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I'm looking to buy a couple of tickets for the all Ireland qf and the semi finals. Probably will be a neutral but anyway...

I have looked on GAA.ie and ticketmaster and they both say the only ones left available are for cusack lower and hogan lower around the 21.

They are hardly sold out already so does anyone know if they decide to release only a certain few in a section at a time or what's the deal? Should I just buy these ones or wait it out for an upper cusack at half way?

Looking for a favour, but I know it's a long shot.
I don't have a passport, and was getting it renewed but the passport office say it'll be near 6 weeks, and I'm going away on holidays in two weeks time.
Does anyone have any links to the passport office that might help me, or any advice?
Flying ryanair and they need a passport so can't use the driving licence unfortunately

[NAME SHAME GAME]

The Diving Hall of Shame

NAME       SHAME        GAME

Rules are
1.1 Incident must be seconded by at least 2 other people from counties outside that counties province. That's to stop Galway people saying Mortimer dived, and Mayo people saying Joyce dived. When obviously diving doesn't occur in Connacht!
I used Galway and Mayo as an example, obviously the rule is meant for Tyrone and Armagh.
1.2 The county outside the shamed players province can not be the opposition in which the incident occured.

2. If more than 2 members question the dive from a neutral county(not involved in the game) and think the player was honest then he will be removed, (edited out).

3. If you vote you must state your county. If people don't want to state their county, then they can't vote.


P.S. It would be better if we kept this to players that have been ratified as being worthy of The Hall Of Shame. No point in diluting the message. Maybe another topic for the voting/seconding

After reading Ray Silke's column, I realised I've barely watched the Sunday game at all this year. I'm sure many others have given up on it too with that clown Spillane in the presenter's chair. The viewing figures must be on a downward spiral.

Surely the time has come for a change with the Sunday game. The presenter is terrible, a transition year student, taught by Trevor Welsh would do a better job. Some of the analysts are just pointless. What informed opinion have you ever heard McStay, Davis, Spillane, Lyons give? Compare them to Brolly, O'Rourke, and Tohill and the aforementioned quartet are a joke.

Colm O'Rourke, Joe Brolly, and Anthony Tohill are the only ones that should be kept on, and maybe ó Cinneide as a presenter who'd do a good job with his RnaG presenting background, as Ray says. There are some awful bullshitters in there now, and some lads who are just too afraid of upsetting anyone in their county or should I say constituency for O'Mahoney. It's just deteriorated ever since Spillane's puke football comment.
People in RTE must realise what people want is knowledgeable analysts who aren't afraid of upsetting their own county, or controversial for the sake of it. Or am I on my own? It's about as good as ITV sports coverage now, Tommy Lyons our Terry Venables.

I'd like to see someone like Paul Bealin if he was out of a job involved. I'm sure there's loads more football men that could do a hell of a lot better than the crowd in there now. RTÉ could afford to poach Daire O'Brien(presenter of the Hub) from Setanta too as anchor. It's shocking to think that you'd get more informed debate about a match on here than from the mugs on the Sunday Game.
Any other analysts worth getting in for the Sunday Game? 

Ray Silke The Way It Is
Best TV moment of the weekend
On Tuesday afternoon I threw the video cassette into the recorder to re-live the last frantic ten minutes of Saturday's ASll-Ireland quarter-final of the Galway versus Kilkenny clash.

It did not make pretty viewing from a Galway perspective and watching the All-Ireland champions smash home 2-4 without reply did little to lighten my mood.

However, I let the tape run on to catch the analysis with Michael Lyster, Cyril Farrell and Tomás Mulcahy and got a good laugh for my troubles.

Near the end Lyster asks Farrell: "Will Ger Loughnane stay on with Galway next year?"

Quick as a flash and with typical Rebel wit, Mulcahy pounces on the loose ball and peeling with laughter retorted; "Sure, that depends on how much they pay him".

Farrell, trying hard to hide his obvious annoyance, rebukes the uncouth and unsubstantiated remark:

"That has nothing to do with it, not down our side anyway".

The camera panned to Lyster who was rocking rather uncomfortably in the presenter's chair with a - what did you say that for look on his face.

It was a good laugh and made for some lively and spontaneous TV.

Time to ditch Spillane and Lyons from the Sunday Game:

Were you watching the Sunday Game last Sunday night?

The carry-on of Pat Spillane and Tommy Lyons was absolutely pathetic and cringe inducing.

Since Spillane introduced the term "Puke-Football" to GAA lexicon, he should be able to recognise that this was "Puke-TV".

They were like two national school boys fighting over a few sweets and the sooner both are shown the exit from the show the better for it, and us.

To start off, Lyons looked like he had fallen into a massive jar of false tan and his face had that peculiar sheen normally reserved for Tom Jones. Anthony Tohill must have arrived at the make-up room, seen Lyons, and made a bolt straight for the couch.

Lyons and Spillane started their pettiness from the get-go:

Spillane: "You went for Laois to beat Derry, Tommy". Hee hee, hee hee.

Lyon's: "You've called a few wrong in your own day too Pat."

A few minutes later after watching Donegal's annual capitulation to any team in particular, they were off again.

Spillane: "You said that Donegal would win the All-Ireland earlier in the season Tommy, what have you to say now?"

A clearly agitated Tommy replied in a – I'd love to box those big Kerry ears of you tone - "You are getting predictable now Pat".

The only thing that is predictable now on that show is that Lyons and Spillane will have a cat fight whenever they are in each other's company, and it makes for nauseating viewing.

Lyons has no real credibility in football circles and his recent rant about how the Dublin players were driven to their stupid antics in front of the Hill by thrash talking from the Laois players highlighted a complete lack of objectivity and understanding of the point being addressed.

And he also had a real cut at Spillane and Kerry that night too. It was turgid stuff.

The fact that he is often paired with the quite excellent Anthony Tohill only highlights his many inadequacies.

Tohill is eloquent, thoughtful and always has his research done.

He is in my estimation the best football pundit on the Sunday Game at this stage. Both he and the smooth talking Dara Ó Cinnéide have both been very positive recent additions to GAA coverage on RTÉ.

It is hard not to be impressed too with the passion, honesty and animated chat that Anthony Daly brings to the hurling analysis even if he finds it impossible to keep his feelings for his former manager in check.

Indeed it is time for a good shake up with the Sunday game. Some of the boys who are on the show are pure stale and have been there way too long.

When you hear a Cork pundit informing you that in his opinion Padraig Joyce and Ja Fallon were the Galway contenders for the Man-of-the-Match award after this year's Connacht final, you'd have to wonder what game he was watching.

The show badly needs some new faces and for 2008 the first two who should be given the high road are Spillane and Lyons.

The Kerry man should at the very least be removed from the presenters chair where he wants to answer all his own questions, and seems incapable of developing any point thrown up by the panellists.

The obvious replacement for Spillane in the presenter's chair is Ó Cinnéide. He is intelligent, good looking, soft spoken, charming and is prepared to listen to others which is always a plus for the presenter.

RTÉ should make that change at least next year, because I know many people and the number seems to be growing who don't watch The Sunday Game on Sunday nights anymore as they can't bear to listen to Spillane.

And based on what was on offer last Sunday night, I wouldn't disagree with them.

From todays Irish Independent
http://www.unison.ie/sportsdesk/stories.php3?ca=13&si=1797786

Mulvihill insists on 'get out' clause for Irish teams
Thursday March 22nd 2007


DOWN on the Croke Park pitch, the ground staff were busily tending the surface for Saturday's soccer international, but high up in a corporate box at the Canal End, Liam Mulvihill produced his spade and dug quite a divot in the smooth veneer of the GAA's relationship with the IRFU, FAI and Government over the renting of the stadium.

He acknowledged the "full co-operation and understanding from the IRFU and FAI" in their dealings with the GAA over the use of Croke Park, but also made it very clear that just in case anybody giddily mistook temporary for permanent in the sea of goodwill, it was time to head for the shore and outline a few realities.

Like for instance that the GAA opened Croke Park to rugby and soccer as a gesture of goodwill and not as a monetary exercise, although he acknowledged the "increased temporary revenue for the Association (around €1.5 million per game) which is both welcome and necessary."

Concerned

Mulvihill is clearly concerned that as time passes, the reasons why the GAA opened Croke Park will be forgotten, creating a danger that if they ever want to lock it again, nobody will be able to find the keys.

So, he produced the master key in his annual report which can have left nobody in any doubt that he does not intend to allow the GAA to be out-manoeuvred in any sporting or political machinations which may emerge.

He cut straight to the point. The GAA opened Croke Park so that rugby and soccer internationals didn't have to emigrate while Lansdowne Road was being redeveloped. Yes, the GAA are making big money out of the arrangement, but so too are the IRFU and FAI which is a nice reward for being stadium failures over the years.

"The reality is that the IRFU and FAI are benefiting enormously from our decision and to a far more significant degree than if they still had the use of Lansdowne Road. Contrary to much public comment, our policy in regard to use of our grounds has little to do with ideology and all to do with the practicalities of surviving and flourishing in a competitive environment. The concept of 'foreign games' is not an issue," he insisted.

Which is absolutely true for the vast majority of GAA members as espoused through the Congress decision in 2005 to amend the controversial Rule 42.

However, there's a growing view within the GAA that once Croke Park was opened to other sports, it would never close, thereby allowing rugby and soccer to use GAA facilities to boost their coffers indefinitely.

Mulvihill then took a wander down a speculative route involving possible planning difficulties at Lansdowne Road (he even mentioned a judicial review) and the impact it would have on the GAA.

"The Government has stated that if the capacity of Lansdowne Road is reduced to less than 50,000, their financial commitment will be withdrawn and the IRFU has stated that reduction of capacity below that figure will render their project unviable. In that scenario, the only option will be the provision of a stadium for rugby and soccer internationals elsewhere, with Lansdowne Road being sold at a premium rate to finance their project."

It's at that point that Mulvihill said that the GAA would have to re-consider its friendly approach to rugby and soccer.

"Our Association cannot be expected to accept a vista where the competing sporting organisations have no capital investment commitments, can exploit the value of their existing infrastructure and use our facilities as a cash cow, while investing their returns in games development," writes Mulvihill.

And then comes the equivalent of Margaret Thatcher's famous 'Out, Out, Out' remarks in 1984, arising from proposals regarding Northern Ireland.

Okay, so Mulvihill wasn't quite as strident, but his remarks were certainly unambiguous. The GAA had, he noted, shown courage, vision and commitment "to provide an infrastructure that is the envy of many."

It was time to lay the truth firmly on the line.

"We cannot be taken for granted or exploited and the other sporting organisations have an obligation in terms of provision of infrastructure to meet their needs.

Relevant

"In that context it must clearly understood that that our decision relates to Croke Park alone and is relevant only while Lansdowne Road is closed and does not include competitions such as the 'home country soccer tournament,' recently reported as being on the agenda."

He chose to conclude with a subtle dig at the IRFU, FAI and Government. "At a time when rugby's two main grounds are closed simultaneously and Dalymount is for sale, when the future of Shelbourne's ground is uncertain and when we have been excluded from the Government-funded projects in Lansdowne Road and Tallaght, this is the least we should expect."

Down on the pitch, the penalty spot was being lined up for Saturday's Ireland-Wales game while around the city IRFU, FAI and Government shins had felt the force of Mulvihill's tackles.

Anybody got a whistle?

Martin Breheny

About time someone has come out with this. Fair play to Mulvihill. It started to seem like everyone was presuming Croke Park was now the national stadium, and soccer and rugby would be there forever.