Antrim Football Thread

[EOC1923]

I just watched the MacRory final again.  The Cargin lads all made big contributions.  You love to see it.  And the Athletic Grounds is a great atmosphere.  My God the Casement Park episode has been a shameful white elephant. Rip up the plans and start again with an Athletic Grounds type stadium that we can all enjoy and can get built!

I was there on Sunday and was thinking that myself about the ground, an Athletic grounds is all Antrim would need and more at a fraction of the Cost and with no planning issues. The 35k stadium was a nice idea but needs canned. The issue has now been turned into a political football by all sides which will also hinder it further.

Our lads all did great by the way, great experience for them. Onto the Hogan Cup now.

[Saffsof82]

I just watched the MacRory final again.  The Cargin lads all made big contributions.  You love to see it.  And the Athletic Grounds is a great atmosphere.  My God the Casement Park episode has been a shameful white elephant. Rip up the plans and start again with an Athletic Grounds type stadium that we can all enjoy and can get built!

I was there on Sunday and was thinking that myself about the ground, an Athletic grounds is all Antrim would need and more at a fraction of the Cost and with no planning issues. The 35k stadium was a nice idea but needs canned. The issue has now been turned into a political football by all sides which will also hinder it further.

Our lads all did great by the way, great experience for them. Onto the Hogan Cup now.

When is the Hogan game EOC?

[country bumpkin]

St Mary's will play St Brendan's Killarney on the week-end 26th/27th Feb....in the Hogan Cup semi.

[Sportacus]

I had previously asked the question about the sustainability of the HTC model. At the time I knew little about them and assumed that it was through hard work that they improved their players and got them to the standard. Undoubtedly it still takes hard work to get to a MacRory final but the more info that comes out about them the less impressive it becomes IMO. It's essentially a gather-up of footballers from east Tyrone & south Derry.

A "gather-up"?  There's always a bit of chopping and changing at A level and I hear they had a part time student. But are you saying the vast majority of their team aren't HTC through and through?

[whatwillbwillb]

I just watched the MacRory final again.  The Cargin lads all made big contributions.  You love to see it.  And the Athletic Grounds is a great atmosphere.  My God the Casement Park episode has been a shameful white elephant. Rip up the plans and start again with an Athletic Grounds type stadium that we can all enjoy and can get built!

I was at the Armagh v Tyrone game last week, was saying to herself that it was great to see a ground full to capacity. The noise and atmosphere was brilliant. I said that if Antrim had that size of stadium it would be filled maybe twice a year, for outside county games. I get the Ulster Council are looking at a showpiece stadium, something to show off to the neighbours, and to put on big revenue concerts, but is it really needed at 34k capacity?

I just watched the MacRory final again.  The Cargin lads all made big contributions.  You love to see it.  And the Athletic Grounds is a great atmosphere.  My God the Casement Park episode has been a shameful white elephant. Rip up the plans and start again with an Athletic Grounds type stadium that we can all enjoy and can get built!

I was there on Sunday and was thinking that myself about the ground, an Athletic grounds is all Antrim would need and more at a fraction of the Cost and with no planning issues. The 35k stadium was a nice idea but needs canned. The issue has now been turned into a political football by all sides which will also hinder it further.

Our lads all did great by the way, great experience for them. Onto the Hogan Cup now.

Gents you talk as if it was still Antrims stadium and they carry influence and have a say, that ship sailed a long time ago . They'll have to get in line and book the calendar with the management company that will no doubt run the show!

[country bumpkin]

There are 12 lads from the Coalisland area on their panel. I'm no expert on this but I wouldn't have thought that Cookstown was the natural place for Coalisland people to attend school. Perhaps I'm wrong but it seems like they've drafted a pile of boys in. Which is fair enough but that would need to be considered when we are talking about an Antrim school emulating their success.

So only short bus journey, 15/20 minutes from Coalisland to Cookstown, wouldn't suggest such is 'a pile drafted in'....

[imtommygunn]

Did the school with the 12 who moved from it offer a levels?

[God14]

Did the school with the 12 who moved from it offer a levels?

St Josephs in Coalisland dont offer A levels, no. Most would traditionally have headed onto Dungannon tech, or a grammer school such as the Academy

HTC schools football team is traditionally backboned by Cookstown, Kildress, Ardboe & the Rock clubs.

[clubman21]

Did the school with the 12 who moved from it offer a levels?

St Josephs in Coalisland dont offer A levels, no. Most would traditionally have headed onto Dungannon tech, or a grammer school such as the Academy

HTC schools football team is traditionally backboned by Cookstown, Kildress, Ardboe & the Rock clubs.

St Joes Coalisland don't offer A-Levels, HTC has always got the majority of these studenys along with the Academy Dungannon. HTC have been competing well in Macrory since 2018 so they have been progressively getting better. No players from South Derry kicked a ball for them in the final just to add.

[Caesar]

If the standard of football was an incentive for young lads to join HTC then fair play to them.
As long as they are still getting a high quality education (which is the main thing) then I don't see this as anything but a positive for the school.
Another good reason to support the promotion of GAA within schools in Antrim.

On a side note, the buzz within the wider Magherafelt community because their school team had reached the final was incredible.

[bannside]

Surprise Surprise, Tyrone school casts net a bit wider to attract grade A footballers. Are we saying this ambition us wrong? Heaven forbid an Antrim school would ever start thinking like this!

[clubman21]

Surprise Surprise, Tyrone school casts net a bit wider to attract grade A footballers. Are we saying this ambition us wrong? Heaven forbid an Antrim school would ever start thinking like this!

Perhaps just annoyed that Antrim loses it's grade A footballers to schools like Magherafelt and St Ronan's Lurgan.

[Spike]

Surprise Surprise, Tyrone school casts net a bit wider to attract grade A footballers. Are we saying this ambition us wrong? Heaven forbid an Antrim school would ever start thinking like this!

Perhaps just annoyed that Antrim loses it's grade A footballers to schools like Magherafelt and St Ronan's Lurgan.

Maybe they are Grade A because they went to Magherafelt and Lurgan?  Apart from the grammar schools we also have to encourage our high schools and vocational schools. 

[Sportacus]

HTC won the All Ireland B in 2018.  They've been on an upward curve and that attracts some extra players as the MacRory incentive bites.  Fair play to them.  A lesson that anything is possible with hard work.

[clubman21]

HTC won the All Ireland B in 2018.  They've been on an upward curve and that attracts some extra players as the MacRory incentive bites.  Fair play to them.  A lesson that anything is possible with hard work.

Agreed, insane pool of coaches within the school taking teams throughout.