Qualifier - Cork v Laois

[heffo]

Eh! It was me making the point.

Seanie said the format hasn't held Dublin back, I qualified it by stating that it was the investment in grassroots hurling that has progressed Dublin not championship formats.

Heffo seems to think Laois squandered any money they had which isn't a like for like for comparison as highlighted by the additional government funding that Dublin has received over the last 6 years.

So just to qualify it yourself, myself, Seanie and AZ all recognise the fantastic work be done by the Dublin board and the friends of Dublin hurling.

It has taken a lot of effort, planning and financial investment to get this far, no county will get that support for the feasible future but the template is there now and we know it works.

I'm not saying Laois squandered anything Dinny, but irrespective if a publican, builder or whoever was paying for Micko's diesel, the same people could've been approached to support investment in structures.

You also seem to ignore the massive work put in by volunteers in getting Dublin to where they are.

[Dinny Breen]

Eh! It was me making the point.

Seanie said the format hasn't held Dublin back, I qualified it by stating that it was the investment in grassroots hurling that has progressed Dublin not championship formats.

Heffo seems to think Laois squandered any money they had which isn't a like for like for comparison as highlighted by the additional government funding that Dublin has received over the last 6 years.

So just to qualify it yourself, myself, Seanie and AZ all recognise the fantastic work be done by the Dublin board and the friends of Dublin hurling.

It has taken a lot of effort, planning and financial investment to get this far, no county will get that support for the feasible future but the template is there now and we know it works.

I'm not saying Laois squandered anything Dinny, but irrespective if a publican, builder or whoever was paying for Micko's diesel, the same people could've been approached to support investment in structures.

You also seem to ignore the massive work put in by volunteers in getting Dublin to where they are.

Alas in our short sighted world there is no glory in sponsoring grassroots.

All hypothetical but I would argue till the cows home that Dublin hurling would not be in it's current situation without the financial support it has received over the last 10 years. You can have all the volunteers in the world but without the correct infrastructure to support them you're only going to get so far.

[INDIANA]

The point is Dinny they wouldnt have received a cent without the gameplan.

That was all any other county had to do.

Considering what some of our county board thought of hurling at the time its quite remarkable.

They will find it extremely difficult to source the same funds in the current climate.

[Reillers]

Dublin have done very, very well, but at the end of the day, it's all about the money and investing in them, people will throw money at Dublin a lot quicker than any other developing county. I guess there is a value to having those D4 boys after all. 

You can have all the plans and effort and volunteers you like, sheer hard will wont get you to where you need to be without the money.
Who knows where Laois (or any other county for that matter) would be if they had been given the same funds Dublin were, and in these times we're living in. 

At the end of the day, you can't expect counties to compete when they are not playing on a level playing field.
But you do the best with what you've got.

Some counties like Dublin build on the money they were given, and teams like Laois will struggle on by, time and time again. But at the end of the day, and I've said it over and over again, you do what you gotta do to survive when it comes to the GAA. Dublin, as a county, as a "brand" are much more likely to get the money and sponsorship's and all of that.
You do your very best with what you've been given. That's all anyone can do.

[bottlethrower7]

well done Cork. The spirit of Christy Ring was alive and well in this demolition of Laois.

doin their bit for hurling in the weaker counties.

Its only a little bit disappointing that they didn't get another 7 or 8 goals in the first half.

again, well done Cork. Exceptional day for our sport.

[bottlethrower7]

And I dont buy this small pools of players rubbish. If you can get kids in Dalkey and Blackrock playing hurling - you could sell hurling in any county in Ireland- tradition or no tradition.

If you're referring to Cuala, most of those lads came through Clonkeen, not Blackrock. Its still exceptional to see anyone come through that school and play hurling any way competitively. The vice-principal of Clonkeen is a former Dublin football selector (his name escapes me) and pushes the games quite hard (theres a couple of ex-inter county players teaching there that are taking the school teams - Tracey, Gough, Schutte, etc came through there). So the strength of GAA in the areas you mentioned is based on tradition. Maybe not tradition of the area itself, but moreso the traditions of people in those areas who are in a position to exert influence.

Theres no doubt that more money is being pumped into the game in Dublin than anywhere else, but as magpie seanie said, its money well spent. Other counties should be following the lead, not chastising Dublin.

When Mick O'Grady took over the county team he demanded that the county board pump the same resources into the hurling team as they were pumping into the football team. They did and somewhat of a spike in fortunes resulted. Unfortunately the players just weren't good enough to kick on (we all remember the hiding Kilkenny gave them in Parnell).

Remember too that there was a highly-publicised 'director of hurling' position opened in the county shortly after. I can't fully recall who got that job (Diarmaid Healy maybe?) but it was quickly reduced to a part-time position and eventually done away with. Then Humphrey Kelleher was rather bizarrely appointed manager on the back of getting Naomh Mearnog promoted from division 2 to division 1 (mostly because they 'imported' the then journeyman, Gordon Glynn, from Galway). That was a ridiculous period for Dublin hurling with lots of crazy things happening (recall Kevin Flynn and Liam Ryan heading off to America following defeat to Offaly, a week before a qualifier against Tipperary).

Tom Naughton restored sanity to the setup, mostly because the players respected him (he had been a selector previously, either to Jimmy Grey or to O'Grady).

The point being, over the last 10-15 years, the county board were pumping variable amounts of money into the county senior team, and it quickly became evident that this was not the best use of the money. The county team do need to be looked after but the main focus needs to be elsewhere.

A couple of things that have majorly contributed to the progression of the Dublin hurling team;

- the primary schools
- the combined colleges team
- the power-base shifting back to hurling teams (as opposed to the so-called hatchet clubs). Specifically Ballyboden, but also the improvement in clubs like Cuala and Lucan, as well as Kilmacud putting more effort into their hurling setup again.
- the coaching structure (I doubt theres a club in Dublin without a full-time coach at the moment).

Theres still a lot to do but they're on the right road.

[AQMP]

well done Cork. The spirit of Christy Ring was alive and well in this demolition of Laois.

doin their bit for hurling in the weaker counties.

Its only a little bit disappointing that they didn't get another 7 or 8 goals in the first half.

again, well done Cork. Exceptional day for our sport.

You can't blame Cork for anything.  You can only play who's in front of you.  It's up to others to bring Laois up to the standard of Cork not for Cork to go easy on the opposition.  You wouldn't expect McIlroy to deliberately fluff a few putts to make the golf more competitive.

[bottlethrower7]

well done Cork. The spirit of Christy Ring was alive and well in this demolition of Laois.

doin their bit for hurling in the weaker counties.

Its only a little bit disappointing that they didn't get another 7 or 8 goals in the first half.

again, well done Cork. Exceptional day for our sport.

You can't blame Cork for anything.  You can only play who's in front of you.  It's up to others to bring Laois up to the standard of Cork not for Cork to go easy on the opposition.  You wouldn't expect McIlroy to deliberately fluff a few putts to make the golf more competitive.

they didn't need 10 goals. They could have tapped over points. Just like Kilkenny did to them in the league 2 years ago.

[AQMP]

Speaking as someone who comes from an allegedy dual county I can only commend Dublin for the progress they've made in hurling over the past dozen or so years.  Instead of putting it down solely to money can we not talk about replicating that blueprint in other counties?  There are dyed in the wool hurling people in every county in Ireland.

[deiseach]

- the power-base shifting back to hurling teams (as opposed to the so-called hatchet clubs).

The wha'?

[bottlethrower7]

- the power-base shifting back to hurling teams (as opposed to the so-called hatchet clubs).

The wha'?

no more clash of the tash

[Bud Wiser]

- the primary schools
- the combined colleges team
- the power-base shifting back to hurling teams (as opposed to the so-called hatchet clubs). Specifically Ballyboden, but also the improvement in clubs like Cuala and Lucan, as well as Kilmacud putting more effort into their hurling setup again.
- the coaching structure (I doubt theres a club in Dublin without a full-time coach at the moment).

Theres still a lot to do but they're on the right road.

I agree BT7 with the points you made above, but, sometimes there is an element of luck attached to how a club like Ballyboden evolves and a lot depends on what interest the school principal has in hurling when the lads are young. In the case of Ballyboden/Firhouse we had Maurice Curtin (Daves Da) for years and he was originally a Cat and he had a passion for hurling that few could match. I remember one year his school won the u14's and he brought them around all the area in an open top bus. He is now retired but again, luckily, we have a Clare man, Mr O'Meara who shares the same interest. God forgive me but can you imagine what kind of a hurling team we would have in Ballyboden if those two men had been from Tyrone or Armagh! Had they been from Laois, according to what Im hearing the young lads would be playing 'ins and outs' every day, in and out of SuperValu off-lisence.

[Bud Wiser]

Have a read of this.  http://thescore.thejournal.ie/broken-beyond-repair-a-timeline-of-the-laois-hurling-crisis-160499-Jun2011/

[bottlethrower7]

agreed Bud, you'll always need that bit of luck on your side. Like the Offaly team of the 90s. Arguably the most naturally gifted collection of hurlers ever to take the field together in the history of the game. What were the chances of them all coming along at the same time, in a non-traditional hurling county like Offaly.

Whether it be a lucky bounce of the ball or a lucky twist of fate, no one has ever won big without that rub of the green.

[Hoof Hearted]

34 point victory last week, 1 point victory today