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Any word on dates and venues?

The CCCC has confirmed the times, dates and venues for the eight Round 1 GAA Football All-Ireland Qualifiers.

The hugely-anticipated meeting of Louth and Meath, a repeat of last year's Leinster GAA Championship final, has been fixed for Kingspan Breffni Park on Saturday, June 25, with a 7.00pm throw-in. The game will be screened live on RTÉ 2.

Although Louth had home advantage after being drawn first in Sunday's draw in Carrick-on-Shannon, the game will be played at the neutral Cavan venue because the Louth county ground, Drogheda, has a capacity of just 4,000.

Last year's provincial final between the two sides ended in controversy when Meath won the game with a disputed late goal from Joe Sheridan.

The game will be preceded by the meeting of Cavan and Longford, which has a 5.00pm start at the same venue.

Elsewhere, last year's beaten All-Ireland champions, Down, will travel to Cusack Park, Ennis to face Clare, with the game throwing in at 3.00pm.

GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 1
Saturday, June 25 2011

Cusack Park, Ennis: Clare v Down, 3.00pm

Portlaoise: Laois v Tipperary, 5.00pm/7.00pm*
*(If part of Double Header with SHC Laois v Uíbh Fhailí, throw in will be at 5pm. Or as a Stand Alone fixture, throw in will be at 7pm)

Casement Park, Antrim v Westmeath, 2.00pm

Kingspan Breffni Park: Louth v Meath, 7.00pm

Ruislip: London v Fermanagh, 1.30pm

Kingspan Breffni Park: Cavan v Longford, 5.00pm

Aughrim: Wicklow v Sligo, 5.00pm

Tullamore: Offaly v Monaghan, 7.00pm

Meanwhile, the throw-in times for next weekend's GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Preliminary Round games have also been confirmed.

Cork travel to Portlaoise, where they will face Laois at 3.00pm, while the meeting of Antrim and Westmeath also has a 3.00pm throw-in at Casement Park.

Should Cork advance, they will play Offaly the following Saturday at Páirc Uí Chaoimh (throw-in 3.00pm) in Phase II, while a Laois win would see the O'Moore men have home advantage at Portlaoise against Offaly (3.00pm).

If Antrim advance to Phase II they will play Carlow in Casement Park at 4.00pm on Saturday, June 25, while a Westmeath win would give the Lake men home advantage at Cusack Park, Mullingar against Carlow (3.00pm).

Don't get me wrong - there's plenty of fat to cut. But I wouldn't consider this to be the priority, I just see it as an easy target - very populist.

I don't think it's being populist, I just think we're over represented for a population of under 2m. 108 MLAs, 18 MPs, 582 councillors is a lot when you compare it with others

Dail has 166 TDs for a pop of 5m
Scottish parliament has 129 members for pop of 5m
Welsh Assembly has 60 members for pop of 3m.

I don't think more MLAs means more minority parties get in, it just leads to more, weaker candidates from the bigger parties.

Conor Murphy SF, Danny Kennedy UUP and Dominic Bradley SDLP elected in Newry and Armagh

Jaysus, it took all day to get that - could've told you that last night, no, actually yesterday morning. I suppose it'll be Boylan and Irwin for the last two seats.

We really need to cull the amounty of MLAs, make some of them work for their votes.

Sounds like SF haven't balanced their vote well here, leaving Brady nervous for a while. Although SF looking good for a second in Upper Bann.

Sorry, forgot about Micky there.

Just seems to me, with so many seats, there will be few from SF/DUP sweating as they know they can ride in on the coat tails of some of their more high-profile candidates. I admire their vote management, but does west Belfast really need five SF MLAs?

Conor Murphy SF, Danny Kennedy UUP and Dominic Bradley SDLP elected in Newry and Armagh

Jaysus, it took all day to get that - could've told you that last night, no, actually yesterday morning. I suppose it'll be Boylan and Irwin for the last two seats.

We really need to cull the amounty of MLAs, make some of them work for their votes.

[Jarlath Burns.]

With interviews from Ross Carr, Henry Downey, Brian McEniff, Tony Scullion, John Joe Doherty and Jarlath Burns.

Spot the odd man out 

The Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley

Field Marshal of the British Empire, Commander of British forces and her allies at the Battle of Waterloo

But, as Daniel O'Connell is reported to have said: "No, he is not an Irishman. He was born in Ireland; but being born in a stable does not make a man a horse."

Mickey Morrisey referred to Dermot Carlin as Martin Carlin and Donal Carlin in a 20 second period.

Marty Morrisey?

See how easy it is to get somebody's name wrong.

Which one of the Down defenders has the mullet?

Mullet!!  Makes me think of Chris Waddle or Pat Sharp from ITV Programme Fun House every time!!

Probably Damien Rafferty your thinking of?
Down's best defender today & has pace to burn

He'd be even faster without that mullet weighing him down. 

...or being elbowed in the face.

Nuachtraiteas - Press Release – Nuachtraiteas
It has been decided this morning that the Down v Armagh Game on Saturday Night will be an All Ticket Game
Tickets will be priced as follows
Stand
£13.00 €15.00
UNDER 16 £4.00 OR €5.00
Terrace
£10.00 or €13.00
Under 16s £4.00 or €5.00
The Down County Office 46-48 Main Street Castlewellan will be open for the distribution of Tickets as follows;
Monday 15th March 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm
Tuesday 16th March 10.30 am to 5.30 pm
Thursday 18th March 10.30 am to 5.30 pm and 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm
Friday 19th March 10.00 am to 5.30 pm

It's sick that even though people are being beaten to death over their sexuality, unionists still think it's acceptable to through around inflammatory language, as reported in this week's Newry Democrat

by Claire Treanor
THE Equality Department of Newry and Mourne District Council has been urged to investigate comments made by two councillors about Newry Rainbow Community.

The move follows a stormy monthly meeting of council, during which UKIP's Henry Reilly told the Chamber that homosexuality is "a highly a destructive lifestyle" and the DUP's William Burns described it as "totally unnatural".

Council colleagues slammed the comments and requested that they are now investigated under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act.

The row erupted after NRC was praised by Sinn Fein's Pat McGinn and the SDLP's Josephine O'Hare for hosting an event in which they participated.

Mrs O'Hare also highlighted the pressures faced by members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community which, she said, has high rates of self-harm and suicide amongst members due to the stigma attached to their sexuality.

However councillor Reilly claimed the rates are due to "a highly destructive lifestyle, which should not be encouraged by this council".

Mr Reilly's remarks were met with fury by Mrs O'Hare, who called him a bigot and accused him of twisting her words.

"I totally resent him using my words to condemn an entire section of our community. How dare he? I was making the point that these people need our support and for Henry to take that out of context and use it against them is disgusting," she said.

Other councillors echoed this, with Sinn Fein's Brendan Curran branding the remarks "disgraceful, disgusting and despicable" and Pat McGinn saying that the Mournes representative was "wholly wrong" to voice personal views in the council Chamber.

But Mr Reilly was supported by the DUP's William Burns, who said: "Anyone with any knowledge of God's word knows that what goes on in Newry Rainbow Club is unnatural and totally against the teaching of God".

Now SDLP councillor Gary Stokes has requested that both councillors' comments are investigated by the council's Equality Officer. "Comments like those made by both Henry Reilly and William Burns contravene Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act and are not in any way representative of council or council policy," he said.

A council spokeswoman said the council cannot action or implement any item referred to in the council meeting until the minutes of the meeting are adopted at April's monthly meeting.

Legal threat over comments
NEWRY Rainbow Community secretary Damian McKevitt has called for an immediate retraction of the "deplorable and dangerous" remarks made by councillors Henry Reilly and William Burns at the latest monthly council meeting.

"Just as with the debacle with Iris Robinson, who suggested that gay people are somehow sick and can be cured, it is equally unacceptable that Newry and Mourne civic leaders and elected representatives feel they can make such ill-informed, hurtful and judgemental comments in the council Chamber. It's scandalous and I demand an immediate retraction," he said.

"It's comments like these, by people in public life, that create an environment where young, vulnerable people can feel that there is something wrong with them. These are the type of comments that reinforce stigma and prejudice and that can drive people to suicide or self-harm. Mr Reilly speaks of destructive lifestyles but it's comments like his that can destroy lives.

"Would it be acceptable for a public representative to say that Black and Minority Ethnic people lead destructive lives?"

Mr McKevitt said that Newry Rainbow Community works hard to counter all manifestations of homophobia and intolerance and to make a positive contribution to the Newry and Mourne area.

"In particular we have been proactive in trying to engage in a positive manner with our civic and community leaders. I would invite Mr Reilly and Mr Burns to meet with us, either publicly or in private, to discuss this further.

"From a personal perspective, as the person who helped organise the discussion event that councillor Reilly hijacked to use as a platform for a vitriolic verbal attack on gay people based on prejudice, ignorance and homophobia, I find it absolutely abhorrent and unacceptable that a public representative should have the audacity to state in an elected chamber that I lead a destructive life. Let councillor Reilly prove that I lead a destructive life or provide me with a full and public apology."

Mr McKevitt said he now intends contacting UKIP's Party Executive to clarify if Mr Reilly's comments are in line with party's policies.

"I have also requested a full transcript of the discussion which took place in Newry and Mourne District Council chamber on Monday March 1 2010 and will be pursuing the matter further," he added.

Typical of this place - one side has something, then the other side has to have it as well.

Despite it being late, I think Peter Robinson's statement was a lot more generous and dignified than Martin McGuinness's "We didn't like him, but he was a nice man"-style platitude.

Down secretary Danny Murphy




Homer Simpson

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00p2jl2/An_Teorainn_Criochdheighilt_(Partition)/

Only available to those north of the Black Pig's dyke. 

Oh the irony. Do TG4 have any facility for watching stuff again that's been online?

Watched the first episode on the BBC iPlayer last night. Good enough introduction to those who don't know much about the Commission, or the border areas for that matter.

On at 9.30, tonight's is the second show but you should be able catch up on the iPlayer as Donagh says.