Antrim Football Thread

[johnnycool]

Down football has:
All County FL 1-4
AC reserve football league (decent standard, possibly like Div3)
East Down/South Down reserve league (for weaker seconds teams and thirds teams)

Championship status aligned with league status and winners must move up a grade the following season.

I feel that structure works very well.

Are most senior football games played on a friday night in Down?

[Belfast GAA man]

Anything about minor leagues discussed last night? quite a few no fields in A and B leagues this year....

[bannside]

I'd say if we had a dozen more good floodlit pitches, particularly in the city, that would give the fixture organisers a better chance of rattling through the backlog. Of course it's not a sole solution but it's worth noting there are 28 floodlit pitches in Derry and I'd hazard a guess roughly the same in Down. Tyrone have more than that, well into the thirties I'd be prepared to wager.

How many football playing clubs in Antrim have floodlights? Anyone want to list them...it won't take long!

[playwiththewind1st]

Casement Park had floodlights....look what happened there.

[paddyjohn]

I'd say if we had a dozen more good floodlit pitches, particularly in the city, that would give the fixture organisers a better chance of rattling through the backlog. Of course it's not a sole solution but it's worth noting there are 28 floodlit pitches in Derry and I'd hazard a guess roughly the same in Down. Tyrone have more than that, well into the thirties I'd be prepared to wager.

How many football playing clubs in Antrim have floodlights? Anyone want to list them...it won't take long!

Tir na og
Ahoghill
PG1
Toome
Ballymena

The 4 council set ups in Belfast.. Ormeau Park, Cricky, Sally Gardens & the college near O'Dees.

Do Lamh Dhearg or St Galls have lights?

Any other that I've missed?

[Milltown Row2]

St Marys college and Queens have flood lights, Lamhs will have flood lights once their new pitch is done. We have none, I'd be happy to get new changing rooms..

[Dunsilly King]

MR2, St Marys and Queens aren't Antrim clubs. So none in Belfast 🙄

[Jeepers Creepers]

I'd say if we had a dozen more good floodlit pitches, particularly in the city, that would give the fixture organisers a better chance of rattling through the backlog. Of course it's not a sole solution but it's worth noting there are 28 floodlit pitches in Derry and I'd hazard a guess roughly the same in Down. Tyrone have more than that, well into the thirties I'd be prepared to wager.

How many football playing clubs in Antrim have floodlights? Anyone want to list them...it won't take long!

Tir na og
Ahoghill
PG1
Toome
Ballymena

The 4 council set ups in Belfast.. Ormeau Park, Cricky, Sally Gardens & the college near O'Dees.

Do Lamh Dhearg or St Galls have lights?

Any other that I've missed?

Falls park now has a floodlit pitch. 3G

[Milltown Row2]

I'd say if we had a dozen more good floodlit pitches, particularly in the city, that would give the fixture organisers a better chance of rattling through the backlog. Of course it's not a sole solution but it's worth noting there are 28 floodlit pitches in Derry and I'd hazard a guess roughly the same in Down. Tyrone have more than that, well into the thirties I'd be prepared to wager.

How many football playing clubs in Antrim have floodlights? Anyone want to list them...it won't take long!

Tir na og
Ahoghill
PG1
Toome
Ballymena

The 4 council set ups in Belfast.. Ormeau Park, Cricky, Sally Gardens & the college near O'Dees.

Do Lamh Dhearg or St Galls have lights?

Any other that I've missed?

Falls park now has a floodlit pitch. 3G

Yes forgot that, have done couple games there, great set up

[bannside]

We'd better not get into covered stands then. Not one in the county.

It takes a hell of a lot of work to put proper facilities in place and maybe we have to ask ourselves if we really do have the same passion for GAA as there are in other counties.

[country bumpkin]

We'd better not get into covered stands then. Not one in the county.



It takes a hell of a lot of work to put proper facilities in place and maybe we have to ask ourselves if we really do have the same passion for GAA as there are in other counties.

Take a wee trip to Toome BS......find the passion...

[paddyjohn]

So BS people in Belfast or North Antrim don't have passion for the GAA because they don't have stands at their pitches? MR2 gives up 7 nights a week to ref but he has no passion as his club doesn't have a stand? I help out with my daughters Un8 Camogie team and umpire for a club ref when asked, I don't have passion as my club has no stand?

Fair play to those clubs who have stands and who have improved their grounds but I'd rather have a trophy cabinet full of county titles and an All Ireland than a stand.

Fir Coat and no knickers come to mind in some cases.

[The Gs Man]

Floodlights in Aghagallon too.

[Milltown Row2]

In Belfast we had decent facilities 30 odd years ago compared with the country teams and we had a social club that paid for things and so on, we didnt need to do fundraising and lottos, we had a brand new club with 2 new prunty pitches, but with the peace process kicking in people started heading into town, the clubs that were making a few pound lost their steady money and everything became harder.

Dual clubs funding teams from under 12 up were finding it difficult, hurls aint cheap and there was never a juvenile membership, kids never paid a fee at the start of the year and thats only lately come in.. plans to have floodlights were put in place by us many years ago, never happened though as the money dried up.

We have over the past 15 plus years though got into using our big memebership and fundraising is the only way we can bring money into the club for development, the bar is still there but it would being doing just enough to cover some expenses (I could be corrected by my mate though)

So this is were we are at, we've tried going down the route of drawing money from various government departments for sports and so on and that will continue, but I think we are a long way away from getting stands and 3g pitches with floodlights, though that is a goal at the minute.. getting a handball court and a hurling wall are all things that we are looking at.

Generating the money for that is not about passion for the club, you only have to head down to the club on a Saturday morning or go to one of our brilliant under age tournaments that we run on May day and the Pat Sheehan hurling tournamnet to see passion and drive, and while we have had success over the years its not down to being lucky, thats come about by hard work from a lot of people who gave up all their free time, Liam Stewart Vincent Ward Hilary McDaniel then the youth development team that brought through the current senior team that won All Irelands and now our current committee which is run by committed team that is keeping us afloat and chipping away at getting our goals..

[Na Glinntí Glasa]

our flood lights are for training only. they are due to be upgraded so they can be used to play matches but thats for another phase down the line.

were currently finishing off the outdoor 4G pitch at the side of the academy which will be flood lit when its done. All down to money of when it all gets finished off.