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2 pts now and 4 mins injury time. The missed frees in teh first half will haunt Brigids

O'Carrol hits cross bar when he should have scored. Just not Brigids day

McGarrity got MoM. I think though it is Clarke and the FB line that have won this for Ballina. Brigids had as many chnces but Stephenites showed their experience at vital times.

Agree LS it should have been a goal but if he did not allow it it was a 13m free. He seems to make up the rules as he goes along and his failure to allow the advanatge to Brigids which cost them a point was poor refeering.

Brigids conceded one dreadful goal, missed a good goal chance (great save by Clarke) and have missed three scoreable frees. Stephenites seem stronger around the middle of the field but Brigids not out of this.

Guiney: GPA have misplaced priorities

Saturday November 24 2007
A FORMER All-Ireland winner has taken out an extraordinary newspaper advertisement offering his services in the event of an inter-county players strike, says the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) have veered too far from their founding principles and mis-placed their priorities.
"I just sent in a tongue-in-cheek notice to my local paper to make the point," explained former Wexford hurler Dave Guiney of his ad which read: 'Ex-county hurler available to play, 15 years experience, old model, high mileage but good service record.
Willing to train seven nights a-week for the honour of representing Wexford -- No Grant Required.'
"I don't know if I'd pass the fitness test," he joked.
"But if I was asked to play for my county again in the morning I would do so and would never look for a grant to do it.''
Guiney, a twin brother of former All Star Rod, was part of Wexford's All-Ireland winning panel in '96 and was a member of the GPA while on the county panel.
"When they started they were working on welfare issues for players, who wouldn't have been well-looked after at the time.
It is widely accepted by players that the GPA did a great job in that respect.
"But this notion of looking for a grant to play for your county, I just can't accept that," Guiney insisted.
"It seems to me that players are forgetting what a privileged position they are in," he added.
"There's a huge amount of people who give their time to the GAA in lots of different ways for no apparent reward.
"Even as a player there's only a tiny number, probably only one per cent, who ever get to line out for their counties and have the opportunity to play in front of 82,000 people in Croke Park.
Privilege
"To me that's a massive honour and privilege.
"I know training has become a very heavy burden but GAA players are not the only people training hard for their sport.
"I know a triathlete, Sean Collier, who trains three and four hours every day and he doesn't get a grant of any kind.
"To me you play and train because you love the game and you love your county.
"If you don't enjoy what that involves then don't do it, it's still a hobby," Guiney added. "I know the argument about how much training goes into it now, but maybe it's time players started looking at the huge benefits that also come from playing for your county, things that you can't put monetary value on.
"The experiences I had and friends I made through hurling are things I could never replace," said Guiney who lined out for Rathnure in the county intermediate final this year.
"And I couldn't ever see people like George O'Connor and Billy Byrne hanging up their county jerseys and saying they wouldn't play for Wexford over a grant issue.
"The GPA have made their case obviously, but I think there would be others like me who would have a different attitude and I wanted to open up the debate," he added.
- Gaelic Games

Hi Dessie

Would be glad to meet you and any of your cohorts anywhere anytime to argue my point. I would say that it is the GPA that have avoided real debate up to this. Seems to be easy to annoy you, obviously you do not like people to have their own opinions.

Just get one of your sidekicks that come on here to PM me and I am sure we can sort out a suitable time and place to meet.

PS I am not jealous of your football achievements, your eloquence or your management skills.

Ballina are favourites with Paddy Power (10/11) with Brigids at 5/4.

"The perfect tan and how to pay for it" - Joh Maughan

"Respect me ye ungrateful bastards"  - Donal Og Cusack

" A lifetime in the GAA has cost me a fortune" - Mick O'Dwyer (official autobiography until the next one)

"Its not about the money but..." Dessie Farrell with foreword by Donal O'Neill

Good win for Brigids 4-10 to 1-11. Better team all round but great display from Padraig Joyce for Killererin

Brigids leading at half time - 3-4 to 0-7. Good entertaining stuff from both teams.

Fermanagh players are never done bitchin about their manager(s).  Bit like the Rossies, but at least Fermanagh have actually achieved something recently, even if they haven't won an Ulster title.  Roscommon should start looking at the quality of their own club championship and general attitude and application of their players instead of giving out about Maughan.

I suppose Pietas you  never heard a Mayoman giving out about Maughan!!

How come that the Aussies are not targeting young Kerry players. Surely you would expect that the first port of call would be the home of football where the most naturally talented players are in abundance. 

Shields is an excellent footballer and will be a huge loss to Cork if he goes. He has football in him as well as the ability to give and take a hit. I saw him last year v Kerry in the U21 and he looked a better prospect than Killian Young. For me he is a half back but he has been filling holes in the Cork fulll back line - a bit like Canty. Young had the advantage of coming into a more settled team and maybe because of that has made more progress this year.

On the subject of players going to Australia its a bit strange that more Kerry players are not targeted - one would have thought that some of last years minors such as Tommy Walsh would have been on somones list or even Donaghy at this stage. Maybe Kerry have "arrangements" in place for players as they had for Jack O'Connor

The 1916 rising did have very little support from the people, but the execution of the leaders changed all this.

This is accepted conventional wisdom Mid Louth without any real basis. Joe Lee ( a non revisionist historian) has seriously questioned this and points out that there is little documentary evidence to assess what support there was for the Rising. The media was largely pro British at the time especially the Independent (nothing changes!!).

Ulster regroup for second half

Interprovincial Football Semi-final/ Ulster 1-15 Connacht 2-9 : Thanks to a very good second-half display Ulster advanced to the final in Croke Park next weekend when they defeated Connacht in Ballybofey on Saturday night.

Brian McEniff kept his side in the dressingroom for some time at the break and his talk had the desired effect.

A two-goal blitz by Connacht five minutes into the game put Connacht on the front foot for the first half. The goals came in the first six minutes with Andy Moran and Declan Maxwell finishing well. Connacht led by 2-5 to 0-8 at the break but within minutes of the restart a point and goal from Paul Finlay put Ulster on their way.

Ger Heneghan did level for Connacht but points from Dan Gordon, a great fisted effort by Kevin Cassidy and Aaron Kernan left Ulster three up. Seán Armstrong and Thomas Freeman exchanged points on two occasions before Freeman put four points between the sides with five minutes left. Connacht had a goal chance in the final minutes when substitute Frankie Dolan broke through but a great last-gasp block by Kevin McCloy denied him, while Andy Moran had the final point of the game minutes from the end.

ULSTER : J Reilly; B Owens, K McCloy, K Lacey; A Kernan (0-1) , C Gormley, K Cassidy (0-1) ; E Lennon, D Gordon (0-3) ; D Clerkin, S Kavanagh, P Finlay (1-4, three frees); T Freeman (0-4, one free), G Pierson (0-1), E Muldoon (0-1). Subs : C McFadden for Pierson; C Toye for Clerkin

CONNACHT : P Greene; C Harrison, F Hanley, J McKeon; D Meehan, D Blake, K Higgins (0-1) ; R McGarrity, B Cullinane; M Brehony (0-1, free), S Armstrong (0-3, one free), A Moran (1-2) ; C Cregg, D Maxwell (1-0), K Mannion (0-1). Subs: Ger Heneghan (0-1) for Cregg; F Dolan for Maxwell; M Finneran for Cullinane

Referee: P Fox (Westmeath).