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For Galway hurlers it has to be 1980.

The footballers on the other hand wouldn't have any particular year- they have more of a feeling of a right to win once they get in the mood .

I came across this article recently. Bernard Flynn, the Meath ligind, had a hip replacement at age 44. Shocking. Are there any other former stars of the game paying such a heavy price in wear and tear only a few years after hanging up the boots?   

http://www.tribune.ie/article/2009/dec/06/one-on-one-bernard-flynn-former-meath-great/?q=bernard%20flynn

I was surprised that he only won 2 all-stars. To me he was the best of the Meath forwards back in the day.

What happened to him anyway ?

I thought Waherford would be better than that. Or maybe Galway are simply magnificent..

How do you view the posts, BnM? Have you diversified away totally from turf now ? 

There's no Christy Ring cup in fuball.

Apparently the way things are going in the publishing world mean it will be possible shortly to publish very limited numbers of books on very non mainstream topics which beforehand would have been rejected on the basis of cost. I wonder if Kev Cashman might be a candidate.   

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23683

When the 12th imam comes back to earth to lead the Shia  he will be accompanied by a manager for Mayo who will
bring the county to the promised land. There will be an end to all hype and non-firing forwards and the world will enter a golden phase where all Mayo tears will turn into laughter.

Kevin Cashman used to write amazing pieces on hurling in the Sunday Tribune. I remember reading his stuff in the days when Galway would beat anyone, when they were still hurling at the back end of august. Is there any book or place on the internet where his articles are compiled ?

12 years is enough time for a county to start at the beginning and give it bhfaca tu with a development plan that takes a group of 10 year olds or several groups and builds a hurling infrastructure for them and takes them through all the underage groups and up to minor and u-21 and beyond. There is no reason why any county that wasn't interested couldn't put a structure in place that would deliver an All-Ireland in 12 years. You would have to be fadbraithnitheach which goes against all the thinking in most of the sporting world but if you look at football clubs that do it , it's do-able. Even Mayo could win an all-Ireland in hurling if they got organised.  If not in 12 years, after how many years? a lot of it is in the head innit. How many counties build year after year ? Very few. It's more slash and burn.     

They shot themselves in the feet over in dubai by the looks of things. Wouldn't hit Clery's window wirra politically effective brick as they say in Dublin, (sort of).  Did you ever see pictures left behind after an IRA or UDA murder?   

Cork will definitely come back and Tipp should win a few all-Irelands. KK will probably win at least 4. If Galway can manage one they could be good for a few more but it's a big ask to get the heads right.  Maybe playing in Leinster will add the missing ingredient.  I'd love to see King's county getting back into the groove and Wexford or Dublin too. 

[Turk's poem]

Turk's poem
(from about 2001, I think)

I remember it well.

This type of material from the past will end up in a university archive somewhere like in Minnesota and there will be summer schools dedicated to it eventually.

I read somewhere that since 1998 the all-Irelands have been split as follows : 7 to the cats, 4 to the Rebels and 1 to tipp.
7 is some haul in such a short time period , only 1 short of the combined historical achievement of Galway and Offaly added together. 

How do you think the next 12 all-Irelands will be split ? Have Offaly or Galway or any of the other triers got a hope of getting their shit together or will it be another 12 years of the Old Firm ?

I came across a listing for the Tyrone under 15 development squad that featured a player called
Karsan Varsani (Naomh Mhuire). How many counties have promising under age lads who would have roots in other countries such as Poland, India or wherever ? Is there likely to be a decent contingent of these players in the next 10 years or so ?   

http://www.tyronegaa.ie/county/football/news/story.jsp?newsid=935