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I've moved on to indifference at this stage, I didn't even watch the final yesterday which is a first.

I consider myself a fan of sport which are balanced contests with the same rules for everyone. I'm not sure what inter-county football has became but it certainly can't be considered a balanced sport anymore, they've turned it into a complete shambles and even if the GAA are quick to react to the problem (they won't be) it'd take a generation to fix.

Fair play to the bitter ones though, it means they haven't given up and still think the situation can be fixed.

Probably the demise of a great Mayo team, who will be remembered when many Sam Maguire winners have been forgotten. Unlucky to be in the same era as undoubtedly the greatest gaelic football team ever. But they had their chance, the goalkeeper debacle, and then Donal Vaughan's utterly foolish needless red card (from such a great player too)

People say this every year but there simply aren't enough good teams to put Mayo into the wilderness, they have room to decline and still be among the top 5 or 6 teams. Teams like Cork, Kildare and Meath are the worst versions of themselves in 20 years and still make quarter finals, it's almost impossible for a big team to fall away in the current landscape.

Mayo have fallen from a team capable of winning an all Ireland 2012-17 to a team well off capable , that is demise . It will be worse next year as we have a few retirements from some of the toughest warriors to ever wear the jersey coming soon. So yes it is demise , end of an era whatever takes your fancy .

Now I don't believe it will take Mayo long to build as the building has begun already , this is one part of Horan type management I think he is very good at and I expect him to have a great side put together for his last year in 22

Everyone is in demise then other than Dublin considering it's a one team competition now and for the foreseeable future. Mayo are still well capable of beating anyone else as demonstrated by the league win and performances against Galway and Donegal. With a good draw (avoiding Dublin) and a big performance at the right time they can still make AI finals and survive in league 1 for the coming years. The era will continue IMO.

Probably the demise of a great Mayo team, who will be remembered when many Sam Maguire winners have been forgotten. Unlucky to be in the same era as undoubtedly the greatest gaelic football team ever. But they had their chance, the goalkeeper debacle, and then Donal Vaughan's utterly foolish needless red card (from such a great player too)

People say this every year but there simply aren't enough good teams to put Mayo into the wilderness, they have room to decline and still be among the top 5 or 6 teams. Teams like Cork, Kildare and Meath are the worst versions of themselves in 20 years and still make quarter finals, it's almost impossible for a big team to fall away in the current landscape.

[but one of their key roles is identifying talent and reporting their findings to the various regional of hurling development officers who get these players into the development squads and the elite player program.]

Time after time it gets pointed out to you but you just stick your fingers in your ears!

The games development funding plays a vital role in producing and identifying talent but it's just the first step in the financial doping scandal. These professional coaches go into schools, coach kids the basics at a young age and encourage them to join the local club. In the clubs they coach the coaches and take sessions themselves but one of their key roles is identifying talent and reporting their findings to the various regional of hurling development officers who get these players into the development squads and the elite player program.

That's just complete lies.

The games developments officers have absolutely nothing to do with identifying talent.

For example, at U14 level, the mentors of my lad's team were asked to bring their best 10 players to a Dublin development trials day. The mentors, who were parents like me, had the decision to make which 10 out of the about lads were going to do. Our games development officer never went near these lads. Ever.

My lad was one of the 10, so I went along. Now, he knew and I knew that there was no chance of ever playing for the Dubs, but it was a great experience to get that tiny glimmer of hope!
From memory, they did 5 different 10/15 minute sessions, where they were mixed with one other club and doing various drills and taken by different trainers who were there. I remember David Henry and Declan Lally were there. I think Stephen O'Shaughnessy was co-ordinating it. There was probably 100 kids there, with 5 coaches plus the co-ordinator, so every coach worked with every player. There was was probably at least one other separate session with 100 more. 4 of our lads were asked back to a second session and they whittled them down until they got to a workable number.

The following year they start with the best of the lads, and ask the mentors in each team to identify any lads who missed out but they think warrant another look. The games development officers have zero impact or influence, many of them arent even Dubs ffs (we're on our fourth at my club in my time, and the 3rd one was the only Dub). I'd be surprised if most other counties don't have something similiar, albeit with much less numbers! But none of it has anything to do with games development funding directed at primary school children.

So yeah, you talk a load of shite about stuff you know nothing about.

The games development officers certainly do have a role in identifying talent. You mightn't have seen it but that doesn't mean anything.

These development squads have huge amounts of funding pumped into them. They're academy teams similar to what you'll find at the provinces in rugby. Some of the sports science testing they undergo, other counties wouldn't even know what it's called. And you only part quoted me because you again want to ignore the main point. The games development funding is not some completely separate thing. These paid coaches play a key role but also, with this paid for, there's money to spend elsewhere. It's all one big system. For example, where do you think all those numbers come from at trials etc? How did they get involved in GAA? Would the professional coaches who were in their schools and gave them one of their first interactions with sport have anything to do with it?

As I said, the financial doping is not just the Bertie fund, it also includes the huge sponsorship money which has led to professional structures at all levels.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2019/0622/1056894-gaa-see-dublin-as-blueprint-for-future-not-the-problem/

In 2018 "Dublin spent €3.6m on coaching and games development. Of that, €1.2m from central headquarters, the clubs paid 50% of the games promotion officers and the balance of the funding comes from the county board funds, through sponsorship and gate receipts."
Dublin, with 10 intercounty sponsors on board, earned €1.46m in commercial revenue in 2017 - more than twice that of their closest rival in the financial stakes, Cork. "

It's a racket

When you spell it out like that, it is a racket , and unfair. never mind the advantages and economies of  scale associated with being a large centre of population with much better resources and facilities, (and that's not of Dublin or the GAA's making) , the 95% home games, the depth of  quality from which they can choose their players, managers and administrators . It's an awful pity that Dublin's successes over the past few years will always be sullied by the ridiculous advantages they enjoy. I'll never take away from them , that In the past 10 years they have capitalised on those advantages brilliantly and fair play to them. It's not their fault , it's the fact that the GAA have done nothing to redress the balance.

Those countries who feel that they cannot compete with Dublin should seriously look at amalgamating for the purpose of fielding intercounty teams. The answer to the "problem' should not always centre on how to neuter Dublin.

BTW. There's no danger that history will see Dublin's achievements as being "sullied", rather people will wonder at the incessant levels of begrudgery with which their achievements were greeted from some quarters.

How many cheats get celebrated? Does Lance Armstrong still get celebrated? Michelle Smith? Do you remember what Michelle and her team used to say actually? The Americans were just jealous and begrudging her success when they pointed out the obvious. Dublin's titles across all grades and levels are sullied, I've said for years there is an asterisk beside them and more and more people are accepting that now. Like Armstrong, the Dubs can live in their own bubble and abuse anyone who exposes their doping, no one else has to play along, however.

Correct. There's a huge cloud over this team and the GAA at present.
The investigations in the coming years will be fascinating and how this era will be viewed in hindsight.

So if Leitrim players all get free cars and dinners, jobs in Carrick, a lorry load of backroom staff (Jim Gavins word) their 3,500 registered GAA players will turnout a 25 as good as the best of Dublins 39,000?
Only 1 team can win says he.
Yes but when it's the same team every year...
GAA you've got a problem

What has cars and dinners got to do with it? Plus backroom staff - I heard Derry had about 14 or 15 and they're in Div. 4.

Nobody was complaining about Dublin'spopulation 15 years ago - it was never mentioned.  Now, it's an issue as they are winning.

If you translate this to club level for example, in Galway, are people complaining because Corofin are winning the championship? - is their population bigger than clubs in other parts of Galway? No.  Have they more money than other clubs in Galway? No.

But at least they can apply for the same grants and funding as every other club
They don't play all their games in the village
And they don't get 10 times more funding than every other club direct from the county board

Nobody was complaining about this funding 5 years ago.  Just seems when the Dubs are winning, people start with the excuses.  I understand your frustration but as counties, is it funding or population or Croke Park is the issue?

Seems to be that nowadays, people are throwing all excuses at the Dublin for their success but key thing is, nobody was complaining a few years ago or questioned it.

Dublin, for all their investments, are not winning many minor or All Ireland U20s/U21's.

Nobody questioned the banks and the reckless lending before the arse fell out of the country and the taxpayer had to pick up the tab either. People tend to react when a problem manifests rather than paying attention to the process, it's not really a salient point.

And they're winning plenty at all levels if you look at the differences before and after the financial doping.

Since 2010:
Ladies - 3 AIs. Nothing in the 35 years before.
Mens U21s - 4 AIs since 2010. 1 in the 45 years before
Mens hurlers - 1 league and 1 Leinster - Nothing in almost 50 years before
Mens hurling clubs - 2 AI wins since 2010 - not even a final appearance before then.
Mens senior football - 6 AI wins since 2010 - the same total as for the 47 years before that

When they came for Leinster you laughed at us told us to stop whinging and get better, you're just shit it's not our problem. Looks like the rest of the country are just as shit. Why is Ulster so competitive they ask, simply they are all just as shit as each other.

Like it or not, the Dubs have set the standard. At the end of the day its up to the rest to catch up no point whinging.

Come on Leitrim (35k), Longford (40k) and Fermanagh (35k*).
Pull ye're socks up and make an effort.
Sure population, money, home advantage etc has nothing to do with it.

* Another 32k not "GAA minded".

Any other sport, some teams are 'richer' than others and at the end of the day, only one team wins.

I think other teams should try and get to Dublin's standards instead of complaining. 


Every county could go down that road, Sligo will never win Connacht because Mayo has a bigger population...Clare will never win Munster because of X, Y and Z.  Every county can put up a reason but I say just get on with it - get your own house and structure etc. in place and starting developing.

As Pearse said in 1916  - "we have fought, therefore we have won"

Mayo has twice the population of Sligo and receive broadly similar funding, neither team have constant home advantage.
Dublin has over 12 times the population of Mayo and receives about 25 times the funding while also having constant home advantage.

Do you really not see the difference of magnitude here?
It's also nothing to do with organisation or having "houses in order" either, they're inherent advantages granted to Dublin. The only choices are to push for change or give up on the sport.

When they came for Leinster you laughed at us told us to stop whinging and get better, you're just shit it's not our problem. Looks like the rest of the country are just as shit. Why is Ulster so competitive they ask, simply they are all just as shit as each other.

Like it or not, the Dubs have set the standard. At the end of the day its up to the rest to catch up no point whinging.

How do other counties get permanent home advantage, 18 million in funding and the promotional appearance fees and multi-million sponsorship deals that comes from having a 1.5 million population area?