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[Gaelic football was not designed to be a possession sport. It should be a game of duels, collisions and end to end action played at fast pace. It has become anything but that due mostly to data analytics and professional coaches exploiting the rules.]

Sixty thousand empty seats in Croke Park for a Dublin Meath championship match.  What a sad state of affairs.

Sad indeed

A number of obvious reasons for it , but one thing I have to say  from watching  a numbers of games this weekend, is that  the quality of football right now is  absolutely dire

As a spectacle it really has become a poor game to watch. Ruined by over coaching and stats, the level of crowd engagement at a match has never been lower.

Yes and no.  The league final was a fantastic game. The latter stages of the AI last year were pretty compelling.  Lots of mismatches in the early stages, like every year, but that's not uncommon in sport. Look at the top 5 or 6 European soccer leagues this year, and the top teams are pretty much scunnering everyone else.

The League final was great but it was a rarity. I don't think we should be measuring it against soccer but it's almost become possession orientated in the way that soccer is. The difference is that the level of technical skill required in soccer is much higher to retain possession.

Gaelic football was not designed to be a possession sport. It should be a game of duels, collisions and end to end action played at fast pace. It has become anything but that due mostly to data analytics and professional coaches exploiting the rules.

I was thinking about this over the weekend and how the game has changed so much and not necessarily for the better. When I first started playing senior football 20 years ago it was all about your ability as a footballer - fitness was always important but was always secondary. I think nowadays you can't make it as a footballer (including club level) unless you have the fitness and athleticism to constantly bomb up and down the pitch. Positions mean less and less nowadays and stupid rules like the mark have not enhanced the game one bit. The je ne sais quoi is gone.

A fairly underwhelming performance from Armagh. Good for some players to get a bit of match fitness under the belts but for others you really have to wonder what it is they have on McGeeney. Fermanagh threw the towel in fairly early on and with no plan B were bullied into half time at which stage Armagh could see the game out without breaking a sweat. Down will be a much sterner test you'd imagine irrespective of their showing yesterday evening. A similar performance from Armagh won't do.

[rows and fallouts that might develop with players having to remind referees]

do people seriously ant to test players before letting them play?

Could be counterproductive. Imagine the rows and fallouts that might develop with players having to remind referees of the rules or pointing out every mistake or inadvertent error they make. They're only human at the end of the day and sometimes prone to making the odd gaffe.

They do anyways

Well imagine that x10 

do people seriously ant to test players before letting them play?

Could be counterproductive. Imagine the rows and fallouts that might develop with players having to remind referees of the rules or pointing out every mistake or inadvertent error they make. They're only human at the end of the day and sometimes prone to making the odd gaffe.

Dunno how it's child abuse. I know someone whose daughter now identifies as male, and has changed their name accordingly. The parents didn't ask for it, they didn't encourage/discourage it, the child came out as lesbian first but now considers themselves male. As a family they've been going to therapy to try and adjust, support their kid and do what they think is best. I haven't asked too much details but a more loving pair of parents you couldn't find.

Are there typically less public sector jobs in the South or would there be private sector jobs that have been taken over by private sector companies?

Not sure if that makes sense.. been a long day lol

Do NICS not outsource a lot of (low skilled) work now anyway? Or did I imagine that?

Is there something to be said for both teams holding their cards close to their chest for the Championship and playing fairly shite on purpose??!!

I think there's an element of that with Armagh. I refuse to believe we've been fielding our strongest team available in the league.

Get working ye lazy hoors...

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/0404/1441589-united-ireland/

The FitzGeralds, well known for their economic nous.

I'm no legal expert but surely the fact the Mrs has also been charged with aiding and abetting suggests there's a strong chance of a successful conviction?

Peaceful, where you lads been past 50yrs, Loyalists not accept it, end of. same way the IRA didn't in the 70's.The outcome will be no different, only in reverse this time.

f**king wise up.
The c***ts can barely fill a single orange lodge for their wee sea border meetings.
The most they could muster was a burnt out bus on the Shankill and some graffiti in Larne.
The best political minds they have are sectarian idiots like Bryson and Moore Holmes.
The only weapons they have are lying rusted buried somewhere near Markethill.
The actual paramilitaries themselves are fractured, divided and more concerned with the importation and sale of narcotics.
They won't have the state on hand to turn a blind eye, facilitate or actively participate in murdering Catholics like they did before.
They couldn't match the IRA at the peak of the Troubles with all the help they could get, they'll hardly emulate them now.

Wonder what prominent solicitor would take this on? JF? lol

Probably his own solicitor I'd imagine.

So why is a pint in Belfast £6+?
Is it solely because of some imaginary cabal price gouging (see Beannchor) or is there actually more to it?

Belfast city centre pubs pay 20% VAT, in Dublin it's 13.5% (was 9%). UKGov refuses to reduce VAT for hospitality & tourism.

There is no rates relief in Belfast city centre (or NI) for hospitality businesses that is available elsewhere in the UK. So when the council raise their non-domestic rates, pubs and restaurants here get slaughtered.

Despite handsome profits last year, Diageo have announced their latest price increase - this is the one that makes the news but other breweries and suppliers have also put their prices up in the past 12 months.

Many Belfast city centre pubs employ people on minimum wage. When that goes up next month, they will be paying their bar staff more. They then have to pay supervisors, managers etc more as well. If they hire external contractors such as a cleaning company, that bill will also increase.

Wetherspoons, despite being a messy, under-staffed, McDonald's that serves alcohol and cheap, nasty food, has still increased prices twice in the last 6 months. The industry is fucked.

I was in Belfast over the weekend and plenty of hoardings up around construction sites for new "coming soon" bars, restaurants etc. You'd think Belfast is a saturated market but business owners must think there is profit to be made from the tourist sector in particular.

They'll be heavily backed by whatever group they're owned by so not as much risk attached, compare that

So why is a pint in Belfast £6+?
Is it solely because of some imaginary cabal price gouging (see Beannchor) or is there actually more to it?

Belfast city centre pubs pay 20% VAT, in Dublin it's 13.5% (was 9%). UKGov refuses to reduce VAT for hospitality & tourism.

There is no rates relief in Belfast city centre (or NI) for hospitality businesses that is available elsewhere in the UK. So when the council raise their non-domestic rates, pubs and restaurants here get slaughtered.

Despite handsome profits last year, Diageo have announced their latest price increase - this is the one that makes the news but other breweries and suppliers have also put their prices up in the past 12 months.

Many Belfast city centre pubs employ people on minimum wage. When that goes up next month, they will be paying their bar staff more. They then have to pay supervisors, managers etc more as well. If they hire external contractors such as a cleaning company, that bill will also increase.

Wetherspoons, despite being a messy, under-staffed, McDonald's that serves alcohol and cheap, nasty food, has still increased prices twice in the last 6 months. The industry is fucked.

Bollocks

As someone pointed out, Beannchor Group posted a 5m (net... I repeat net) profit after tax on a 28m turnover in 2022.

They are printing money

And wanting an already underfunded BCC to put the cherry on top

Beannchor are the cabal. They can set prices to whatever they want in their establishments and people will pay it. A few others often follow suit but that's a lot different to saying the Downeys, Conlons etc are all in on it.

The size of the Beannchor group is largely irrelevant

If they "can set prices to whatever they want in their establishments and people will pay it" then why can't others?

It's not as if the people of Belfast flock to Bill Wolsey's pubs out of love for the man

That's like saying if Diaego announce a price increase, why don't Heineken? Or Tennents?

The size of the group is very much relevant, more so when they have 3 or 4 outlets slap bang in the Cathedral Quarter - two of which happen to be arguably the most popular bars in Belfast. If all 4 start charging a premium for a pint and one outlet struggles (unlikely), it's no major problem as it can be easily offset by the other 3 that are probably raking it in.

The Downeys might hypothetically see the Dirty Onion next door up their prices and think they want a slice of the action, and both bars will probably get away with it. That's not the same as them all sitting around with Colin Neill at the head of the table deciding how much the next price increase will be, as some people seem to suggest.

So why is a pint in Belfast £6+?
Is it solely because of some imaginary cabal price gouging (see Beannchor) or is there actually more to it?

Belfast city centre pubs pay 20% VAT, in Dublin it's 13.5% (was 9%). UKGov refuses to reduce VAT for hospitality & tourism.

There is no rates relief in Belfast city centre (or NI) for hospitality businesses that is available elsewhere in the UK. So when the council raise their non-domestic rates, pubs and restaurants here get slaughtered.

Despite handsome profits last year, Diageo have announced their latest price increase - this is the one that makes the news but other breweries and suppliers have also put their prices up in the past 12 months.

Many Belfast city centre pubs employ people on minimum wage. When that goes up next month, they will be paying their bar staff more. They then have to pay supervisors, managers etc more as well. If they hire external contractors such as a cleaning company, that bill will also increase.

Wetherspoons, despite being a messy, under-staffed, McDonald's that serves alcohol and cheap, nasty food, has still increased prices twice in the last 6 months. The industry is fucked.

I was in Belfast over the weekend and plenty of hoardings up around construction sites for new "coming soon" bars, restaurants etc. You'd think Belfast is a saturated market but business owners must think there is profit to be made from the tourist sector in particular.

They'll be heavily backed by whatever group they're owned by so not as much risk attached, compare that

So why is a pint in Belfast £6+?
Is it solely because of some imaginary cabal price gouging (see Beannchor) or is there actually more to it?

Belfast city centre pubs pay 20% VAT, in Dublin it's 13.5% (was 9%). UKGov refuses to reduce VAT for hospitality & tourism.

There is no rates relief in Belfast city centre (or NI) for hospitality businesses that is available elsewhere in the UK. So when the council raise their non-domestic rates, pubs and restaurants here get slaughtered.

Despite handsome profits last year, Diageo have announced their latest price increase - this is the one that makes the news but other breweries and suppliers have also put their prices up in the past 12 months.

Many Belfast city centre pubs employ people on minimum wage. When that goes up next month, they will be paying their bar staff more. They then have to pay supervisors, managers etc more as well. If they hire external contractors such as a cleaning company, that bill will also increase.

Wetherspoons, despite being a messy, under-staffed, McDonald's that serves alcohol and cheap, nasty food, has still increased prices twice in the last 6 months. The industry is fucked.

Bollocks

As someone pointed out, Beannchor Group posted a 5m (net... I repeat net) profit after tax on a 28m turnover in 2022.

They are printing money

And wanting an already underfunded BCC to put the cherry on top

Beannchor are the cabal. They can set prices to whatever they want in their establishments and people will pay it. A few others often follow suit but that's a lot different to saying the Downeys, Conlons etc are all in on it.

So why is a pint in Belfast £6+?
Is it solely because of some imaginary cabal price gouging (see Beannchor) or is there actually more to it?

Belfast city centre pubs pay 20% VAT, in Dublin it's 13.5% (was 9%). UKGov refuses to reduce VAT for hospitality & tourism.

There is no rates relief in Belfast city centre (or NI) for hospitality businesses that is available elsewhere in the UK. So when the council raise their non-domestic rates, pubs and restaurants here get slaughtered.

Despite handsome profits last year, Diageo have announced their latest price increase - this is the one that makes the news but other breweries and suppliers have also put their prices up in the past 12 months.

Many Belfast city centre pubs employ people on minimum wage. When that goes up next month, they will be paying their bar staff more. They then have to pay supervisors, managers etc more as well. If they hire external contractors such as a cleaning company, that bill will also increase.

Wetherspoons, despite being a messy, under-staffed, McDonald's that serves alcohol and cheap, nasty food, has still increased prices twice in the last 6 months. The industry is fucked.

Guinness sales are through the roof.
All sorts of hipsters, young 20 somethings, young girls etc are drinking it nowadays. All sorts of social media accounts are set up rating pints of Guinness, instagram, TikTok, Twitter etc - basically doing the marketing for them. Diageo are just sticking the hand in while they can.