Messages

After Down, Wexford, Galway hurlers and Fermanagh all going back to O'Neills, is there any county teams using Gaelic gear?

Have to say I hated the GG Down top. Shite.

The new one I was sceptical at the start now I think its the nicest in years...

Just got a message on Bebo from the real Nail asking me not to use his name anymore...

Can the mods not come to my rescue here??





Ps heres a joke to get their attention.

Whats pink and covered in cowbwebs? Maddys bike.

Whats pink and not covered in cobwebs? Maddys ******

Awww the big mans not angry....he even sent you love!! plus he said lol

Thats how it starts though!

Relax!!

the big man has mellowed in parenthood

You obviously didn't hear the story about the other week, some fella was giving him trouble out at the Corner House so Nail put him out. The fella came at Nail then with a brick and Nail put manners on him as only Nail can! Now the fella is pressing charges!

Just got a message on Bebo from the real Nail asking me not to use his name anymore...

Can the mods not come to my rescue here??





Ps heres a joke to get their attention.

Whats pink and covered in cowbwebs? Maddys bike.

Whats pink and not covered in cobwebs? Maddys ******

Awww the big mans not angry....he even sent you love!! plus he said lol

Thats how it starts though!

Why don't you just set up a new name?

I will give it a go, that would work. But I tried to set a new one up there not so long ago and was denied!

Just got a message on Bebo from the real Nail asking me not to use his name anymore...

Can the mods not come to my rescue here??

Problem i have with the Gaelic Life is it confusses me. when i pick up IN, Mirror etc i turn straight to the back page. By force of habit do this with the GL as well  this frustrates me for being so stupid!

I turn to the back anyway to read Brolly's first...

He writes in the Racing Post GAA Supplement as well on a Saturday giving betting advice on the weekends games now.

[Railway Cup could now get back on trackBy Mickey Harte31/07/09]

Railway Cup could now get back on track

By Mickey Harte

31/07/09

It was with no small measure of delight that I learned on Wednesday morning that the International Rules engagement has been deferred until 2010.

I believe this is a blessing in disguise as I never felt it appropriate for us in the GAA to include this spectacle in our 125 celebrations.

Indeed, the GAA at unit, county, provincial and national level are to be commended for the high

visibility and brand awareness generated around this milestone of the Association.

Celebrating 125 years of our organisation is about reflecting on the evolution of our products and creating a launch pad for taking us to new horizons in the years ahead.

Two of the key components of such a vision ought to be the internationalisation of our games and the restoration of the players' highest level of representative competitive opportunity – The Martin Donnelly Inter-provincial series.

I have long maintained that the International Rules series, which is often described as giving an international dimension to gaelic games, has exactly the opposite effect.

In the first instance, the original name of the series 'Compromise Rules' automatically negates this suggestion.

How can we claim to be giving an international dimension to one of our games (gaelic football) if we are not playing that game?

Indeed, the word compromise is a misnomer in this instance as the actual Collins Dictionary

definition of compromise is 'meeting halfway'.

The hybrid game is heavily weighted towards Australian Rules Football. It has their tackle, mark, ball-carrying regulations, score-taking (with the exception of goalkeeper and crossbar), running replacements and four quarters, all in return for the use of a gaelic football as opposed to an oval one.

Realistically, the transition for professional players from handling an oval ball to a round one should hardly prove too taxing as the regular nature of a round one will be much more predictable than the one they have to deal with in their game. Ironically, the 'tackle' in the hybrid game is the very antithesis of that which this year's experimental GAA rules was endeavouring to achieve in that department of our games.

Apologies for the digression, as this was not supposed to be an anti-International Rules article but rather a recognition of the glorious opportunity to give due prominence to the Martin Donnelly Inter-provincial Championships.

If the calendar clearance that had been set aside for the hybrid game was now used to breathe new life into the Railway Cup then we could begin the process of re-branding this historically significant representative outlet for our games.

A working party (or task force, call it what you will) group of GAA people should be charged with the task of building for this event. With the definite dates in October to work towards, team managers could prepare in the knowledge that all their best players would be available, unlike last year when upwards on half of the Ulster side were otherwise occupied on hybrid duty.

To add an extra competitive edge there should be a plate final, thus affording all players the

opportunity to play two games in the series.

Then an Allstar Railway Cup team could be chosen and invited to travel with and compete against the Vodafone Allstars in more competitive games abroad.

As it would be highly likely that some of the Vodafone Allstars would also be Raliway Cup

Allstars, the opportunity for replacements from the inter-provincial series would ensure a competitive edge to all games.

Unfortunately in recent years, despite the generous sponsorship invested by Martin Donnelly, the Railway Cup has not attracted encouraging numbers through the turnstiles. However, the numbers criterion alone does not reflect fairly on the possibilities for this competition.

Every successful competition has definite and fixed dates. All major competitions, both within and between counties always (excepting for suspension and injury), have the best players available.

A planned press campaign can clearly highlight and preview the games and focus the public's

attention on an event they should attend.

Not so with the inter-provincials.

From one, often obscure, venue in Munster on a Saturday in February to another in an extreme end of Ulster in November has been the timetable under which the Railway Cup has been supposed to flourish. When one factors in club and college (in addition to the afore mentioned hybrid demands) then it wouldn't take a Mensa student to figure out why the numbers attending are unsatisfactory.

We must use this window of opportunity to reclaim this competition for our players and the Association in general.

The rebuild will take time and, with the opportunity to fix this date in the calendar for Railway Cup competitions, we are only limited by our imaginations.

Some suggestions for the development of a meaningful Railway Cup tournament will be addressed in next week's column.

SWT Performance?  What does that mean - I havent been following it at all, but sounds interesting 

Snake with tits performance...

Odds on tonight:

Noirin    1/14    
Marcus    13/2

Thank f**k for that

Noone's beat Scoooter

Grasshoppers in Crete wernt that nice. ONL will know what I'm on about.

Dirty green bastards

When I was younger I used to support United and Celtic, mainly because all my mates id as well and I didn't wanna get left out....

Now I have caught myself on and wouldn't follow any soccer teams, not even Celtic though I would have a soft spot for them obviously and like to see them do well...

I would watch the Champions League though every week when its on and whatever matches are on the weekend, mainly as I would have a bet on them.

Anyone who cries over a soccer team needs a good hiding, give them something to cry about my ma always used to say when I was younger.

Another conoction Charlie used to get was: 3vodkas, 3baileys (i think, it was something that curdled the drink anyway) and a dash or orange dilute. If you didn't stir it constantly it would curdle and become lumpy.

Was that a Davey special?

Was one of many I believe. All vomit inducing.

St. Anthony's Parish Hall, Craigavon c. 1996: Scooter

Unfortunately Nail I know you were actually there!!

Course I was, I'm not a liar!! I was very proud that Scooter would come to Craigavon to play a gig, in our parish hall no less such was the fan base they had in the Lurgan/Craigavon area at the time!

They only played about three songs though and were completely baked.

Yea very good in the score. Dont sh1t on your own doorstep.

Dont think there is a better actor at the minute bar Freddie Prince Jr and Josh Hartnett

You obviously haven't seen Viggo Mortensen, Leo Di Caprio or Vin Diesel*

*I may be joking about one of these