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Messages - clonadmad

#31
General discussion / Re: RTE crisis
July 06, 2023, 06:54:25 PM
And no doubt once BIK was paid on the free Car

There won't be any issue
#32
Laois / Re: The Future for Laois Football
July 05, 2023, 02:03:36 PM
Quote from: thegreeenandgold on July 05, 2023, 12:45:12 PM
Portlaoise a very diverse town,  I just don't think it's as straightforward as going into Schools.  Knockbeg is a very different demographic.

Everywhere is diverse nowadays and we should be appealing to the diverse nowadays too which we aren't doing either in this county

Its not a question of sending in county players to promote the game once or twice a year

most if nearly all the lads in there wouldn't recognize them and its a handy way of saying we are doing something when we are doing nothing in reality

All the CBS have to do if they are bothered (and I really think they arent arsed) is to look across the campus at the girls school and see and then copy the hard daily work that the likes of Pat Critchley and John Scully amongst many others are doing

I know of one Clare Hurler who wanted to work in Portlaoise as a secondary teacher and in the months after winning the 2013 All Ireland was interviewed by the CBS

He didn't get job and it later transpired that the people interviewing didn't know that he was involved in the GAA

Hes been very successful since in both codes in another school outside of Laois
#33
Laois / Re: The Future for Laois Football
July 05, 2023, 10:11:56 AM
Quote from: steven seagal on July 05, 2023, 08:57:01 AM
Scoil Chríost Rí go around to the local primary schools in June and do a training session with the 6th class girls to see what type of players are coming into them the following September. I think they even take a look at the 5th class kids too, to plan a year ahead. Great commitment in fairness to them, having Critchley involved obviously helps now that he's retired and can give even more time to it, but teaching staff in the school obviously buying in too. I don't think there's any real emphasis put on sport in the CBS, at least from an outsider looking in.

I've a nephew going into Leaving Cert this year in the CBS

1 example from last year

Football training was sporadic and poor before last Christmas

After Christmas someone came up with the genius idea of having the senior and junior teams train together

So you had lads who were playing club senior football playing on the one pitch v some lads a year out of u13

The older lads were terrified of killing the younger lads and the younger lads were wary of getting in the way of the older lads with the result that a lot in both age groups walked away.

And the Hurling Training was an even bigger Joke.

In any county if you want to develop top level players you need 3 legs

Clubs that are coaching lads to the required level

Then the Schools which are a step up again

And then the development squad system
#34
Laois / Re: The Future for Laois Football
July 04, 2023, 10:32:33 PM
Quote from: The PRO on July 04, 2023, 04:56:24 PM
Quote from: BallyroanAbbey on July 03, 2023, 05:41:55 PM
Completely agree about the schools with exception of Knockbeg there seems to be little to no emphasis on schools football in Laois
We need to have the CBS in Portlaoise and Portarlington either competitive in the A or winning B competitions, Heywood should be consistently in the B too
Clonaslee and Mountmellic have probably too small a pick but again this is where a combined Laois schools team for schools outside the A  is needed to give lads an opportunity to play at the highest level

A lot of Laois GAA is currently centred around geography unfortunately
You're 100% right about the secondary schools.
However, from talking to guys I know who teach secondary, the biggest issue they have is getting cover for their classes from non- sports minded colleagues when they're trying to arrange games or training.
I know myself when I played at that level, not today or yesterday, training was either at lunchtime or after school finished for the day. And games were often on the weekends.

You'd wonder how successful schools in other counties manage

Portlaoise CBS has close on 900 boys enrolled, is one of if not the biggest Second Level boys schools in the Country and GAA is on its knees in there.

You have academic years of 150 odd lads in there and 10% might play Schools GAA

Compare and Contrast with their female partner school on the same campus using the same facilities, they feature regularly in Leinster Finals and All Irelands across a number of Sports,Scoil Chriost Ri.

Maybe the secret could be the amount of training they put in, even during the summer months and other Holidays.
#35
Laois / Re: Tailteann Cup 2023
June 28, 2023, 04:50:22 PM
Quote from: Zooming around on June 28, 2023, 03:27:11 PM
Quote from: clonadmad on June 28, 2023, 02:12:17 PM
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on June 28, 2023, 01:29:08 PM
As is the case in most clubs, those in power are there because nobody else wants to do the job. Those with ability have little interest and with some exceptions, those with interest have little ability.

Look at Offaly - who have a visionary like Michael Duignan willing to take apart the old guard and inspire a new group of volunteers to step up. We can all say that 'things need to change' but people need to step up and be encouraged to do so. The insiders in the CB know that too well.


Duignan was the fugurehead for change in Offaly

But he was cute enough to know if he went in on his own

The system would swallow him whole

Instead he gathered 8-10 well qualified people to go in with him

Even at that it took 2 conventions and a lot of blood spilt to get all the right people in

Similar is needed here

A well known and reputable person to gather a cabinet


Who are ya thinking of? Niall Rigney maybe?

Say he's your Duignan

Who's your next 6/7/8 people in the Cabinet ?

Who is the Laois equivalent of Carina Carroll?

#36
Laois / Re: Tailteann Cup 2023
June 28, 2023, 02:12:17 PM
Quote from: blueandwhite1 on June 28, 2023, 01:29:08 PM
As is the case in most clubs, those in power are there because nobody else wants to do the job. Those with ability have little interest and with some exceptions, those with interest have little ability.

Look at Offaly - who have a visionary like Michael Duignan willing to take apart the old guard and inspire a new group of volunteers to step up. We can all say that 'things need to change' but people need to step up and be encouraged to do so. The insiders in the CB know that too well.


Duignan was the fugurehead for change in Offaly

But he was cute enough to know if he went in on his own

The system would swallow him whole

Instead he gathered 8-10 well qualified people to go in with him

Even at that it took 2 conventions and a lot of blood spilt to get all the right people in

Similar is needed here

A well known and reputable person to gather a cabinet
#37
Laois / Re: Tailteann Cup 2023
June 28, 2023, 02:08:31 PM
There's an onus on clubs to step up also as regards facilities

How many clubs in Laois have stands?

How many clubs in Laois have decent floodlights?

How many clubs in Laois have scoreboards?

How many clubs in Laois have decent level playing surfaces?

You go to most of our neighbours and clubs are well equipped and well appointed

It's not all the clubs fault here at the same time as in those other counties,they don't have all their club games rammed into the county ground

Instead games are played in the club grounds and those clubs get some of the gate which they invest back into their facilities

Club games for so many different reasons need to be taken out of OMP and played in grounds around the county

#38
Laois / Re: Tailteann Cup 2023
June 28, 2023, 11:49:05 AM
Here's the 2018-2020 Plan

https://laoisgaa.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Laois-GAA-Strategic-and-Action-Plan-2018-2020.pdf

Scroll down to page 19 to see how many of these have been implemented and these should have all been implemented 3 years ago at this point
#39
Laois / Re: Tailteann Cup 2023
June 28, 2023, 10:55:53 AM
Quote from: Chrimtain on June 28, 2023, 09:51:10 AM
The silence from the County Board is deafening. We need to hear from them. Their reaction to Sunday's debacle should not be kept behind closed doors. They need to talk to the wider Laois GAA public.

They owe it to the people who buy the jerseys, the match day tickets, even those who support Laois GAA by entering the All County Draw. Most of these people do not have access to secretive County Board meetings.

Every person in clubs in the county need to start speaking to their county board delegates and impress on their views as to how serious the current situation is

Hard honest conversations need to be had

#40
Laois / Re: Tailteann Cup 2023
June 27, 2023, 03:29:17 PM
Quote from: High Fielder on June 27, 2023, 02:06:29 PM
It doesn't for me, because I start from a fundamentally different viewpoint as you and JD. The real crime for me is the lack of preparation at underage. The way we treat our best footballers and hurlers who we hope one day will represent us at Senior level. It seemed obvious to me that Down were more athletic in every sense of the word. The sort of athleticism that is nurtured over many years

And we will be having the same conversation in 10 years time as we are having now if underage in this county isn't addressed

Whether you are Billy Sheehan or Jack O'Connor or Mickey Harte

You are prisoner to what's coming off the underage assembly line

The underage set up is at best mediocre and at worst downright shambolic across the various development teams in both codes

The Schools and in particular the second level  schools in Portlaoise are nothing short of a disgrace
#41
Laois / Re: Tailteann Cup 2023
June 26, 2023, 10:47:17 AM
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2023, 11:25:38 PM
I know where the rant above is coming from.

But (Dublin aside) football is a rural game. Let the city folk do what city folk do. If you've 1-2 of the willing to work for it like the country boys, it's a bonus. A welcome bonus. But the throbbing heart of Gaelic Games isn't among hundreds of chimney pots.

This doesn't make any sense or relevance to Laois

Are you trying to make out Portlaoise is a City ?

That we shouldn't put resources into it because of its population size ?

When there are no issues in the likes of Killarney Tralee Newbridge Naas Thurles Kilkenny etc



#42
Laois / Re: Tailteann Cup 2023
June 26, 2023, 10:42:24 AM
Quote from: mcwregor on June 26, 2023, 08:46:49 AM
Replacing Billy Sheehan will not improve our fortunes. We are simply miles off the pace. We are going to lose players now too which will weaken us further.

We need a 10 year plan for football and hurling in the county and we need it now!

Trouble is who is going to firstly come up with the plan and who is going to implement it??

We probably have better people in laois than Michael Duignan but is there anyone willing to step up and do it?
It wouldnt be easy but if we could just find a really ambitious, intelligent and driven Chairperson. He/She should be able to pull like minded people into positions to help drive the thing forward.

Like many posts on here it has to start at grass roots from the bottom up.

We don't need another effing plan

We've had 3 in the past 7 years and very little of any of them have been implemented

It's action and implementation is what's needed

Except all we will get is apathy
#43
Laois / Re: Tailteann Cup 2023
June 25, 2023, 08:34:41 PM
Quote from: Countyminor on June 25, 2023, 07:00:59 PM
As hurtful as the situation is, some of the comments I see under Laois Today Facebook posts and Laois GAA's posts on Twitter are completely counter productive. Can't believe some people would actually put their name to what they're saying. Absolute cretins.

Say what you will about todays performance and the lads involved with that team, but they were the ones that stuck their hands up in January and wanted to play for Laois. Some of them, naturally, won't be involved going forward. If this was Mark Timmons' last game for Laois then that's a real shame - absolute warrior who would've made it on any Laois team.

As for the game itself, well Down did what Limerick probably ought to have done last week and scored a ton of goals. It was clear to anyone watching last week that we were far too open and soft in the centre and we ultimately paid a heavy price for that today.

It just goes to show the level of frustration and anger in the county that people are willing to put their names to the comments

I might not agree with some of what is being said

But I'd take it over apathy

Whether it's just a one day wonder and anything is done is another story
#44
Hurling Discussion / Re: Hurling 2023
June 24, 2023, 09:08:21 PM
Quote from: marty34 on June 23, 2023, 06:11:58 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on June 23, 2023, 04:22:21 PM
Quote from: seafoid on June 23, 2023, 01:31:54 PM
Whichever of the Portumna neighbours has the better backs will win. If Shefflin doesn't sort out the Galway backs he will never get the Kilkenny job. I mo thuairim

Tipp v Galway too close to call but I'm going to plump for Tipp, but they'll need to stop Conor Whelan whose hitting a bit of form after a few underpar performances.

Going for the Clare men in the other game by about 5 or so, but in modern terms that's a tight game also.

I'd say Barrett's the man for Whelan. Good battle there.

He definitely wasn't
#45
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2023, 06:24:19 PM
Quote from: clonadmad on June 22, 2023, 06:11:15 PM
Quote from: marty34 on June 22, 2023, 05:52:23 PM
Quote from: clonadmad on June 22, 2023, 05:27:36 PM
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2023, 03:27:50 PM
Quote from: general_lee on June 22, 2023, 03:04:19 PM
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2023, 02:46:02 PM
Think of it in 'their' shoes, its not difficult, they are British and want to stay British, and you can throw every benefit at it.
Who do you mean by 'their'?
Unionism is a broad family - Loyalists, traditional Unionists, pragmatic Unionists, Catholic Unionists, cultural Unionists, agnostic/de facto Unionists (eg Alliance).

While every one of those need to be welcomed into any new Irish state, it's only those that form part of the middle ground that need persuading.

By the very term unionist they want to remain part of the union, You can at the very least see where they are coming from? You'd never willing want to stay in the union..

The closer it gets to the border question/poll/deliberation/implementation the place will be completely divided..

What are the timeframes for this? 10/20/30 years?

Best to not upset them and to leave NI as it is then

Let's run the place into the ground so that the south can't afford us but we will be poor, British and happy seem to be their singular strategy

No wonder they are so against the Protocol because it is doing the opposite

We were poor but we were happy.  ;D

Poor,Happy and British

You're saying that like there's no food banks or plenty of affordable housing in the south


And that's McWilliams point

We in the south should be exploiting Northern Ireland with its cheap housing and cheap labour for the good of an all Ireland economy

" But here is the opportunity. The Republic has too much demand and not enough supply; the North has too much supply and not enough demand. Integrate further and gains accrue to both jurisdictions.

Take commercial rents, which are far lower in the North. Prime rents in Belfast are £23 (€26.73) per sq ft as opposed to €65 in Dublin. Surely this gap can be bridged as companies move? The average monthly rent in the North is £773 (about €900), as opposed to the average rent in the Republic, which stands at €1,750 – almost double that in Northern Ireland. The average cost of a home in Northern Ireland is £197,800 (€229,902); it is €308,497 in the South."