Messages

1

General discussion / Re: Re: Death Notices

« on: June 13, 2022, 09:01:28 AM »

You lost me at Gerry Armstrong. You were doing so well, too.

Gerry played for the Johnnies in Belfast, few championships too no doubt on a very good club team..

Also won an All Ireland Hurling Vocational Schools

2

GAA Discussion / Re: Casement Park in line for major overhaul - 40,000 all seater Stadium.

« on: June 07, 2022, 11:45:11 AM »

I’m not sure how accurate the £150 million figure is but a rise from £110m to £150m over the last 3 years probably does sound plausible.
I always thought it was going to be a hard sell for Sinn Féin to get the extra £33 million but at £150 million…..Christ!

Receiving £62.5 million in government funding and going back and asking for an extra £72.5 million….. you’d expect to get laughed out of the place.

I'd say if anything it's underestimating the increases in the last 3 years. There could be issues getting that going at the minute, with additional funding needed, but the northern market is always more competitive then the southern one.

My house built 2 years ago is now being built(exact same house) at 21% the price, the developer is saying most of this is down to materials. Casement has been an unforgivable shambles

Courtesy of the Ulster Council.

The bastards want to hang their heads in shame the way they have mismanaged this project.

If anything, there should have been a new stand built on the site of the existing stand and the terraces revamped with the Owenvarragh terrace covered.

A 34,000 capacity stadium in West Belfast is a stupid notion FFS.

3

GAA Discussion / Re: Apathy towards Hurling in the North/Ulster

« on: June 07, 2022, 09:16:54 AM »

Why are the Kilkenny the only county that refuse to even put in a football team. Discuss

There is more club football played in Kilkenny than club hurling is played in Tyrone, Fermanagh etc.

No surprise there as there isnt even a county league in either of those counties.

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GAA Discussion / Re: Casement Park in line for major overhaul - 40,000 all seater Stadium.

« on: June 01, 2022, 01:05:40 PM »

I dont think any neutral counties who has been behind this project would be happy if this is not used by Antrim as their main pitch, and an area to build the GAA from in Belfast.

Why wouldnt it be used by Antrim. It is their county ground - they own it.

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Antrim / Re: Antrim Hurling

« on: May 26, 2022, 12:35:10 PM »

I mind throwing the ball up to take a poc out at the top end and the wind blowing it out for a 70. Between there and Feystown it was crazy!

I always liked Cushendun, Feystown was a different story, getting changed in the whin bushes before and after the match!!

Feystown not having changing rooms back then?

Who plays out of Feystown? Not sure if I've ever played there.

Glenarm! Shane  O'Neil's

Maybe it's just my age but i only ever remember them having a changing room, going back to the early 90s.

Hated playing down there more for the issue of having Arthur Forsyth refereeing and not hiding his bias!!

Used to change in a wooden hut which was later burnt down. The 'new' changing rooms have been in place sine the early 90's.

Arthur, not hiding his bias @&%^. Never   

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Antrim / Re: Antrim Hurling

« on: May 25, 2022, 02:00:13 PM »

The very place. There was a perimeter fence when I was there so you could get your cars in though wouldn't have fancied it in floods of rain. Long time ago so no idea what it's like now.

Think that 'pitch' in Poleglass is long gone.

Mitchells appear to be on the brink or else they have folded completely so no need to it.

That was the issue with Mitchells - never had a home pitch and no base to recruit from. Slowly but surely faded into obscurity.

Gilly Mc Illhatton had to tog out for them at one stage and he was long retired 

7

Antrim / Re: Antrim Hurling

« on: May 25, 2022, 12:20:08 PM »

The only team I really mind not having changing rooms were Mitchells where you took your car onto the grass bank at the side of the pitch and changed there then got out and there was someone from the surrounding estate shooting a BB gun at you 

Poleglass ? Changed at the side of the road.

When asked if the cars  / minibus would be OK there were a couple of 'boyos' standing close by providing security 

8

Antrim / Re: Antrim Hurling

« on: May 25, 2022, 12:13:02 PM »

I mind throwing the ball up to take a poc out at the top end and the wind blowing it out for a 70. Between there and Feystown it was crazy!

I always liked Cushendun, Feystown was a different story, getting changed in the whin bushes before and after the match!!

Feystown not having changing rooms back then?

Wooden hut..

9

Antrim / Re: Antrim Hurling

« on: May 20, 2022, 01:11:22 PM »

I would expect Offaly to win but I am not convinced we will beat Kerry as they need it more. I hope Down win and I expect they will be too good for Meath.

I didn't realise we were through to an all ireland quarter final already. That should be interesting. If we win the Joe McDonagh cup we play 3rd in munster which would be harder than losing and playing 3rd in leinster 

Joe McDonagh winners will play in the Leinster Championship next year.

No promotion for the runners up although the runners up will play the third place team in Leinster.

Looks like the Joe McDonagh winners will be playing Cork 

10

General discussion / Re: Tea

« on: May 04, 2022, 12:56:11 PM »

Controversial - but I’ve been drinking decaf tea for the past 2.5 years (two pregnancies and breastfeeding). I don’t mind it at all but depends on the brand.
Decaf coffee is nicer though.

Decaf tea ??
Mother of God is there nothing sacred in this world?
Civilisation is fucked entirely

Jaysus, be like drinking that Heineken Zero.

11

GAA Discussion / Re: Casement Park in line for major overhaul - 40,000 all seater Stadium.

« on: April 29, 2022, 11:13:53 AM »

Usually stay quiet on this issues but I'm getting frustrated on this topic so here goes.

1) the size and capacity for this stadium has nothing to do  with Antrim, it's an Ulster council project and they are planning for semi finals / finals, and 34,000 is what they want
2) The Ulster council are following a standard global stadium business model, where they want to maximize the facility economic potential, therefore conferences, concerts etc need to be considered. This is important, if you can develop alternative funding streams that lessen the load on your current revenue sources you would be an idiot not to do it.
3) Antrim signed Casement over to the UC because the stand needed to be demolished and rebuilt and the Ulster council stepped in, took ownership of the site and responsibility to the demolition etc
4) Ulster council were too arrogant, assuming approval was a certanity, and Antrim board were too naive, believing the Ulster council knew what they were talking about
5) The design problems center around the design concept of traditional stadium bowl. It might have been easier to have private boxes, conference facilities focused on the Andytown road and the existing stand location with the other two sides single tier with support facilities. This would have eliminated the concern of residents about the height of the stadium. (Reading FC, NASCAR stadiums are designed like this   

That didnt happen.

12

GAA Discussion / Re: Casement Park in line for major overhaul - 40,000 all seater Stadium.

« on: April 29, 2022, 11:11:31 AM »

Why did the stand have to be demolished?

It’s a bit mad that they gave away their ground, worth a hell of a lot of money because a stand for a couple of hundred people “needed demolished”.

A stand, by the way, that still hasn’t been demolished and that still houses a functioning social club.

Very strange.

Antrim never gave away their ground although pressure was exerted by the Ulster Council to sign it over to them.

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Antrim / Re: Antrim Football Thread

« on: April 26, 2022, 11:13:00 AM »

The Casement project is out of Antrim's hands.

Its the Ulster Council who are managing the project and are mainly responsible for the mess which presently exists.

If the upcoming ruling goes against the Casement upgrade then Antrim will be left with no decent county ground thanks to the horseshite attitude of the Ulster Council

14

General discussion / Re: 6 County Assembly Elections - 5th May 2022

« on: April 08, 2022, 01:31:05 PM »

Colm telling BBC The View that Nichola Mallon “made Casement happen”.  Ok?

Horseshit.

At the hearing recently, the MORA residents who are campaigning against the building of Casement requested more time to prepare their case - ie a stalling tactic. Refused by the judge who wants the Casement issue sorted as it has been dragging on for years.

Nichola Mallon's department will be in court again in the near future when the judge will decide the outcome.

If the judge rules against the building of Casement, the Antrim County Board are left without a county ground as a result of the bastards on the Ulster Council and their vision of a 38,000 stadium in West Belfast.

15

Hurling Discussion / Re: Hurling 2022

« on: March 23, 2022, 12:16:43 PM »

We have a city with 100k and the potential for massive growth with one hurling club but the Ulster Council decided that it was better to invest in Gaelfast in a city with 14 hurling clubs already. Go figure that. Our county board (Derry) would rather see hurling dead and buried. Not one coaching officer sent into the city to coach hurling from Ulster Council

Gaelfast has nothing to do with the Ulstet Council. It was negotiated by Antrim GAA and Croke Park and was intended to promote GAA in the city of Belfast

It was also negotiated by Down GAA my good man and you'll also find that a lot of the GDO's for Gaelfast are also Ulster Council GDO's so there's a blurring of the lines somewhere..

True enough Johnny. There was some dissent within Antrim as why Belfast was getting preferential treatment so it was rolled out across the county.

It seems to have turned into a bit of a farce.

There have been 3 managers of the project since its inception and it does seem the Gaelfast coaches etc are indeed Ulster Council coaches.

Paul Donnelly ex St Paul's / Rossa was the first manager and I attended one of his presentations. He's a brilliant communicator and I left thinking, if this project does everything that has been promised then it will be a success.

Unfortunately PD left after a period of time and I think that's when the wheels began to fall off the wagon

Who replaced PD?

Anton McCaffrey - St Galls, who has since left and Alfie Hannaway, Naomh Gall is now managing the project.