All Ireland club football championships 2023/24

[clarshack]

Someone needs to take the mic of John Evans, manager of Cill na Martra.

what did he say? Didnt watch.

He basically threw a few lads under the bus in an old fashioned, amateurish way. Don't think he meant to come across harsh but basically said that two or three of his lads who do all the scoring didn't turn up and that he took a few of them off for that reason.

That adds to his very confident pre-match interview where he said that he's going to give Cullyhanna hell and he thinks they'll beat them.

They came up against a defensively organised team and didn't have a plan to counteract them. Too much faffing about around Cullyhannas defensive arc and very slow in the third quarter (due to Cullyhanna's system). He said that normally he coaches them for the "one twos and scores" but that the lads didn't show up.

I want to repeat that it didn't have malice behind it. Rather and old-fashioned take on the game as if he was talking in the pub after the game and not taking the consideration that they were club players on their biggest day ever in Croker.

Didn't think it was that bad.

[bennydorano]

Cullyhanna should have a bit of additional swagger about then in Armagh this upcoming season.

[ranch]

What teams that played/won their championships and played in league two of their counties?

Seems nowadays that clubs much prefer to hang back, or drop down to get a run at a provincial championship or all Ireland run

Needs to be looked at in Croke park, if a club wants to drop down and win their county championship in either intermediate or Junior they can't be playing div one football and then represent the county, it should be a div 2 team for intermediate and a div 3 or 4 for junior

You'd soon see a lot of teams cutting their cloth differently

Can't say I've ever heard a club or players say they want to go down to get a run at a championship in a lower grade. From my own experience lads hate getting relegated.

[Armagh18]

What teams that played/won their championships and played in league two of their counties?

Seems nowadays that clubs much prefer to hang back, or drop down to get a run at a provincial championship or all Ireland run

Needs to be looked at in Croke park, if a club wants to drop down and win their county championship in either intermediate or Junior they can't be playing div one football and then represent the county, it should be a div 2 team for intermediate and a div 3 or 4 for junior

You'd soon see a lot of teams cutting their cloth differently

Can't say I've ever heard a club or players say they want to go down to get a run at a championship in a lower grade. From my own experience lads hate getting relegated.

Me either, but I know that Cullyhanna used it as a kick up the hole to motivate themselves to today. By their own admission standards had dropped to the floor within the squad and they found themselves down. They got themselves organised and committed and look where it got them.

[yellowcard]

What teams that played/won their championships and played in league two of their counties?

Seems nowadays that clubs much prefer to hang back, or drop down to get a run at a provincial championship or all Ireland run

Needs to be looked at in Croke park, if a club wants to drop down and win their county championship in either intermediate or Junior they can't be playing div one football and then represent the county, it should be a div 2 team for intermediate and a div 3 or 4 for junior

You'd soon see a lot of teams cutting their cloth differently

Can't say I've ever heard a club or players say they want to go down to get a run at a championship in a lower grade. From my own experience lads hate getting relegated.

Me either, but I know that Cullyhanna used it as a kick up the hole to motivate themselves to today. By their own admission standards had dropped to the floor within the squad and they found themselves down. They got themselves organised and committed and look where it got them.

The Armagh grading system is about as equitable as you could get. It's based on performance over the course of a season and linked to League position. It's fair to say it probably hampered Cullyhanna having 3 county players which was a big part in their League form dipping. But there were other factors as well and they most certainly didn't manufacture a situation to get themselves relegated. They were there because they simply lost too many games but it was a perfect storm as they were always too good to be playing intermediate. However you only get one chance to make hay at the lower grades and they took it with both hands and that can't do Armagh football any harm.

[Milltown Row2]

What teams that played/won their championships and played in league two of their counties?

Seems nowadays that clubs much prefer to hang back, or drop down to get a run at a provincial championship or all Ireland run

Needs to be looked at in Croke park, if a club wants to drop down and win their county championship in either intermediate or Junior they can't be playing div one football and then represent the county, it should be a div 2 team for intermediate and a div 3 or 4 for junior

You'd soon see a lot of teams cutting their cloth differently

Can't say I've ever heard a club or players say they want to go down to get a run at a championship in a lower grade. From my own experience lads hate getting relegated.

If they are relegated then they are playing div 2 surely?

My idea is that if you are div 2 you play intermediate if you are playing in div 1 you can play intermediate but you'll not represent your county in the provincial series and beyond.

[statto]

What teams that played/won their championships and played in league two of their counties?

Seems nowadays that clubs much prefer to hang back, or drop down to get a run at a provincial championship or all Ireland run

Needs to be looked at in Croke park, if a club wants to drop down and win their county championship in either intermediate or Junior they can't be playing div one football and then represent the county, it should be a div 2 team for intermediate and a div 3 or 4 for junior

You'd soon see a lot of teams cutting their cloth differently

Can't say I've ever heard a club or players say they want to go down to get a run at a championship in a lower grade. From my own experience lads hate getting relegated.

Me either, but I know that Cullyhanna used it as a kick up the hole to motivate themselves to today. By their own admission standards had dropped to the floor within the squad and they found themselves down. They got themselves organised and committed and look where it got them.

The Armagh grading system is about as equitable as you could get. It's based on performance over the course of a season and linked to League position. It's fair to say it probably hampered Cullyhanna having 3 county players which was a big part in their League form dipping. But there were other factors as well and they most certainly didn't manufacture a situation to get themselves relegated. They were there because they simply lost too many games but it was a perfect storm as they were always too good to be playing intermediate. However you only get one chance to make hay at the lower grades and they took it with both hands and that can't do Armagh football any harm.

Cullyhanna had a number of players who weren't available to them who started today.Mccooey, Donnelly, Murray and Connell would not have been playing whenever they were relegated.In addition to that 3 county men. If you put 7 players of that quality into any team they are going to improve it significantly. Would agree the system in Armagh is fair and the circumstances with cullyhanna was probably a one off.  The Armagh intermediate championship was been the most competitive championship in Armagh for as long as I can remember outside of this year.Before this year I can't remember an Armagh team actually winning a game in Ulster.

[Armagh18]

What teams that played/won their championships and played in league two of their counties?

Seems nowadays that clubs much prefer to hang back, or drop down to get a run at a provincial championship or all Ireland run

Needs to be looked at in Croke park, if a club wants to drop down and win their county championship in either intermediate or Junior they can't be playing div one football and then represent the county, it should be a div 2 team for intermediate and a div 3 or 4 for junior

You'd soon see a lot of teams cutting their cloth differently

Can't say I've ever heard a club or players say they want to go down to get a run at a championship in a lower grade. From my own experience lads hate getting relegated.

Me either, but I know that Cullyhanna used it as a kick up the hole to motivate themselves to today. By their own admission standards had dropped to the floor within the squad and they found themselves down. They got themselves organised and committed and look where it got them.

The Armagh grading system is about as equitable as you could get. It's based on performance over the course of a season and linked to League position. It's fair to say it probably hampered Cullyhanna having 3 county players which was a big part in their League form dipping. But there were other factors as well and they most certainly didn't manufacture a situation to get themselves relegated. They were there because they simply lost too many games but it was a perfect storm as they were always too good to be playing intermediate. However you only get one chance to make hay at the lower grades and they took it with both hands and that can't do Armagh football any harm.

Cullyhanna had a number of players who weren't available to them who started today.Mccooey, Donnelly, Murray and Connell would not have been playing whenever they were relegated.In addition to that 3 county men. If you put 7 players of that quality into any team they are going to improve it significantly. Would agree the system in Armagh is fair and the circumstances with cullyhanna was probably a one off.  The Armagh intermediate championship was been the most competitive championship in Armagh for as long as I can remember outside of this year.Before this year I can't remember an Armagh team actually winning a game in Ulster.

Yeah not sure when the last game an Armagh won was if ever. And as good as Cullyhanna were, Pearse Og's really put it up to them in the semi in Armagh and but for injuries this year I'd say Culloville would have ran them very close as well. Think Culloville actually beat them in one of the last league games to win the league.

[statto]

What teams that played/won their championships and played in league two of their counties?

Seems nowadays that clubs much prefer to hang back, or drop down to get a run at a provincial championship or all Ireland run

Needs to be looked at in Croke park, if a club wants to drop down and win their county championship in either intermediate or Junior they can't be playing div one football and then represent the county, it should be a div 2 team for intermediate and a div 3 or 4 for junior

You'd soon see a lot of teams cutting their cloth differently

Can't say I've ever heard a club or players say they want to go down to get a run at a championship in a lower grade. From my own experience lads hate getting relegated.

Me either, but I know that Cullyhanna used it as a kick up the hole to motivate themselves to today. By their own admission standards had dropped to the floor within the squad and they found themselves down. They got themselves organised and committed and look where it got them.

The Armagh grading system is about as equitable as you could get. It's based on performance over the course of a season and linked to League position. It's fair to say it probably hampered Cullyhanna having 3 county players which was a big part in their League form dipping. But there were other factors as well and they most certainly didn't manufacture a situation to get themselves relegated. They were there because they simply lost too many games but it was a perfect storm as they were always too good to be playing intermediate. However you only get one chance to make hay at the lower grades and they took it with both hands and that can't do Armagh football any harm.

Cullyhanna had a number of players who weren't available to them who started today.Mccooey, Donnelly, Murray and Connell would not have been playing whenever they were relegated.In addition to that 3 county men. If you put 7 players of that quality into any team they are going to improve it significantly. Would agree the system in Armagh is fair and the circumstances with cullyhanna was probably a one off.  The Armagh intermediate championship was been the most competitive championship in Armagh for as long as I can remember outside of this year.Before this year I can't remember an Armagh team actually winning a game in Ulster.

Yeah not sure when the last game an Armagh won was if ever. And as good as Cullyhanna were, Pearse Og's really put it up to them in the semi in Armagh and but for injuries this year I'd say Culloville would have ran them very close as well. Think Culloville actually beat them in one of the last league games to win the league.

yes they beat them in Cullyhanna  with their county men playing which was effectively a league decider

[Ed Ricketts]

What teams that played/won their championships and played in league two of their counties?

Seems nowadays that clubs much prefer to hang back, or drop down to get a run at a provincial championship or all Ireland run

Needs to be looked at in Croke park, if a club wants to drop down and win their county championship in either intermediate or Junior they can't be playing div one football and then represent the county, it should be a div 2 team for intermediate and a div 3 or 4 for junior

You'd soon see a lot of teams cutting their cloth differently

Can't say I've ever heard a club or players say they want to go down to get a run at a championship in a lower grade. From my own experience lads hate getting relegated.

Me either, but I know that Cullyhanna used it as a kick up the hole to motivate themselves to today. By their own admission standards had dropped to the floor within the squad and they found themselves down. They got themselves organised and committed and look where it got them.

The Armagh grading system is about as equitable as you could get. It's based on performance over the course of a season and linked to League position. It's fair to say it probably hampered Cullyhanna having 3 county players which was a big part in their League form dipping. But there were other factors as well and they most certainly didn't manufacture a situation to get themselves relegated. They were there because they simply lost too many games but it was a perfect storm as they were always too good to be playing intermediate. However you only get one chance to make hay at the lower grades and they took it with both hands and that can't do Armagh football any harm.

Cullyhanna had a number of players who weren't available to them who started today.Mccooey, Donnelly, Murray and Connell would not have been playing whenever they were relegated.In addition to that 3 county men. If you put 7 players of that quality into any team they are going to improve it significantly. Would agree the system in Armagh is fair and the circumstances with cullyhanna was probably a one off.  The Armagh intermediate championship was been the most competitive championship in Armagh for as long as I can remember outside of this year.Before this year I can't remember an Armagh team actually winning a game in Ulster.

Likely because you have to go all the way back to 2011 for the last time an Armagh intermediate team won a game outside of the county. Makes Cullyhanna's achievement all the more exceptional. Fair fucks to them.

[Pocs pints and the gaa]

What teams that played/won their championships and played in league two of their counties?

Seems nowadays that clubs much prefer to hang back, or drop down to get a run at a provincial championship or all Ireland run

Needs to be looked at in Croke park, if a club wants to drop down and win their county championship in either intermediate or Junior they can't be playing div one football and then represent the county, it should be a div 2 team for intermediate and a div 3 or 4 for junior

You'd soon see a lot of teams cutting their cloth differently

Can't say I've ever heard a club or players say they want to go down to get a run at a championship in a lower grade. From my own experience lads hate getting relegated.

Me either, but I know that Cullyhanna used it as a kick up the hole to motivate themselves to today. By their own admission standards had dropped to the floor within the squad and they found themselves down. They got themselves organised and committed and look where it got them.

The Armagh grading system is about as equitable as you could get. It's based on performance over the course of a season and linked to League position. It's fair to say it probably hampered Cullyhanna having 3 county players which was a big part in their League form dipping. But there were other factors as well and they most certainly didn't manufacture a situation to get themselves relegated. They were there because they simply lost too many games but it was a perfect storm as they were always too good to be playing intermediate. However you only get one chance to make hay at the lower grades and they took it with both hands and that can't do Armagh football any harm.

Cullyhanna had a number of players who weren't available to them who started today.Mccooey, Donnelly, Murray and Connell would not have been playing whenever they were relegated.In addition to that 3 county men. If you put 7 players of that quality into any team they are going to improve it significantly. Would agree the system in Armagh is fair and the circumstances with cullyhanna was probably a one off.  The Armagh intermediate championship was been the most competitive championship in Armagh for as long as I can remember outside of this year.Before this year I can't remember an Armagh team actually winning a game in Ulster.

There was no relegation in Armagh over Covid. To remedy this three teams were relegated in 2022 from Senior to Intermediate league instead of 2, of which Cullyhanna were one.

They would have played almost all of the league without the county men and others listed above didn't play at all. I don't mind the keeper playing either. That's 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15 from today's side.

Cullyhanna were beaten in an Armagh Senior final in 2016. 9 of those who played a part today started in that game. 

To be fair to Cullyhanna they submitted a proposal to change the relegation structure in Armagh to a play off style system where county commitments would be over and clubs would have a full deck to choose from (which almost certainly would have kept them in senior football if it had been in place in 2022). But they have made the most of it and fair play to them.

[ranch]

What teams that played/won their championships and played in league two of their counties?

Seems nowadays that clubs much prefer to hang back, or drop down to get a run at a provincial championship or all Ireland run

Needs to be looked at in Croke park, if a club wants to drop down and win their county championship in either intermediate or Junior they can't be playing div one football and then represent the county, it should be a div 2 team for intermediate and a div 3 or 4 for junior

You'd soon see a lot of teams cutting their cloth differently

Can't say I've ever heard a club or players say they want to go down to get a run at a championship in a lower grade. From my own experience lads hate getting relegated.

Me either, but I know that Cullyhanna used it as a kick up the hole to motivate themselves to today. By their own admission standards had dropped to the floor within the squad and they found themselves down. They got themselves organised and committed and look where it got them.

The Armagh grading system is about as equitable as you could get. It's based on performance over the course of a season and linked to League position. It's fair to say it probably hampered Cullyhanna having 3 county players which was a big part in their League form dipping. But there were other factors as well and they most certainly didn't manufacture a situation to get themselves relegated. They were there because they simply lost too many games but it was a perfect storm as they were always too good to be playing intermediate. However you only get one chance to make hay at the lower grades and they took it with both hands and that can't do Armagh football any harm.

Cullyhanna had a number of players who weren't available to them who started today.Mccooey, Donnelly, Murray and Connell would not have been playing whenever they were relegated.In addition to that 3 county men. If you put 7 players of that quality into any team they are going to improve it significantly. Would agree the system in Armagh is fair and the circumstances with cullyhanna was probably a one off.  The Armagh intermediate championship was been the most competitive championship in Armagh for as long as I can remember outside of this year.Before this year I can't remember an Armagh team actually winning a game in Ulster.

There was no relegation in Armagh over Covid. To remedy this three teams were relegated in 2022 from Senior to Intermediate league instead of 2, of which Cullyhanna were one.

They would have played almost all of the league without the county men and others listed above didn't play at all. I don't mind the keeper playing either. That's 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15 from today's side.

Cullyhanna were beaten in an Armagh Senior final in 2016. 9 of those who played a part today started in that game. 

To be fair to Cullyhanna they submitted a proposal to change the relegation structure in Armagh to a play off style system where county commitments would be over and clubs would have a full deck to choose from (which almost certainly would have kept them in senior football if it had been in place in 2022). But they have made the most of it and fair play to them.

The proposal you mention should be adopted as it would make the system a lot fairer. I'd imagine it's something that we'll see introduced over the next few years.

[onefineday]

What teams that played/won their championships and played in league two of their counties?

Seems nowadays that clubs much prefer to hang back, or drop down to get a run at a provincial championship or all Ireland run

Needs to be looked at in Croke park, if a club wants to drop down and win their county championship in either intermediate or Junior they can't be playing div one football and then represent the county, it should be a div 2 team for intermediate and a div 3 or 4 for junior

You'd soon see a lot of teams cutting their cloth differently

Can't say I've ever heard a club or players say they want to go down to get a run at a championship in a lower grade. From my own experience lads hate getting relegated.

If they are relegated then they are playing div 2 surely?

My idea is that if you are div 2 you play intermediate if you are playing in div 1 you can play intermediate but you'll not represent your county in the provincial series and beyond.

Has some merit, but I think some posters on here are making far too much of this.
As someone else said, everyone wants to play at the highest level they can, arva have never won a cavan championship before, there are 26 teams above them in championship in Cavan. They are playing junior because for whatever reason they lost last year's junior final, the team who beat them, drumlane had a middling intermediate campaign (despite only losing the Ulster junior final on pens last year).
Of course there's going to be differences in standards between counties, especially since there are so many different systems in place. Some counties have 16 teams per championship, some have 8. It seems that most are now moving from the direct league and championship link, so that will probably even things a bit. But at the end of the day, if you're in junior or intermediate, you're unlikely to be a Dublin super club and a run to an all Ireland final is going to be great for the local community and it might spark a revival of interest, standards and provide memories and stories for years to come!

[Milltown Row2]

You said in one sentence that everyone wants to be playing at the highest level, then at the finish a run at an all Ireland would provide a spark or a revival, generating an interest and memories.

That's why I said clubs look at these competitions with a possibility of playing at levels ( from the outside) well above other counties representatives

Viewing it as a spark/memories/revival

Having teams play their natural level based on their league standings can only raise the levels within the county

And reduce the amount of times teams from Kerry win for starters.

Yes, I get the whole reason why Arva are in it, and I never joined in on this argument. But leaving it down to individual counties to set the rules when entering competitions is up to them, but when it moves into the provincial stage it should be a fairer set up

[tonto1888]

You said in one sentence that everyone wants to be playing at the highest level, then at the finish a run at an all Ireland would provide a spark or a revival, generating an interest and memories.

That's why I said clubs look at these competitions with a possibility of playing at levels ( from the outside) well above other counties representatives

Viewing it as a spark/memories/revival

Having teams play their natural level based on their league standings can only raise the levels within the county

And reduce the amount of times teams from Kerry win for starters.

Yes, I get the whole reason why Arva are in it, and I never joined in on this argument. But leaving it down to individual counties to set the rules when entering competitions is up to them, but when it moves into the provincial stage it should be a fairer set up

I agree with this. I do like the Armagh set up - I may be bias - but I think it is generally fair. Cullyhanna were an aberration this year as they are basically a senior team but due to circumstances the last couple of years were relegated to 2A - basically division 3 - so were an intermediate club