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Before I write what I'm going to say I should point out I'm not a massive rugby fan or one to complain about gaa matches clashing with other sports (only gaa people do this).

But sometimes you wonder could gaa do things better to promote our own games. This weekend Ireland play England and it will undoubtedly attract a lot of national coverage and large tv audience. On a normal weekend it would be hard to avoid a clash of matches which is fair enough. But surely this weekend was perfect to use St Patrick's Day for games? Especially when the rugby fixtures out a year in advance so plenty of time to plan things. St Patricks Day has traditionally been a huge GAA day and it is sad that we no longer have any high profile games (the schools matches won't register with most people and still could have been played). If they'd played Meath Dublin at 4 tomorrow and Armagh Galway at 6 I'm sure they would have attracted much higher tv audiences (little or no other sport on) and given the games a bit of exposure. Can't really see a reason why not to play games St Patricks Day?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-39891853/could-brexit-lead-way-to-a-united-ireland

Watch from 4 minutes 11 to see the view in Cork from a gaa man on a united Ireland.

[Highlights]

I wasn't overly impressed with the gpa proposals for the championships. I don't think 8 4's will work overly well with too many mismatches and groups that you could predict the outcome easily before it starts. It will also totally take away from the provincial championship which will become a pre season warm up.

I might have too much time on my hands but on the back of that I decided to come up with a system of my own. Given the vast array of issues in the gaa calendar I believe with a bit of tinkering it could be as good as we're going to get. I've used next years calendar as example of dates.

Highlights

- The provincial championship will be the first competition played in the year and will be based on groups and there will be finals.
- Performance in the provincial championship will determine whether you enter an a or b all ireland championship.
- Teams who win the provincial championships will get seeded in pot 1 for the a championship draw and runners up in pot 2.
- Provincial championship winners and runners up will carry points into the group stages of the all ireland championship.
- Bonus points will awarded in the championship for teams scoring over 20 points to encourage attacking football.
- County players will play a minimum of 7 games for their clubs which will be the games that will determine which championship you play in.

County Season - Part 1 (Late Feb to early April)

Each province will be allocated a number of places in the a and b championship based on recent years performances. Based on recent years (and province size) a fair allocation may be 6 to ulster, 4 to leinster, 2 to munster and 2 to connacht. The 2 remaining places will be determined by play offs between the 7th ulster team. 3rd connacht team, 3rd munster team and 5th leinster team.

Ulster championship

- London will be added to this giving two groups of 5 teams with seedings based on prior year national league for first year. Each team will play each other once.
- Top 3 teams in each group will qualify for the a all ireland championship. Top 2 teams will qualify for the ulster semi finals.
- The two 4th placed teams will play off with the winner playing the 3rd placed team in connaught, with the winners of this qualifying for the A all ireland championship.
- There will be semi finals and finals. The winners will get 4 points start in their group for the all ireland championship and be top seeds and the runners up will get 2 and be second seeds. This will help maintain the importance of winning the championship particularly as group winners in the all ireland will play 4th placed team in other section in the quarter finals.

Leinster

- There will be 3 groups of 4 teams who will play each other once. Again seeding based on prior years national league for the first year.
- The group winners and best placed second team will qualify for the semi finals and qualify for the A All Ireland championship.
- The other two second placed teams will play each other with the losers going to the b championship and the winners playing the 3rd placed team in Munster with the winners of that getting into the A championship.
- As above there will be semi finals and the provincial winners will get 4 points start in their group in the all ireland championship and be top seeds and runners up will get 2 and be second seeds.

Connacht and Munster

- There will be 5 teams in each championship. Again these teams will play each other once.
- The top two teams in each championship will qualify for their provincial final.
- The third placed teams will have play offs against the 5th team in leinster/7th team in ulster with the winners getting into the a championship.
- The top two teams will play off in the provincial final - first will have home advantage (both provinces have teams capable of hosting it and might make earlier game more interesting). Again the winners will be top seed in the all ireland championship and get 4 points to start in their group and second place will be 2nd seeds and get 2 points to start with.

These fixtures will be played off weekly and be wrapped up within 7 weeks - starting say the 21/22nd feb and finishing 4/5 april.

Club Season - Part 1 (with county players) (18/19 April - 16/17 May)

Ideally each county will have a similar format.

In Tyrone there is 16 teams in each championship. These would be split into two groups of 8. Each team playing each other once and county players available for all games. The top 4 teams would make the county quarter finals and the bottom two would go into relegation play off games.
During this first part of the season the aim would be to play the first 5 games.

County Season Part 2 (30/31 May - 25/26 July)

- The A and B championship have been determined from the above. And there has been time to get all the fixtures sorted out and spread out over the various games over the weekends to get maximum exposure for them.
- There will be two groups of 8 in each championship with seeding as per above and points carried forward for provincial winners/runner up. The top 4 teams in each section will qualify for quarter finals and first will play 4th and 2nd 3rd giving incentive to come as high as possible.
- Teams will get bonus points for scoring over 20 points in a game to encourage positive football.
- Each team will play 3 games at home and 3 away and one neutral. This will allow the use of bigger grounds for big double headers including croke park.
- The games will be spread out over 9 weekends to allow for breaks.
- GAA to work with local councils to help promote games and have other events in the area to really sell the games. Consider beer tents etc and corporate end were possible building on what rugby has been doing in the area. Push season tickets (can have a home season ticket for the 3 games or extended one to cover away) and also ensure large grounds aren't being used were not applicable eg Derry may play a game or two in Owenbeg. Clubs can be rewarded directly for selling season tickets.

Club Season Part 2 (30/31 May - 5/6 September)

- County boards will need to come up with a decent summer league that can be sold to clubs and that they will have to buy into. Currently during this time of year too many games are held up cause county players aren't available. A meaningful separate league needs to be put in place without them to allow for regualr football. It could be say 11 games or maybe less and build in a divisional championship as well to improve quality. Club games could be played Friday nights to avoid clashes with county games and ensuring club players have the weekends free over the summer.

County Season Part 3 (8/9 August - 5/6 September)

- All Ireland quarter finals in A & B championship the 8/9 August, semi finals two weeks later and finals two weeks after that.

Club Season Part 3 (12/13 September - 31 October))

- Clubs play remaining 2 games of group from early season and then quarter finals/ semi finals and finals as well as promotion /relegation period during this time.
- Provincial championships and All Ireland club run off pre Christmas.

There will be obvious drawbacks like dual players having to choose matches and potential games that aren't important come the last round or teams who can't qualify not worrying about the points. However it will be a major improvement on the current system were teams effectively play 10 plus warm up games from January to April.

Overall I believe the above is a much fairer system for all counties with a similar number of games to currently and will give clubs a bit more structure as to whats happening as well as allowing county players to be available for all key games and have periods to focus on their club.

I obviously haven't factored in club reserves, sigerson etc but the above would be a strong starting point.

Right it's time to stop depressing ourselves over the Monaghan game and move on. If the players have any sense of pride in the jersey they'll come out with a reaction in this one. Like I'd rather see us lose 5 4 with 8 men sent off and a game marred by ugly scenes than what happened last week. If I had the choice I'd prefer a nice high scoring victory though.

League football can be funny sometimes and you can never read too much into it but the nature of our performance was very worrying, After losing a game they were expected to win to go to Mayo and win a game they are most definitely expected to lose would get us right back on track. After last week it's hard to see it happening but I guess you never know.

We need to start competing for dirty ball around the middle. To me it's been our biggest downfall in recent years. We've continually played with half forward lines with no ball winners. We seem to spend to long in training working on smart Morgan kick outs at the expense of going for hard ball. When a team pushes up on us we then can't get a ball in the middle. We also for some reason never push up on the opposition so our constantly under pressure from their kickouts.

We really need justy and Harte back for this one. We really can't afford to miss anyone at the minute. We need to try to address the half forward issues. I'd take a chance on the following:
Morgan
Mcrory
Mcnamee
Mcccarron
Brennan
Mcnabb
McMahon
Colm c
Conall McCann
Harte
Donnelly
McShane
Mccurry
Cavanagh
Mckenna

Mcahane is a chance but he looked athletic in the mckenna cup and that's what we badly need there. McNulty had a poor game the last day and might be better deployed from the bench in this one.

Haven't heard any outcry against this. Where is the doctors coming out telling us how many people this will kill. Why no media outcry to think of the children etc? That's the two main rugby competitions irish teams play in sponsored by drinks companies. Very different attitude from the Dublin press to rugby than gaa in the country.

If Meath can avoid getting more injuries I'm predicting one of the biggest upsets in recent years with a Meath win.

It's been a few very positive weeks for the gaa. Despite unprecedented coverage and hype for other sports in Ireland in recent years the gaa remains strong. In the last few weeks we've had the following stories:
1) The top 3 watched sports programmes in Ireland last year were gaa. It also accounted for 7 of the top ten sports shows in Ireland.
2) Croke park debt has been fully cleared leaving the gaa with even greater resources going forward.
3) Gaa attendances increased last year and in turn generated over 2 million additional revenue centrally.
4) 4 garth brooks concerts announced on top of 3 already planned for one direction and an American football game next year meaning huge revenues for the association.

I think for some reason people are often slow to praise the gaa but the above highlights it's continued popularity in the country. It faces tough competition from soccer and rugby and for some reason seems to be a poor relation with the media.

I'd love to see the gaa use the additional funds to continue to promote the games and try to ensure an even footing In terms of coverage with other sports. We seem to be entering a new positive era in football and hurling is more competitive than it has been for ages and these can only be positives for the games. If properly managed the gaa can remain the number one organisation for years to come.

I do think we could promote the league a lot better. It takes up an awful amount of the season to be treated as a warm up competition with passing interest. Either combine it with the championship or somehow increase the importance of it as a standalone competition.

I've no idea why they didn't promote the opening games more this year. 2006 and 2009 showed the potential the gaa has when it promotes an event right. Why not have a national gaa celebration every year to kick of the leagues in croke park with a big football and hurling games. Put on an act and spend a fortune on lights and fireworks if that's what it takes. Increased attendance will cover the costs. Do something to boost the finals to.

The county game is a huge vehicle for promoting the games and should continue to be with continued promotion of our top players. Equally though club games are important. It's imperative that regular fixtures are put in place for all counties. No longer can we treat our players like crap and expect them to wait about for months with no games.

http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=187902
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-8iBGnQ9Ig

If this is true its going to look bad on Finuge especially after they put up the first video. Sectarian abuse and one of their officials spiiting twice before the Galvin incident. Not exactly whiter than white. I don't think this incident is as clear on the camera though - though it certainly looks like he spat twice.

Must say I've enjoyed the knockout stages of this so far. Much more so than in recent years. There's been a good bit of English interest and it feels a we bit more like the old uefa cup/cup winners cup. The Spurs games have been very good, as was the Liverpool match a few weeks ago. Chelsea one's have been interesting too.

An important early game for both teams given the strength of the division. I'd say both will fancy their chances of picking up 2 points. Both teams missing a few players but should be a good competitive game.

Given the amounting of changes made during the McKenna Cup its hard to predict what way the Tyrone team will line up. Based on last night it looks like Justy McMahon should be able to play a part which is a big plus. Hopefully Cavanagh can carry his McKenna Cup form through to the McKenna Cup. I think we're more than capable of winning this and would be hopeful of picking up the 2 points.

So says John Mullane anyway. Never thought Tyrone would have had such an impact on hurling!

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/harte-influence-credited-for-increased-physicality-in-hurling-220103.html

Might get shouted at for starting a new thread but thought it deserved one. The game is down for 7pm Saturday night in Armagh. Will be very interesting and no doubt both teams will be up for it. Looking forward to it now after a better Tyrone showing yesterday. Hope the likes of Cavanagh and O'Neill can build on yesterday. Wonder will Harte give the likes of McNeice and McNally time. Coney could be back in contention to.

Derry seemed to be flying until yesterday. Was it a one off or a sign of things to come?

Taken from Hoganstand

Dublin's Croker games approved

Dublin supporters on Hill 16
22 December 2010


Dublin have received the green light from the GAA to stage all of their 2011 National Football League Division 1 home fixtures at Croke Park.

Pat Gilroy's charges will now face Cork, Kerry, Mayo and Down at GAA headquarters, while the Dublin hurlers will also play two of their National League games at Croker as part of the arrangement.

After their opening league game against Armagh in the revamped Athletic Grounds, Dublin's clash with All-Ireland champions Cork will form part of a floodlit double-header with Anthony Daly's hurlers taking on Liam McCarthy Cup holders Tipperary on Saturday, February 19.



Seven days later, the footballers play Kerry, while the game against Mayo on March 20 is the only Sunday fixture. The second double-header will take place on April 2 when Down's footballers and Kilkenny's hurlers visit Croke Park in another Saturday evening double-bill.

Meanwhile, the Kerry game is set to be preceded by the Dublin senior camogie team's league date with Kilkenny while the county's senior ladies football will play a Division 2 game before their men's fixture with Mayo

Confirmation of the decision to allow the games to take place at Croke Park came on Monday evening when Ticketmaster sent out an email revealing that the ticket packages for the six games were on sale, starting at €45 for adults and €10 for children.

And new Dublin chairman Andy Kettle has expressed his delight at the GAA's decision to approve the venture.

"We're extremely happy, this is the result of six weeks of hard work and negotiations," the Fingal Ravens clubman said.

"The games fit into our schedule nicely and this is a big part of our strategic plan as regards promotion of Gaelic games in the county.

"It's also an extra revenue stream and in these economically stricken times we have to make the most of what we can.

"Our teams will gain favourably from this, gaining more experience playing in the stadium and on the best pitch in the country at a time of year when poor weather conditions would affect other surfaces. The GAA will also benefit corporate-wise with the stadium being used at a time in the calendar when it wasn't earlier this year."

Kettle added that both the Dublin county board and Ticketmaster will be embarking on a major promotional campaign ahead of the games.

"We'll be promoting the games heavily through the clubs and there will be an incentive for them to sell tickets as they will earn a percentage of receipts."

Suprised no word of this on main board:

Derry star Eoin Bradley could be hit with a 48-week ban after he allegedly struck a referee following his club Glenullin's exit from the Derry SFC on Saturday evening.

If the highly-rated forward is found guilty of such an offence, he will miss Derry's entire 2011 campaign and will join his older brother Paddy on the sidelines after he announced his retirement from inter-county football earlier this year.



Glenullin lost to Ballinascreen by 3-2 to 1-7 and immediately after the final whistle, Bradley was alleged to have punched Dungiven referee Declan O'Connor in the face as he made his way to the dressing room at O'Brien Park in Foreglen.

The Derry county board are awaiting the referee's report before deciding what course of action to take.

Anyone know if the time has been confirmed for this? Would make sense to have it Saturday night after qualifier games but they'll probably hold it back to Sunday anyway. Any chance they'll put the balls in a proper drum this time and spin it? Can't see why not.

[It's a significant statement on Kerry's approach against Limerick, where they handpassed the ball 132 occasions -- 37 times more than their rivals. It was also 37 more than Tyrone used against Monaghan in the Ulster final.]

Taken from the independent:

Kingdom give rival finalists a real kicking in handpass stakes

By Martin Breheny


Thursday July 22 2010

KERRY relied on the handpass more than any of their counterparts, according to match data from the four provincial football finals.

They were the undisputed handpass kings, slinging out between 39pc and 90pc more than the seven other finalists. That will come as a surprise to those who say Kerry use a more direct style than other counties.

It's a significant statement on Kerry's approach against Limerick, where they handpassed the ball 132 occasions -- 37 times more than their rivals. It was also 37 more than Tyrone used against Monaghan in the Ulster final.
Louth relied on the handpass less than any other provincial finalist, deploying it just 69 times against Meath (83). The lowest aggregate was in the Leinster final, which returned 152 handpasses, 12 fewer than Connacht where Roscommon-Sligo returned 164. Ulster had 189 and Munster 227.

The handpass has been under the spotlight since the experiments with the fisted pass last spring. They were thrown out at Congress, but a slight adjustment was made to the old format, requiring an upward striking motion. That proved controversial in the early stages of the championship as players complained about refereeing inconsistencies and while there are still occasional frustrations, things have settled down.

Overall, the number of handpasses was down by an average of 19 per game on last year's provincial finals. Whether that's due to the amended handpass or the individual styles of the competing counties, is difficult to assess.

Clean catching from kick-outs averaged just over four per county, with Monaghan best on seven and Sligo and Louth worst on one each. This was another area of experiment in the league where a 'mark' applied but like so many of the proposals, it was voted down at Congress.

Remarkably, Louth, who have highly rated midfielders in Paddy Keenan and Brian White, caught just one kick-out against Meath, which was also matched by Sligo. Tyrone proved that catching kick-outs is not necessary to construct an easy win as they managed just two, whereas Monaghan fielded seven in last Sunday's final.

As for shots at goal from outside the 20-metre line, the Connacht final was a clear winner with Roscommon and Sligo producing a total of 45, which was eight more than Meath-Louth, 13 more than Tyrone-Monaghan and 18 more than Kerry-Limerick.

Good to see the championships get a bit of positive coverage for a change. Taken from independent:

A S GAA championships go, the first of the new decade is certainly trying to develop as an adventurous sort rather than holding up a mirror to its immediate predecessors and declaring itself happy with the reflection.

How refreshing is that? It may, of course, be a May-June thing, after which favourites start galloping merrily home as they head for the glitzy parade rings that come into view from July on.

Up to now, though, it has been fascinating to watch confetti showers of shredded form books blowing across venues all over the country.

Who would have thought that over the last five weekends we would have seen the following?

1 Cork hurlers thrashing highly rated Tipperary by 10 points. Cork beating Tipperary (or vice versa) is never a major surprise but 10-point margins are.

2 Dublin footballers having their pursuit of a provincial six-in-a-row replaced by a dig through the record books to see when they last conceded five goals in the Leinster championship. The answer is 81 years ago when Laois beat them, 5-5 to 3-10 in the 1929 semi-final. Unlike last Sunday, they came up just one point short.

3 Louth hitting hot favourites Kildare for 1-22, followed by a win over Westmeath to reach the Leinster final for the first time since 1960.

4 Longford, who looked one-paced when finishing 31st of 33 in the NFL and not much quicker when losing to Louth in Leinster, beating 2009 Connacht champions and 2010 Division 1 finalists Mayo in the All-Ireland qualifiers.

5 Monaghan beating Armagh by 12 points. Armagh had beaten Derry three weeks previously and have since beaten Donegal.

6 Offaly hurlers proving they're right alongside Galway who are supposed to be serious All-Ireland contenders.

7 Sligo footballers dumping Mayo out of the Connacht championship and then coming within seconds of becoming the first senior team from the county to win against Galway in Galway.

Exploits

Then there was the high drama of Cork v Kerry and Dublin v Wexford, Cavan's comeback exploits against Wicklow and Carlow hurlers' win over Laois last Saturday after losing twice to them earlier in the season.

Of course, certainties have romped home too, some exciting, some depressing. The former was represented by Henry Shefflin taking the lead in the hurling championship's all-time scoring charts, the latter by the grim inevitability that Limerick hurling's cannibalisation of itself would leave it fatally damaged for the Munster campaign.

Unquestionably, the first six weeks of the championships have been extremely vibrant and while question marks remain against overall standards in football, there's no doubt that the summer campaigns are boiling up quite nicely.

Of all the achievements so far, the most universally popular will be Louth's advance on the Leinster final. For the past 50 years, they have watched as the big day featured Dublin, Meath, Offaly, Kildare, Laois, Westmeath, Longford and Wexford, leaving them on the outside with Carlow and Wicklow (Kilkenny don't compete).

The emotion that radiated from the red zones dotted around Croke Park last Sunday evening, not to mention the sheer joy of the players and their effervescent manager Peter Fitzpatrick, will be added to the book of evidence by those who continue to make a strong case for the retention of the provincial championships.

In fairness, they have a point. In terms of promoting Gaelic Games in Louth which, given the strength of soccer in its two biggest towns, is a major challenge, this team has done more than a flotilla of coaches. If Louth were to win the Leinster championship, it would be the biggest boost to football in the county since the All-Ireland win of 1957, but, even if they don't, they have given it a whole new impetus.

The case for the retention of the provincial championships is being made in the other provinces too. Limerick are chasing their first Munster football title for 114 years while, in Ulster, it would be a fitting landmark by which to recognise the current team if Monaghan won a first provincial title since 1988.

And what of Connacht? If Sligo beat Galway in the semi-final replay next Saturday, their clash with Roscommon will be the first final without either Galway or Mayo since 1947. And then there's Galway trying to win a first Leinster hurling championship on Sunday.

The 2010 championships really are showing a remarkable amount of individuality. Enjoy it, just in case the old order starts to close in from now on.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/louth-the-leading-lights-in-a-refreshing-summer-of-surprises-2239545.html

Generally been a very good championship to date with plenty of shocks. Hopefully it continues.

Anyone know anything about these new channels that have appeared on sky? One is channel 433 and the other 437. One of them is on a Monday and Tuesday night from 11pm to 5am in the morning. The other is on a Wednesday and Thursday night at the same times. The only thing they show is matches from this years all ireland football and hurling championship. Are they linked to setanta or whats the story? Bit strange that there schedule has nothing else on apart from this.