Connacht Club Championships 2017 - Senior/Intermediate/Junior Football & Hurling

[magpie seanie]

Can anyone explain how St Johns managed to lose to a Claregalway team that had only played a county final yesterday?

Very surprised at that result.
Good win for Glaveys as well.
I saw Glennon playing for GMIT a few times and he looked good.

I think people are overstating the two games in two days thing. How much do ye think it would impair performance? 50%? 30%? I'd say between 5-10% at a guess. While our teams are a bit more competitive at inter and junior due to a sensible restructuring I think it's fair to say not many would have favoured John's had Claregalway got a 6 day break so it looks like even with some drop off they were still able to win. As I said, disappointing that John's couldn't capitalise on this factor and home advantage but credit to Claregalway.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Ballymote beat Kilglass by 9 so will meet Lahardane in the Junior final. A rare final appearance for a Sligo club.

Elsewhere Tooreen won the intermediate hurling final, that the first time a non-Galway team has won it?

At least it proves the restructuring has made our clubs competitive at intermediate and junior. Was nuts some years with so many in senior and intermediate. Big opportunity missed by St John's. I'd say there are some tired Claregalway lads. They seem to be a club on the rise in Galway.

They are. They won the minor A as well there a few weeks ago. They should be well able for senior football really being based close to Galway city. Growing population base out there for them so they should never be struggling for numbers.

[galwayman]

Ballymote beat Kilglass by 9 so will meet Lahardane in the Junior final. A rare final appearance for a Sligo club.

Elsewhere Tooreen won the intermediate hurling final, that the first time a non-Galway team has won it?

At least it proves the restructuring has made our clubs competitive at intermediate and junior. Was nuts some years with so many in senior and intermediate. Big opportunity missed by St John's. I'd say there are some tired Claregalway lads. They seem to be a club on the rise in Galway.

They are. They won the minor A as well there a few weeks ago. They should be well able for senior football really being based close to Galway city. Growing population base out there for them so they should never be struggling for numbers.

Thankfully we seem to be reducing the number of senior clubs from 2019 in Galway.
20 way too many.

[magpie seanie]

We had 16 in Sligo for a good while which was crazy.

[Rossfan]

How many in Sligo now?
We have 12 in Ros and 12 Inter.

[Owenmoresider]

How many in Sligo now?
We have 12 in Ros and 12 Inter.

10 in each. Could easily trim another 2 off each to improve the competition further, as well as the Junior.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Ballymote beat Kilglass by 9 so will meet Lahardane in the Junior final. A rare final appearance for a Sligo club.

Elsewhere Tooreen won the intermediate hurling final, that the first time a non-Galway team has won it?

At least it proves the restructuring has made our clubs competitive at intermediate and junior. Was nuts some years with so many in senior and intermediate. Big opportunity missed by St John's. I'd say there are some tired Claregalway lads. They seem to be a club on the rise in Galway.

They are. They won the minor A as well there a few weeks ago. They should be well able for senior football really being based close to Galway city. Growing population base out there for them so they should never be struggling for numbers.

Thankfully we seem to be reducing the number of senior clubs from 2019 in Galway.
20 way too many.

Only reducing it to 18 I think though. Should reduce it to 16 really.

[Syferus]

Why is the standard so poor in Sligo club, honestly? Even Ballymote (a town club that should never be at Junior in any county in the first place) made tough work of a Kilglass side that were hammered by a B team in the county final until the late goal. At club it's very possible for a well coached group of lads to win Connachts and AIs, even from small counties. Even the Sligo county teams seem much more competitive than their club representatives. It's a bit of a mystery. Mitchels are so punch drunk from continuous football now you'd hope that Tourlestrane could give them a proper go.

[Rossfan]

Feckin Soccer I presume.

[Owenmoresider]

Why is the standard so poor in Sligo club, honestly? Even Ballymote (a town club that should never be at Junior in any county in the first place) made tough work of a Kilglass side that were hammered by a B team in the county final until the late goal. At club it's very possible for a well coached group of lads to win Connachts and AIs, even from small counties. Even the Sligo county teams seem much more competitive than their club representatives. It's a bit of a mystery. Mitchels are so punch drunk from continuous football now you'd hope that Tourlestrane could give them a proper go.

The present club scene is poor enough alright but it was better in the past, Tourlestrane might well be some way ahead of the rest but I'm not sure their current team would match up to their team of a decade ago, O'Hara, Durkin, McGowan et al. Most other teams certainly wouldn't. Harps and Curry both reached provincial finals in the noughties and defeated notable opposition in that time, and generally the teams were competitive in Connacht. Since Harps were flattened by Brigid's in 2010 it largely hasn't been the case.

As regards Ballymote, loath as I am to defend them, they were actually a fairly decent team in the noughties and up to about 2011/12, then the decline set in and set in hard. They were always a tad short of being genuine title challengers but they posed Curry, Harps and Tourlestrane as much trouble as any other team managed at the time. But the underage was struggling badly after a few good minor/U21 teams moved on, and that eventually told when the senior team started to break up. Were a mess the last few years but they got themselves together again this year and won the junior well in the end, they'll find intermediate a tougher prospect but they could stay up given there's a few teams there that aren't hectic, mind you Easkey were unlucky to be relegated from senior last year and fell another grade this time.

As regards them being a town team, unlike Tubber they do also have a rural area so yes they should be doing better, but that's a problem that's not theirs alone. A few town/urban teams, not least ourselves, should be doing better really, like John's in truth shouldn't be out of senior but had suffered a kinda similar fate as Ballymote, worryingly their underage seems to be in a fairly bad way still, and the other town teams are not much better. Our own underage is as good as its been for a long long time, but whether that can translate into a stronger adult setup only time will tell. Harps and Molaise Gaels are having a good run of it at underage now but given the sheer size of their catchment areas they have few excuses not to, and their senior teams are underperforming as well. Tourlestrane are doing very well for the area that they have and credit to them, it runs deep over that end of the county.

Further to the town thing, in fairness outside of Sligo the towns in the county are relatively small, both Ballymote and Tubber would be smaller than Boyle and Castlerea for example. And down the far side of Ros I see Ballinasloe were relegated to junior football, now that's a scandal. And while Kilglass got well beaten by a B team, not many clubs in Connacht would have a second string to match that of St. Brigid's.

[shark]

Ballymote beat Kilglass by 9 so will meet Lahardane in the Junior final. A rare final appearance for a Sligo club.

Elsewhere Tooreen won the intermediate hurling final, that the first time a non-Galway team has won it?

At least it proves the restructuring has made our clubs competitive at intermediate and junior. Was nuts some years with so many in senior and intermediate. Big opportunity missed by St John's. I'd say there are some tired Claregalway lads. They seem to be a club on the rise in Galway.

They are. They won the minor A as well there a few weeks ago. They should be well able for senior football really being based close to Galway city. Growing population base out there for them so they should never be struggling for numbers.

Thankfully we seem to be reducing the number of senior clubs from 2019 in Galway.
20 way too many.

Only reducing it to 18 I think though. Should reduce it to 16 really.

Yeah 20 in Galway always struck me as too many. Played a few championship games there back in the day (with the college), and came acrosss teams that were way off senior level. They probably would have struggled at intermediate, but when only 1 team goes down then bad teams can survive for years.

[Cunny Funt]

I see Ballinasloe were relegated to junior football, now that's a scandal. And while Kilglass got well beaten by a B team, not many clubs in Connacht would have a second string to match that of St. Brigid's.

Ballinasloe were Junior level 2012 won Connacht and the All Ireland if i recall right.

[GalwayBayBoy]

I see Ballinasloe were relegated to junior football, now that's a scandal. And while Kilglass got well beaten by a B team, not many clubs in Connacht would have a second string to match that of St. Brigid's.

Ballinasloe were Junior level 2012 won Connacht and the All Ireland if i recall right.

They did. Really should be doing a lot better given it's a town of 7,000+ people. Granted there is a lot of hurling out that direction surrounding the town, soccer is popular in the town and Garbally College is known as a rugby school above anything else. Still it doesn't stop their neighbours Caltra competing at senior level who have a very small pick compared to them. Probably a lot of potential there if they can ever sort themselves out.

[Syferus]

I see Ballinasloe were relegated to junior football, now that's a scandal. And while Kilglass got well beaten by a B team, not many clubs in Connacht would have a second string to match that of St. Brigid's.

Ballinasloe were Junior level 2012 won Connacht and the All Ireland if i recall right.

They did. Really should be doing a lot better given it's a town of 7,000+ people. Granted there is a lot of hurling out that direction surrounding the town, soccer is popular in the town and Garbally College is known as a rugby school above anything else. Still it doesn't stop their neighbours Caltra competing at senior level who have a very small pick compared to them. Probably a lot of potential there if they can ever sort themselves out.

The also have Pearses drawing from that area too and they'd be the third or fourth biggest club in Roscommon.

[seafoid]

I see Ballinasloe were relegated to junior football, now that's a scandal. And while Kilglass got well beaten by a B team, not many clubs in Connacht would have a second string to match that of St. Brigid's.

Ballinasloe were Junior level 2012 won Connacht and the All Ireland if i recall right.

They did. Really should be doing a lot better given it's a town of 7,000+ people. Granted there is a lot of hurling out that direction surrounding the town, soccer is popular in the town and Garbally College is known as a rugby school above anything else. Still it doesn't stop their neighbours Caltra competing at senior level who have a very small pick compared to them. Probably a lot of potential there if they can ever sort themselves out.

The last time Ballinashloe won the senior was 1980. They are number 2 in the roll of honour with 20 titles , behind Tuam on 25
Corofin were nowhere in 1980. Now they are just one behind them, on 19.
This is a Mouview theme. Ballinasloe always had representatives on the great Galway teams of the past, especially via John and Cyril Dunne. Now there is nobody.

If you look at the history Athenry won 3 county titles with the De Wets in the early 1900s so an Athenry footballer is a bit like mean reversion...