Messages

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GAA Discussion / Re: Greatest player never to win an all Ireland

« on: January 10, 2023, 03:33:17 PM »

 Dermot Earley Snr

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GAA Discussion / Re: "The GAA at local level is the very heart of the Irish person"

« on: December 22, 2022, 03:21:06 PM »

Sport in Ireland is really about different tribes. Especially in the North, but also in the South.

Dublin is an interesting example. Pre Kevin Heffernan, Dublin teams were usually backboned by people from the country.
Dublin now is probably majority culchie so the GAA side is self propelling.

Rugby has made some inroads beyond its traditional bastions. Eg Tullow

It's hard for non traditional soccer teams to stay in the Premier Division. Even Cork soccer has gone through a number of reorganisations over the years.
The League of Ireland roll of honour probably wouldn't surprise anyone from a century ago.

The biggest problem facing all male sports is not lads choosing to play a rival sport. It's general disinterest and laziness among a lot of the "Playstation generation".
And to add to that you can factor in the amount of lads who just want to play sport casually (e.g. 5 a side on the astroturf) or do their own thing as in gym, running, cycling without actually joining a club in any sport.
I wouldn't have figures to hand but just anecdotally in my home county Laois, there's a huge drop off in the number of junior soccer clubs, the two local rugby clubs now struggle to put out a second team whereas they used to have thirds and sometimes fourths and GAA clubs that used to have three teams have two or had two teams and now have one.
Women's sports actually seem to be doing quite well and growing.

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GAA Discussion / Re: Top 3 all Ireland-less clubs who deserve to win one

« on: November 12, 2022, 10:15:06 AM »

Rathnure. Lost 5 All-Ireland finals.
And Mount Leinster Rangers.

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Laois / Re: 2023 National Football League Division 4

« on: November 10, 2022, 10:32:40 PM »

these fixtures are not confirmed yet so take care lads.

The London one is set in stone though as apparently teams have to know well in advance to plan travel.
Book the flights!🙂

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GAA Discussion / Re: GAA doing a deal with SkySports

« on: October 26, 2022, 04:31:52 PM »

Any guesses as to what a GAAGo annual pass will cost? Think it was €120 last year.

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Laois / Re: Laois Intermediate Football Championship 2022

« on: October 26, 2022, 03:46:13 PM »

It also re emphasises the need to revamp our intermediate championship. Sending our 17th rank team to compete isn't doing us any favours in the Leinster intermediate championship.

Wouldn't disagree with that. Offaly's 9th ranked team (Bracknagh) were in the same competition. Same as Fenagh in Carlow.

Might be OK for bigger, mainly one code counties to send their 13th or 17th ranked team like Kildare, Meath, Kilkenny do, but it isn't doing us any favours.

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Laois / Re: Senior Hurlers 2022

« on: October 26, 2022, 03:31:40 PM »

Anyone know how things are going with the new manager etc.

News on new fella's in or lads not willing to commit for next year?

From listening to him n the podcast he was ready to get going

Through no fault of his own, he's probably playing catch up a bit. He's probably secretly hoping C/B don't have a huge run in the Leinster club! Billy probably hoping the same with Port!
Are we playing the same 5 teams in the league? i.e. Waterford, Antrim, Dublin, Tipp and Kilkenny?

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Laois / Re: Laois Intermediate Football Championship 2022

« on: October 22, 2022, 08:07:02 PM »

Really expected The Heath to go well in Leinster. Just goes to show the value of a home draw in those games. Hopefully there isn't a repeat for Port tomorrow.

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Laois / Re: Laois Senior Football Championship 2022

« on: October 10, 2022, 03:58:38 PM »

We have to get 7 or 8 of that Port team in with Laois this winter or we're wasting our time.
We simply can't afford to be without the likes of Piggott, Byrne and Colm Murphy and we should also be asking in 3 or 4 more of them on top of O'Sullivan and Mohan who were there this year.

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Laois / Re: Laois Senior Football Championship 2022

« on: October 07, 2022, 12:26:22 AM »

I just think Port are a bit ahead of O'Dempseys as a team. Wouldn't rule out O'Dempseys winning it but think it might take them another year or two.

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Laois / Re: Laois Senior Hurling Championship 2022

« on: October 05, 2022, 03:38:53 PM »

CB away to Dublin champions in 1st round of Leinster. Very difficult to see them having a similar run to last season and they won’t be underestimated this time around. Wish them the best of luck though.

I fancy Abbeyleix to have a real run at the Leinster intermediate though. They’ve a good draw and have a pathway through to the final as I think they avoid KK/Dublin/Wexford side. Hopefully they give a good account of themselves at Senior next year as well.

Just looked at the fixtures there, looks like CB will have the harder run in Leinster again like last year. Dublin champs, Wexford champs and you assume BHS would be awaiting them in the final if they were to get through those ties. It would be very hard to take all those scalps again this year.

Very tough draw for CB alright. But they are becoming a very experienced outfit and I think they'll give the Dublin champs plenty of it.
Just hard to see Leinster not being won by Kilkenny champions.

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Laois / Re: Senior Hurlers 2022

« on: October 03, 2022, 11:05:56 PM »

It’s not the point.
There was sufficient time to get the right man.
Nobody is suggesting rushing for the sake of it/giving the job to anybody at all who wants it.

But

You’d hope that the selection committee and CB are at least privately acknowledging that the process ran on too long.
Identifying why.
Intending that this won’t happen the next time etc.

Anybody involved who cannot acknowledge that the length of time it took (& the public manner in which Maher was offered the job) made the process look very amateurish/desperate shouldn’t be involved again.

It was the same when the current football management was put in place. Missed most of the senior championship.
I know it seems like Maher is a good appointment and hopefully he does a brilliant job but it really could have happened a bit sooner surely.

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Laois / Re: Laois Senior Football Championship 2022

« on: September 27, 2022, 07:18:20 PM »

I’m convinced that The Heath would beat that Courtwood team there today . It dosent bode well for the standard of football in the county when you have a team that poor getting to a senior semi final . In no other county in Ireland would that Courtwood team of got to a senior semi final bar maybe in some of the poorer division 4 counties .

Look, you're probably not a million miles out. If we draw The Heath next year, we'll have it all to do to beat them. I'm still convinced there's not that much between 13 or 14 of the senior teams.
The Heath went down last year after losing to Emo by a last minute goal and Emo went to the semi-final. Teams sometimes get a bit of impetus like that.
I'm also convinced that we're a good bit better than how we played on Sunday but maybe some of that is down to how well O'D's played. All I know is we were desperately disappointed afterwards and even though another poster said we'd be happy with our year on reflection, it still feels like a chance missed and to partly agree with your original point, we might get it damn hard to get back to another semi-final.

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Laois / Re: Laois Senior Football Championship 2022

« on: September 12, 2022, 11:09:11 AM »

https://www.leinsterexpress.ie/news/local-news/904578/anything-other-than-the-delaney-cup-is-a-failure-the-big-interview-with-graiguecullen-manager-kevin-doogue.html

Don't know Kevin personally but he sure could do with a few basic tips on management after doing an interview like that this week.

I wouldn't know him either but I think picking one little throwaway phrase in a long interview and using it as the headline didn't reflect the interview as a whole.

A lot of this "pin it on the dressing room wall" stuff is a bit overrated but teams are always looking some edge to hang on to. I know Courtwood didn't like being written off by virtually everyone but it's easy be wise after the event. Our form had been pretty poor up until yesterday to be fair.

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GAA Discussion / Re: Best / distinguished Minor Footballers of all time

« on: July 26, 2022, 11:23:46 PM »

Brian "Beano" McDonald. 3 Leinster minor medals 1996 to 1998. 3 All-Ireland finals 1996 to 1998, winning the first 2 out of the 3.