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Everyone involved in the melee should be suspended from inter county football for the rest of 2022.

There's a Pontifical Mass in Knock. You don't get those every Sunday.

Kildare must be a decent bet at 11/4

God, I don't know about that.

I'll be very surprised if that Mayo team starts. I would expect two changes at least, maybe three. I hate this slobbering with dummy teams. I doubt if the players are gone on it either.

Mayo groundsman has been admitted to St Marys in Castlebar, all of his hard work getting the pitch ready and now its full of dead patches where Galway players lay so long on the ground they killed the grass. Thoughts and prayers.

Only taking the piss Galway people, fair play on the win, Cian O'Neil showed his worth with the tactic of blocking up the "Mayo attacking" channels with the wing forwards. A joke that after so many years managing at a high level JH couldn't find a way around it but there it is. I dont rate O'Neill, I'm sure hes worried, but hes become such a journeyman at this stage its a bit of a joke. I think thats all he will contribute positively to Galway this year.

The backdoor will suit Mayo if the injuries clear up and they could find themselves in a semi, however I said there was no point in Horan coming back unless he had improved his tactical abilities and was willing to be less stubborn and listen to others. Neither has happened so Mayo wont be winning any All Ireland this year and thoughts must start to turn to who next. Problem is there are no obvious choices unless we were willing to go mad an look at someone like Jim McGuinness. Not sure he would be an answer either, I believe, as much as it pains me to say it, if they had been playing any other top team of that era except James Horans Mayo they probably wouldn't have won that All Ireland. I know they beat Dublin
The answer to get over the line last year was getting in Rochford for 3 weeks before the All Ireland to help plan the tactics, I think Sam would have been nestling in the West now. It was wishful thinking of course because JH would never consider it. I dont know if Rochford is the answer either but we do love to go back to a previous manager in Mayo (would that be the 5th time?) so who knows

I'd agree with the weight of that Iorras. On a Rochford return, I don't know. A little birdie told me that Galway had him all lined up to take over from PJ once Mayo lowered the boom on Galway in Castlebar. Whether PJ is out of the woods or was only granted a stay of execution I don't know, and I've enough to be worrying about on my own side of the march to speculate any further.

I have to say about Mullin too, and I said it last year, there's far too much pressure on him. He's been made out as some saviour of mayo football but we really haven't seen it from him.

He hasn't been very good this year. He was very poor in last years final, and didn't really feature before that. He did decently as a new player in the 2020 final when nobody else really played well. But I think expectations need to be reigned in a bit.

My starting half back line, all fit, would be Durcan Coen McLaughlin. Have Mullin on the bench, a bit less pressure, and let him really up his game to win his place

So you're dropping Mullin and Cillian O'Connor, but Coen starts, even though I don't think he's finished a game all year without being subbed? I see. Well, it's a plan, certainly.

Hitting the gargle so hard they made the FAI cup qf team?

No. Read the comment again. I was not talking about the Edenderry situation in any way, shape of form. I was just telling a story in general of which I had been reminded by the Edenderry situation. I have no idea what's going on in Edenderry, who's right or who's wrong. I don't expect to ever find out either.

To me it looks like one of two scenarios has occurred.

Either the kids have been removed because they have prioritised soccer which makes me question the professionalism of Offaly in dealing with kids.

Or

Offaly demand professional levels of commitment from 13 year olds (and the reason for missing the session is largely irrelevant) which makes me saddened at the approach being taken to an amateur sport.

Either way I don't think Offaly have covered themselves in glory here. Poor kids

There's a third possibility here, you know. I have no idea what happened in this particular circumstance. I just want to make a general point, if I may.

Sometimes lads on youth teams are dropped because they have been acting the maggot in one way or another. But, because the GAA is an amateur association they're not publicly shamed and a cover-story press release is made - two lads were dropped for playing tennis when they should have been training, or whatever.

Two things can happen then. Either the lads' families get on the phone to the local Joe Duffy and say it's a disgrace, or the local Joe Duffy sees the story and writes it up as a garrison-game-versus-the-GAA story. Either story sells, and that's what news is about - selling papers. Truth always coms second to selling papers.

The GAA are then in a bind because, again, they're not going to dump children in it. Mick might have been playing tennis alright but maybe he was drinking Buckfast on the team bus too, and it's the latter that's the real reason for his dropping.

Again, I have no idea what happened in this case, and I don't really care - I'm sure Edenderry is a lovely spot but they can paddle their own canoe. I've got my own problems. I'm commenting here because it's important for people to be suspicious of what they read in the papers in general, and to think hard about why the story is being published in the first place.

Susan McKay kicks the DUP up and down the road in this Guardian piece: https://t.co/h8v6FFn4mQ

Philly McMahon has a column in today's Irish Independent. In it, he makes reference to the scuffle in the tunnel that happened in the 2020 All-Ireland Final. Philly says that Cillian O'Connor had just missed a free before half-time, so when O'Connor walked by Philly, Philly reminded O'Connor of the miss. Three Mayo players got thick, there was a row, it blew over.

The funny thing is that Philly told a different story at the time. He was a guest on Off the Ball the Monday after the Final in 2020 and, when he was asked about the row, he said it kicked off because the Mayo players asked Eoin Murchan to do Elf on the Shelf and Murchan wouldn't. This is the link: https://www.otbsports.com/football/philly-mcmahon-tunnel-dublin-mayo-1125574

So what I'm wondering, I suppose, is if Philly was lying then, or if Philly is lying now? I hope it's now. I loved that Elf on the Shelf crack. Bad luck for the Indo's credibility, of course, if their new columnist is telling porkies, but I suppose it's hard lose what you haven't got.

FFS, Everyone knew the 'elf on the shelf' comment was Philly joking and not the real reason. Except you it seems!

Is he not talking about when Aidan O'Shea came onto the field at the end of normal time last year?

He's not Butt. He specifically mentions 2020 and Cillian O'Connor in the Indo article.

Philly McMahon has a column in today's Irish Independent. In it, he makes reference to the scuffle in the tunnel that happened in the 2020 All-Ireland Final. Philly says that Cillian O'Connor had just missed a free before half-time, so when O'Connor walked by Philly, Philly reminded O'Connor of the miss. Three Mayo players got thick, there was a row, it blew over.

The funny thing is that Philly told a different story at the time. He was a guest on Off the Ball the Monday after the Final in 2020 and, when he was asked about the row, he said it kicked off because the Mayo players asked Eoin Murchan to do Elf on the Shelf and Murchan wouldn't. This is the link: https://www.otbsports.com/football/philly-mcmahon-tunnel-dublin-mayo-1125574

So what I'm wondering, I suppose, is if Philly was lying then, or if Philly is lying now? I hope it's now. I loved that Elf on the Shelf crack. Bad luck for the Indo's credibility, of course, if their new columnist is telling porkies, but I suppose it's hard lose what you haven't got.

[Mayo]

Mayo

Hope: Win All-Ireland

Expectation: Get to the final and lose it, even if it's against Kilkenny, Warwickshire or the New York Knicks. And there's only flipping five of them. Sigh.

All Ireland football final next year set for July 24. The provincial championships draws on November 27th

Is this a joke ?
Why would the GAA consider this, let Soccer and Rugby grab all the limelight for All of August and September, Folks at RTE must think all their Christmases have come at once

There's no rugby played in August, and little of note in September.

Andy Moran off to Leitrim: https://www.leitrimobserver.ie/news/gaelic-games/671973/irish-independent-report-names-andy-moran-as-new-leitrim-senior-team-manager.html