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Love this...

https://twitter.com/CahairOKane1/status/978946001934446592

https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2018/0305/945243-is-the-ireland-rugby-team-the-new-jacks-army/

The insufferable Daire O'Brien intimated that rugby was now the people's game on Against the Head the other night. I say he is delighted that such click bait provoked the response it did.

While it's pretty obvious to anyone that rugby is nowhere the people's sport, it's the strongest professional domestic game by a mile and it's international dimension ensures good ratings and nationalistic pride every spring and once every 4 years so as far as a good bandwagon goes yep it's well up there on the people's game ratings.

However as regards playing numbers and partcipation levels god no, Cork would have more GAA clubs than there is rugby clubs in all of Ireland and Kildare has roughly the same number of GAA clubs as there is Rugby clubs in all of Leinster.

But most intelligent people know all this so yet I was still amazed at the social media response and the amount of on-line polls that sprung up. Are people really that insecure about their own sport and passions that they need to take the pitch forks out?

We're a country that loves sport, sorry watching it as participation numbers are dropping across all levels, that's where the ire should be not whether rugby is the people's game..

I am a luddite when it comes to cars, it's always just about getting from A to B but thinking about buying a new car so looking for advice..

Thinking SUV or Station Wagon. I coach football and rugby so on the go all year with balls, cones bibs etc. Also have 2 young kids and a dog, so even weekends away require lots of bags.

So really looking for a good sized car/SUV, nice spec but crucially good value to run and maintain.

So if anyone has any suggestions or can point me towards a website it will be much appreciated.

Also is PCP finance a viable option?

Newspapers are really dying 

  http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/columnists/kieran-shannon/kieran-shannon-theres-no-acceptable-cynicism-lets-black-ball-the-offenders-459778.html 

Really good column about cynicism and a possible solution. Amusing to see how precious Dublin supporters have remarkably become, some were calling it anti-Dublin.

https://www.balls.ie/gaa/croke-park-internet-connectivity-372606

So this is corporate GAA's idea of improving the Croke Park experience, couldn't be any more corporate. We need to get kids away from their devices and start living in the moment and capture it in their minds not on their phones.

To me the Croke Park Experience is

1. Overpriced tickets
2. Crap atmosphere
3. Expensive Parking
4. Crap food at all levels

I have serious Croke Park fatigue, Corporate GAA have sucked the joy out of the stadium. Provincial grounds so much better. My highlight of the summer was kicking a football around with my son and daughter in O'Connor Park after the Kildare/Meath game. That was an experience and a memory.

Have to say he's a top footballer, pleasure to watch this year. A modern day redemption..

Definitely getting worse...1st Cork goal the latest...

So if RTE had a dedicated sports channel/s with exclusive rights to all GAA club and county, all Rugby PRO12/European and International, League of Ireland and International Soccer, Horse Racing, Basketball, Cricket, Show Jumping, Athletics, Cycling, Boxing, Rowing etc etc would you pay for the service?

Looking for a new role for the first time in 10 years.

So far my experience of recruiters has been horrific, no investment in you, poor communication and the feeling that you are literally just a piece of meat.

Would depress you...

Live on TV this weekend so probably deserves it's own thread so everyone can tell us how shit Leinster football is.

Neil Flynn is reported as a possibility for the weekend, can't see him starting but with him and Paddy Brophy in the wings Kildare will have even more impact off the bench.

The Meath HS forum are being very cocky but then Meath always expect to beat Kildare but the ability to ignore the hammering in the League and our underage dominance over them is remarkable some would say even arrogant. So we know Meath don't fear Kildare.

Meath have issues with their full back line, whether it's personnel or system they gave up an awful lot of goal chances against Louth and Paddy O'Rourke would not inspire me. Both teams are quite pacey so should cancel each other out but I think Kildare are more powerful around the middle 8, Byrne, Conway Cribben*2 Doyle and Moolick provide physicality and Kelly and Feely are more style. Kildare are susceptible to being ran at so if we can tighten those channels with maybe Moolick dropping back in addition to Conway's and P Cribben's workrate I give us a very good chance at limiting goal opportunities. Lyons is expected to pick up probably the form forward in the country Graham Reilly so with Lyins good going forward it might be a case of trying to get Reilly out of position to nullify his influence.

Kildare to win it's really about nullifying O'Sullivan and Reilly while limiting goal chances, I think Kildare have a much better range of scorers so if it goes to a shootout Kildare have artillery on the bench Brophy, Flynn, Dowling and Healy all capable of scoring 2 or 3 points from play.

Going to call it early before anxiety takes over. Kildare by 3.

1st Round

21/5/2017
Louth v Wicklow Parnell Park
Laois v Longford O'Moore Park
Carlow v Wexford Dr Cullen

Q/F

3/6/2017
Carlow/Wexford v Dublin O'Moore Park/Wexford Park

4/6/2017
Louth/Wicklow v Meath Parnell Park/Aughrim
Laois/Longford v Kildare O'Connor Park

11/6/2017
Offaly v Westmeath O'Connor Park

Obviously Dublin are going to win it but Louth, Kildare and Meath will all fancy meeting them in the final, all had good league campaigns. The possible Louth v Meath quarter is hard to call, Louth with a 1st round game under their belt will fancy it. Kildare should be too strong for Longford who I fancy to beat a Laois side low on confidence. Offaly/Westmeath will be tight but Westmeath are a good championship side and had a good league albeit in division 4 and that defeat to Armagh will haunt this Offaly side. Wouldn't be surprised to see Carlow win the south east derby but would fear for either in their quarter-final.

Should see a few more Leinster teams than normal in round three of the qualifiers.

Looking forward to the usual attacking football. The way the game should be played. 

Anyone?

As someone with soon to be a 9 year old daughter I am always looking out for female role models. In the sporting terms or any term in Ireland we don't seem to have many, who are the leading female role models in Ireland?

Also I know this is probably the wrong forum as it's 99% male but curious is there female role models that cross gender...

Before someone suggests her, Katie Taylor to me is not a great role model, I find her inarticulate and too much hype involved a very very minority sport.

Conversely I find someone like Aisling Thompson very inspiring and articulate. Her ability on the camoige field and her campaign around mental health and suicide, to me that's inspiring...

Good to be back home.

Outright Betting    

Cork 7/4
Galway 3/1
Meath 11/2
Kildare 6/1
Derry 15/2
Down 12/1
Fermanagh 14/1
Clare 20/1

Kildare are closer to Clare than Cork and themselves and Down should probably be the 2 favourites for relegation but Kildare punters are a bit too loyal. In saying that hard to call a winner, so whoever gets a bit of momentum early on should get promoted 9/10 points to do the trick. 

Welcome to Dublin Club football. Jesus wept!!!

My grandmother was from Tubber Hill in Westport so slighly biased but i think Mayo will squeeze home by 2.

As requested and probably long overdue.

Battle of the Bastard's was pretty epic I thought.

Very good interview with the director here.

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/06/19/game-thrones-battle-director

He's also doing next week's episode.

More stats here

http://gaelicstats.com/football-county-squad-sizes/

Very interesting article. Not just reflective of football or sport but life in general. Just look at the on-line reaction to the Making A Murderer and how a 400K signature petition was raised...

http://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/premier-league/2015-2016/fergie-wouldn-t-have-survived-digital-age-where-managers-are-treated-as-criminals_sto5064849/story.shtml