The sports council provide a lot of the grants but also the GAA and the leinster council have provided costs.
Let's not forget who was the Taoiseach of the day. You think an other county would have got approval for this? Really?
As I said give any other county this kind of money and they'd be successful too or you can go on trying to fool everyone that receiving 1 million per year had very little to do with this new found success.
Laughable.

[heffo]

No deflection whatsoever here  simply an attempt to clear up the downright lies and misinformation you're spouting.

Why didn't other county boards do this? You'd have to ask them but all too often counties chase short term success and clubs and delegates and clubs are too happy to allow well meaning but incapable people fill the top tables of their County Boards.

It's a nonsense to suggest an ambitious county with a well thought out strategic plan who applied for grants of this nature on a pro-rata basis would be laughed out of it - in the same way that each capital grant application would be judged on it's merits, so would an application like this.

I would imagine that HQ want a strong Dublin Hurling team as indeed they'd like a strong Hurling team from every county - not sure where you're going with that - anyway the grants 'Duiblin' received were from the Irish Sports council - not Croke Park - you did know that didn't you?

Dublin received millions to guarantee success - as I alluded to, only a fraction of what the Ulster Council got - what did they do with that money? Spend it on magic beans?

Dublin bought underage and senior All-Irelands - The grants scheme you mentioned is a dedicated scheme where by a full or part time coach in some Dublin clubs worked with schools and Nurseries/Academy's primarily with Children from five years of age up to 7/8. I'm no mathematician, but the scheme started in 2005, Dublin won an U21 in 2010 and a Senior AI in 2011 - I didn't see too many 12 year olds on either team - were there many that I missed? Did they have that big an influence that it could be deemed that the coaching they received from 5 years of age (in 2005) up to 7/8 followed by voluntary coaching thereafter would deem Dublin as having 'bought' their AI's?

I'm all ears...

You think they spent the 7 million on coaching 5 year olds? Are you joking? Every club has a games promotion officer.
The money has to go through HQ, without their approval Dublin would have received nothing.
The GAA wants Dublin to be successful because it suits them, they have done everything to support them to the detriment of other counties. This is fact!
The sports council provide a lot of the grants but also the GAA and the leinster council have provided costs.
Let's not forget who was the Taoiseach of the day. You think an other county would have got approval for this? Really?
As I said give any other county this kind of money and they'd be successful too or you can go on trying to fool everyone that receiving 1 million per year had very little to do with this new found success.
Laughable.

Again more misinformation.

Every club does not have a GPO - some have none, some share with other clubs and have them for two days a week.

Where are you claiming the grants went so? It's all itemised - the clubs who have a GPO pay half the cost and the DCB pay half the cost. Anything else went on funding new startup clubs in 'new' areas like Adamstown, Tyrrelstown etc - nothing was spent on development squads or adult level from this grant.

The Irish sports council also allocated money to the GAA centrally to invest in grassroots and Hurling development so you're incorrect again in saying other counties would've been laughed out.

You still haven't answered where the £120 went in the same period in Ulster

[haranguerer]

The £120 went on tea and sandwiches for the stewards I believe. Receipts were submitted.

[Farrandeelin]

FAO Fuzzman

It's Kerry, Dubs, Tyrone or Donegal, Cork, Mayo I'd have as title winners (in that order)

sheamy, what about Kildare? I think Galway will win Connacht this year myself..

[Jinxy]

I fancy Roscommon for Connacht.

[Dont Matter]

Again more misinformation.

Every club does not have a GPO - some have none, some share with other clubs and have them for two days a week.

Where are you claiming the grants went so? It's all itemised - the clubs who have a GPO pay half the cost and the DCB pay half the cost. Anything else went on funding new startup clubs in 'new' areas like Adamstown, Tyrrelstown etc - nothing was spent on development squads or adult level from this grant.

The Irish sports council also allocated money to the GAA centrally to invest in grassroots and Hurling development so you're incorrect again in saying other counties would've been laughed out.

You still haven't answered where the £120 went in the same period in Ulster

The grants went on a lot of things which I think you are letting on not to know about. I have it on good authority that some of the money went to places not specified.
Also these grants freed up cash to go elsewhere, that definitely has improved some senior teams.
Not only have these grants assisted Dublin now but it will long in to the future. They are not competing on a level playing field with the rest of the country. The scheme wouldn't have taken off if one recently disgraced man wasn't about to see it into fruition.
I don't have a clue where the £120 went to, if Ulster were a single team it might matter.

[armaghniac]

As I said give any other county this kind of money and they'd be successful too or you can go on trying to fool everyone that receiving 1 million per year had very little to do with this new found success.

Dublin has more members, players etc than other places. Of course they received more money. Are you saying that they received a disproportionate amount of money?

Laughable.

Quite.

if Ulster were a single team it might matter.

This is a more relevant point. Dublin will have to cease to be a single team at some stage.

[heffo]

Again more misinformation.

Every club does not have a GPO - some have none, some share with other clubs and have them for two days a week.

Where are you claiming the grants went so? It's all itemised - the clubs who have a GPO pay half the cost and the DCB pay half the cost. Anything else went on funding new startup clubs in 'new' areas like Adamstown, Tyrrelstown etc - nothing was spent on development squads or adult level from this grant.

The Irish sports council also allocated money to the GAA centrally to invest in grassroots and Hurling development so you're incorrect again in saying other counties would've been laughed out.

You still haven't answered where the £120 went in the same period in Ulster

The grants went on a lot of things which I think you are letting on not to know about. I have it on good authority that some of the money went to places not specified.
Also these grants freed up cash to go elsewhere, that definitely has improved some senior teams.
Not only have these grants assisted Dublin now but it will long in to the future. They are not competing on a level playing field with the rest of the country. The scheme wouldn't have taken off if one recently disgraced man wasn't about to see it into fruition.
I don't have a clue where the £120 went to, if Ulster were a single team it might matter.

You're good authority is bollo* - all that money is accounted for as stated.

The grants didn't free up money to go elsewhere - the GPO's weren't in place nor would they have been funded had the grants not been in place.

Perhaps you should look into where the £120m in Ulster went - it's a far greater sum than Dublin got.

Get your facts straight and stop talking shi*e.