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Squareball your senior teams are littered with outsiders one example I'll give is Niall Mullholland a native from Teconaught ill not bother mentioning how many imports you have representing your senior ladies and hurling team!!!

"Littered" with outsiders e.g. Niall Mulholland. It think if you look at the Bredagh Championship team this year Niall was the only starter from outside the Ormeau area. Admittedly 10 years back Bredagh had many "blow-ins", who helped keep the club going during tough times - not the case now though. Get your facts right Mourne Man - obviously a wind up merchant. I wonder what club you represent and how many "blow-ins" you field regularly.

Enda Gormley - done well winning Ulster Minor Club? Would command respect - take no sh*te

Dubh Droicht is right about the early Donal Hughes chance - he was rugby tackled in the square - but as the ball broke and hit the post the ref apparently played advantage! He lapped all the big decisions - early yellow to 13 from Burt when it should have been red. Then called him over with 5 to go to book him again - realised he would have to send him off and waved him away - 13 scored the winner a minute later.

The umpire made the decision for him in injury time to produce a straight red - of course he didn't add on time.

Burt were typical Donegal - fair play to them if that's what you want to do week on week - have to agree with Spillane - puke (or maybe sour grapes). Very disappointed!!

 

Burt 1-7 Bredagh 1-6
Bit of a heartbreak at an excellent Letterkenny set-up in near perfect conditions for October.Donal Hughes picked up where he left off in the county final with an excellent goal in the fifith minute following good work by Kevin Harte. Unfortunately Bredagh literally took their eyes off the ball and hesitant defending allowed a soft equaliser within two minutes. Burt played effective Jim Mc Guinness football to score three unanswered points before Brian Rice (2), Kealan Devlin and John Mc Kenna put the Belfast men in front. Hughes hit the post when the ref allowed advantage in the square but two soft frees saw Burt ahead by one at the interval.
The second half was even tighter and you knew it was going to be nip and tuck to the end .Bredagh struggled to penetrate the blanket defence and were restricted to long range shooting- only Henry Deazley and Rice found the target to leave it all-square in the 59th minute.Burt captain and Donegal Hurler Enda Mc Dermott then stepped up to the plate and following a strong run from defence, sent the winning score over from 45 metres. The only blot on the victory was a straight red for full-forward Joseph Boyle but a long journey home for the brave Down champions.

Re Bredagh & blow-ins.

I know I'm rising to the bait - but Bredagh is virtually all local lads now at senior level.

EG last nights team vs St Paul's had 13 lads from the road. No Derry men! One Tyrone man - and Niall Mulholland (ex Teconnaght)

ACPR II

Saval 0-6 Bredagh 0-10 - that four wins from four

Prem Reserve II

Bredagh 4-08 Tullylish 1-11

Good to see John McAreavey playing in the Snr challenge beforehand

The Bredagh boys got the bunting and flags up on thr Ormeau Road at last

You can see in "Munster Flag" in the distance 

Banbridge beat Tullylish by 6 or 7

Well done Agent O'Rourke - mission accomplished!

In the Onion Bag - I'm glad I don't have a friend like you. Please don't air your dirty linen in public - you are a disgrace!

There is no big secret about the low representation of Bredagh and Carryduff players on Down underage sides. The clubs are geographically separated from the rest of the county, and the main schools in their area, Knock and Aquinas, tend to have a low GAA profile. County selectors literally need to go out of their way to check on emerging players, and the evidence is that they have often  not made the effort.

Bredagh for example made the all county minor semi last year,  their u16s were in the ED final and the all county league semi this year, and they have been generally strong at most underage grades over recent seasons. However, apart from the keeper Sean Armstrong, who then missed out through injury, I'm fairly sure that Bredagh have not had anyone in the Down minor squad over the last 12 years.

It's not fair to focus too closely on individual young players, but, briefly, Owen Costello was always facing a tight call for the minor squad because of his size. He has since filled out, and got over a long-term injury, and he has the ability to make an impact with QUB. There will be something badly wrong if his brother, Emmet, is not involved with Down minors in 2010, and it is generally reckoned that Magee and McKegney were poorly treated last summer. If Down really had 12 defenders better than those two guys, we would have won an AI.

Bredagh are also strong at underage hurling, which can put pressure on dual players, and suffer from a lack of basic facilities, but the club will make a breakthrough sooner or later.

Thank you for your impartial assessment - spot on from someone who obviously knows what he's talking about and has seen the teams/players involved.

Was that Owen Costelloe doing left half back for Queens yesterday the Bredagh Costelloe?

Indeed it was Dundrumite

Owen Costello was the only non-county player in either squads in the Queens/Poly game apparently.

Maybe Mark Turley who failed to pick him for the Minors will take note for the u21's. Turley missed 2 Bredagh lads last year - Magee & McKegney who'd played in every squad from 15's - Magee had captained the u17's. I think if they'd been playing for Loughinisland .........

Well done to Owen in any case - it's a start!
Did he play in either of the games against us Square ball? Know the name but can't quite put a face to him?

No I dont think so, he has been out injured most of the season unfortunately.

Great to see the lad start for QUB.
There is perhaps a recurrent issue with Bredagh and Carryduff under-representation in county squads.
IMHO it is too easy to blame management for non-selection-I find it hard to believe that any manager would not pick a strong player  just because he's from Bredagh.Bredagh may need to look closer to home perhaps if they want to secure reasonable representation-which all genuine Down Gaels wish to see.
There are a few reasons for under-representation, I think.
1.The 2 local schools Aquinas and Knock are not meeting their potential,depriving Bredagh/Duff of top notch colleges football exposure.
2.Not sure there is a strong enough affinity with the Down county team in the greater South Belfast area.
3.The strength of soccer,rugby and Hurling means some of your players are overstretched,playing 2 or 3 codes.
4.The geographical isolation of Bredagh/Duff-making it harder for Bredagh/Duff lads to make all trials and training sessions.
5.The fact that Bredagh/Duff are now division 3 teams,makes GAA less attractive to the best athletes in your area.

I also think that the ease with which your teams dominate underage competitions in East Down isn't a good environment to develop the type of tenacious,committed,single-minded players needed at county level.

The 4 North Down clubs(Cilldara and St.pauls as well) are great clubs and serve a large population,which has massive potential for Down football,and I feel these clubs need to get together and come up with ideas for mutual benefit.

Blaming successive county minor management for failing to pick players is missing the point.

You make some valid points 6th Sam.

Bredagh is working hard with both Aquinas & Knock and, with Carryduff, have been instrumental in pushing Gaelic games in both schools. Aquinas won the Bro Nolan Ulster (C) last year and were beaten in the AI final. They are playing McLarnon this year - as are Knock. Progress has been made from a very low position, but Aquinas in particular is a small co-ed school and will never have the numbers.   

The affinity with the county is a two-way thing and maybe a bit of help from the county wouldn't go amiss - the club(s) try their best, but the underage set-up/attitude in Down doesn't help. There is a growing GAA community in N Down. The clubs are working very hard but sometimes we don't get much in return.

The GAA are putting together a City strategy - maybe this will help - maybe Down will take it seriously.

Bredagh this year had a very youthful Senior team - the underage work will bear fruit.

Was that Owen Costelloe doing left half back for Queens yesterday the Bredagh Costelloe?

Indeed it was Dundrumite

Owen Costello was the only non-county player in either squads in the Queens/Poly game apparently.

Maybe Mark Turley who failed to pick him for the Minors will take note for the u21's. Turley missed 2 Bredagh lads last year - Magee & McKegney who'd played in every squad from 15's - Magee had captained the u17's. I think if they'd been playing for Loughinisland .........

Well done to Owen in any case - it's a start!
Did he play in either of the games against us Square ball? Know the name but can't quite put a face to him?

No I dont think so, he has been out injured most of the season unfortunately.

Paul Blaney is first and foremost a Down fan, he has no other agenda and has nothing to gain by being involved in the selection process except hopefully a better Down team.

It's very easy to sit behind the anonimity of a site such as this and slate people with a combination of half truths and innuendo - very cowardly!!

Get off your ar*e and put in half the time Paul Blaney does for Down GAA and then maybe you can comment.