Sigerson Cup 2012

[stronghold]

Stronghold you raise some interesting points here however you can't help yourself in getting a snipe in at Queen's whilst attempting to promote your own college uuj. It seems to be in your dna.
For the record your point on St.Mary's having 1500 v Queen's having 25,000. St.Marys is a catholic teacher training college so chances are that most of them have a GAA background (you only need 15!). Queens has extremely high entry grades (like trinity) and loads of International students so their GAA intake will be mixed (as you well know I'd say). Both of these colleges would be very credible in that they adhere to the ethos of teh competition and depend on their natural intake for players.
Unlike your own college who target players every year to beef up your squad (Leo McLoone, Eoin Waide etc). By the way Ulster uni has nearly 30,000 students, you operate elite entry scheme, you target older players to beef your squad, and you still can't win the thing!

Elite entry schemes are the cancer of HE GAA.

Yes CK and you cant not comment without having a snipe at UUJ.  Lets nail this myth once and for all the grdaes into queens are no higher than any other University, it all depends on the course and the demand.  Maybe you would like to tell me the difference in Leo MC Loone and Eoin Waide gooing to UUJ and Paul Mc Guigan, Enda Clarke and Tim Hanna going to beef up Queens as you say.
By the way there are 25, 000 students at UU which includes Magee, Coleraine, Jordanstown and the Art College there are 12,500 at Jordanstown.

No Stonghold I don't have snipes at UUJ, I have snipes at colleges who rip the piss in terms of taking in players through all sorts of silly schemes. UUJ are very much in this group and Queen's are not, yet you bring them up in every post. So what if  O'Rourke texts his own players! .. It might fit you better looking after the players you do have, then you might win something.

CK   I notice but not surprised that you did not answer the question that you brought  up. What is the difference between Leo Mc Loone and Owen Waide going to UUJ and Paul Mc Guigan , Tim Hanna and Enda Clarke beefing up Queens as you say.
You obviously don,t know anything about Adrian Mc Guckin. Adrain is one of the mosly highly respected managers in the Country. You are out of order on this one.  As for looking after players then you need to talk to Jordanstown players and you will get your answer.  Also check the record books as for winning things. The last Ulster team to win the Sigerson, Intermediates, Juniors and three times the fresher titles than any one else. Have queens  actually won a Sigerson game since 2007?. Great queens fresher win this year, congratulations the first in at least a decade, but it took a few Stanmillis players to help achieve this.
This perceived persona that queens are whiter than white is delusional and quite frankly total crap. Just look at that 2007 Sigerson team!! I will say no more on this subject.
Queens are not superior or better than anyone else, you might think it and believe it but thankfully most people are not that easily duped.

[ck]

Ah bud ya never stop. How about a big hug?
I did answer your question, the diff was those lads among others was contacted directly by you boys to come to your college. FACT. We have a lad at Sligo IT who was also contacted. It's laughable. I doubt if those lads you mention were "recruited" although I've never heard of any of them so who knows. You are probably signing them up for next year as we speak LOL. Maybe you can give them some free pens through your elite athlete scheme or something.

[Croí na hÉireann]

Who won the Trench?

Trinity won comfortably. From a Westmeath point of view great to see Kieran Gavin lift the Sigerson. His brother Davy also on the panel. And also well done to Daragh Daly, Trevor English and Conor O'Donoghue on their Trench Cup win

+1, great to see.

Eoghan O'Gara scored 4 points?!
Which limbs did he get them with?

O'Gara actually played well, he had a bit more space than normal, maybe Sigerson is his level. He sold a lovely dummy solo in the first half and then proceeded to kick the ball wide from in front of the posts. 

DCU are some outfit, head and shoulders above the other colleges at the minute.

[armaghranger12]

Is that not because they take people in just to play football, they put them into part-time courses just so they are registered with the college to play football? am i wrong there ?

[Hound]

Eoghan O'Gara scored 4 points?!
Which limbs did he get them with?

O'Gara actually played well, he had a bit more space than normal, maybe Sigerson is his level. He sold a lovely dummy solo in the first half and then proceeded to kick the ball wide from in front of the posts. 

DCU are some outfit, head and shoulders above the other colleges at the minute.

O'Gara was very good alright. Couldnt believe my eyes. Missed what was probably his easiest chance, but otherwise he was Catch - Kick - Point. Flynn was unreal. I know he's a decent player, but bejaysis he was playing like he Jack O'Shea. I've seen him play lots of times at club and county, never seen him produce anything like that.
I think its fair to say that Maynooth had a bad day at the office and didnt really offer up much in the way of resistance, esp in the 2nd half.

[shark]

Is that not because they take people in just to play football, they put them into part-time courses just so they are registered with the college to play football? am i wrong there ?

Partly. They are all doing full time courses. They do target top players, but they are all then enrolled in full time courses.

[Syferus]

DCU have an excellent eye for talent. They got Donie Smith and John McManus (son of one of the finest forwards in the history of the game, Tony McManus) this year, who both featured prominently in our 2011 minor championship run, among plenty of other Roscommon under-age players. Clearly Roscommon isn't the only county they've selected exciting players from either.

At minimum both Smith and McManus will be future starters for the county - both are already involved with the senior panel - so if you're sick of DCU already it isn't going to get any better.

In strong defence of DCU, I've seen first-hand how much their input has helped players like Donie Shine, Cathal Cregg and, on recent form, David Keenan, develop. They're also imbuing players from counties other than the top three or four with the confidence that there's very little between them and the very best teams in the country and that can only ever be very good thing for the game at large.

Are you mixing up Smith with Conor Daly? as Donie is in his 2nd year with DCU after winning the freshers with them last year he was on the DCU sigerson panel then got injured v Longford in the O`Bryne cup. Mc Manus,Daly,Finbar Cregg,Oates etc are all part of the DCU freshers team this year (they lost the final to Queens yesterday btw)

As for the guys asking why Cregg,Kelly,Murphy weren't starting well all are just back from injury & i'm sure the counties would be asking DCU to ease them back into action.

Yeah, my mistake! It's sometimes easy to get confused , especially since for obvious reasons I associate McManus and Smith first with last year's minor team.


HE football and hurling should be deeply focused on being a development bed for players and not a level trying to pretend it exists on an island. It's not even the #1 competition for 18-21 year olds, the main source of these players, after all.

And yes, offering elite scholarships is an issue that effects competitiveness but when those guys will likely killing themselves for a decade or more with their club and county, literally doing a second unpaid job, I have zero problems with elite scholarships.

More should be offered by any colleges serious about competing. Set limits, make it more like NCAA sports in the US, but wishing them away will get you no where.

[Orchardman]

Eoghan O'Gara scored 4 points?!
Which limbs did he get them with?

O'Gara actually played well, he had a bit more space than normal, maybe Sigerson is his level. He sold a lovely dummy solo in the first half and then proceeded to kick the ball wide from in front of the posts. 

DCU are some outfit, head and shoulders above the other colleges at the minute.

O'Gara was very good alright. Couldnt believe my eyes. Missed what was probably his easiest chance, but otherwise he was Catch - Kick - Point. Flynn was unreal. I know he's a decent player, but bejaysis he was playing like he Jack O'Shea. I've seen him play lots of times at club and county, never seen him produce anything like that.
I think its fair to say that Maynooth had a bad day at the office and didnt really offer up much in the way of resistance, esp in the 2nd half.

Flynn has turned into a serious player. He was destroyed (like his team mates) by kerry in 2009, and last year he had turned himself into a flying fit, strong, and hard working wing forward. Bit like begley, around 26 now, so will stand out at sigerson level with they approach he has taken. None of these guys are on bluffer courses, flynn and murphy are both only 2nd year on a PE teaching degree, flynn had already trained as a plumber years ago.

The case for colm begley is maybe more dubious, i dont know. He's come home after years in AFL, landed a handy number with parnells, and now this. I'm sure their getting well looked after.

I see moyna said this, i was surprised as people always harp about the great set up they have:

"We do not have floodlights. We do not have an artificial pitch. We are one of the very few colleges that don't have those facilities. We train on club pitches. It is all about people and not facilities.