Topics

The political leaders North and South have been talking about the 'green shoots of recovery' for a couple of years now but its hard to see which fields these green shoots are appearing in.

Fuel is now £1.50/litre and rising

First class stamp 60p

High unemployment

Water charges about to be introduced with our water system privatised

Health service a mess - focus now on private health insurance

Legal Aid being removed thus restricting access to courts

All the while the Government saw fit to reduce tax rates for high earners, introduce the new NHS bill and continue spending millions on wars in foreign lands.

I can't help but think that if this was in the 1960's or 1970's citizens would be protesting on the streets. Today it seems that so long as Facebook is still online and there is alcohol in the shops the majority of people will just continue to go about their business.
My question is do we really care? Or do we have the representatives we deserve.

Anyone know of any good Irish Traditional Bands that have their music on itunes?

All the household names are there (the furies etc) but theres alot more bands about that don't seem to be mentioned. any ideas?

when are they going to learn?

they decide to break with tradition which has lasted for longer than anyone can remember and hold presentations on the pitch for "safety reasons". the gaa are the only organisation i know that can carry out something for safety reasons and almost cause a national diisaster.

with all the excitement among supporters there seemed to be an awful crush with everone trying to break onto the pitch side. had they not have opened the gates when they did there could have been serious injuries. when are they going to learn that a few hundred stewards will not be able to safely hold back thousands of people. lucky there doesnt seem to have been any serious injuries.

glad to see the presentation taking place in the stand. every single person that was asked said it was a stupid idea yet they still persisted. they are just lucky that consequences were not much worse.

Question is - will they learn in time for the football? or could they be stupid enough to try it again?

I believe the All Ireland intermediate 7's are due to take place in Ratoath Co Meath on 19th September.

I know a few guys playing in it this year. Just wondering will there be much craic around Ratoath club that night or would it be better to head into Dublin.

Anyone else planning to attend?

A friend of mine (Antrim fan) is heading to Abu Dhabi next week and so will miss the ulster final. does anyone know where the best place would be for him to watch the game live on tv?

any help greatly appreciated!

Anyone want a ticket for tomorrow nights gig at kings hall belfast?

anyone know of any reputable sites where you can buy notre dame merchandise? i see there are a good few sites but would prefer using one if i knew someone had used it before. also need one that posts to the emerald isle.

thought i saw a thread on this somewhere before but counldnt find it.

do any of your clubs use the bulk text message facility?
i know Jordanstown use it to good effect.

is it a good job / does it make sense economically?

it was mooted as a possible way of better communication in the club. i think it would be a good job, was just wondering what other people's experiences with it were.

[so if anyone knows of someone living in and around that area and would be interested in playing feel free to contact me. my own club is football only but there are two hurling clubs nearby.]

Right lads tried this nearly exactly a year ago, not much success then but im going to try it again anyway.

As most of the Northern posters know the population of towns such as Banbridge and Dromore (and surrounding areas) have been growing rapidly for a number of years now, mainly due to the relative proximity to belfast and the A1 Road.

It has been brought to my attention that there are quite a few lads from the south living in the area as well as a good few lads from other parts of down and armagh. most of these lads would hardly know there was a football or hurling club in the area, especially if they are living in the town centre.

so if anyone knows of someone living in and around that area and would be interested in playing feel free to contact me. my own club is football only but there are two hurling clubs nearby.

the hurling clubs especially are looking for players as they are quite low on numbers.

some posters seem to be obsessed with pointing to instances of hypocrisy within gaa circles as a way of justifying the argument that Inter county players should be paid. a few of us have been doing our best to make them realise that although there are glaring instances of hypocrisy throughout the gaa which need to be rectified immediately, this cannot be used as a reason to justify payments to players.

so i have started this thread so as to have a place to  identify instances of hypocrisy in the gaa and how we can go about getting rid of them.

watched the match from the nally terrace yesterday and must say its not a bad place to watch the match from. however, it was a disaster waiting to happen yesterday. all stairways were full to capacity before the senior game started. it was impossible to get in or out had anything went wrong. had someone took a heart attck during the senior game it would have been impossible for medical personel to get to them quickly. stewards were doing their best but had no option but to allow people to stand in the exits etc as they had nowhere else to go. i think this is something which definitely needs to be looked at.

was also disappointed with the behaviour of some of the stewards at the end of the match yesterday.

would a letter to croker do any good?

it has been drawn to my attention that there has been a huge influx of players into the west down area over the past couple of years, both from other parts of county down and from other counties. it seems that this area has become an ideal place to set up home for those who commute to and from belfast each day.
however, it appears that most of these players (particularly those from the south) seem reluctant to join one of the local clubs, perhaps because of the way in which the area is generally perceived, i.e. it is perceived by most onlookers as a unionist area with little gaa support. i suppose we cant really blame them for that as clubs in this area are not well publicised. i also realise that perhaps the clubs in this area do not compete at the highest standard

does anyone know of any players living in and around the area?
how would we go about attracting people to play gaelic games in this area.