http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/colm-orourke-everyone-will-gain-when-dubs-cross-great-dividing-line-29090627.html (http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/colm-orourke-everyone-will-gain-when-dubs-cross-great-dividing-line-29090627.html)
QuoteColm O'Rourke: Everyone will gain when Dubs cross great dividing line
Football in Dublin has too many resources – and players – to still be a single entity.
Colm O'Rourke – 24 February 2013
Some years ago a suggestion was circulated that consideration should be given to dividing up Dublin for football purposes and creating another couple of county teams. At the time there was shock and horror in most Dublin circles and the idea was given a short hearing. Maybe it is time to give it another airing, especially as Dublin football in general is in its healthiest state for decades.
The reason for this would appear to be that Dublin are extremely well-organised now. It does not mean that they are going to win the All-Ireland every year but we are moving towards a scenario where Dublin look as if they will dominate Leinster at minor and under 21 level indefinitely.
People always talk about structures and systems but the key to all of this is having the right personnel in charge of teams. If you get that part right and resource the teams properly in terms of gear, back-up with medics, dieticians, gym membership etc, then everything else will fall into place.
The other side of this is making sure that anyone who is unsuitable for a position is jettisoned quickly. It is no different to running any business in that regard. Keeping good managers in place for a while and then allowing them to move up the ladder can be seen to practical effect with Jim Gavin, successful at under 21 moving on to senior, and Dessie Farrell with a smashing group of minors now taking over the under 21s. In the background there is the guiding hand of John Costello, who ensures that teams have what they need. This is paying off in spades and the train has only left the station. There is a lot more to come.
So why then would anyone disrupt progress, especially as the Dubs are brand leaders and the financial locomotive which helps pay coaches, build grounds and paint the brightest possible image of the GAA all over the country?
It comes down to a question of fairness.
In the latest census, the population of Dublin is 1,273,000. The next highest population of a county in Leinster is Kildare with 210,000. Now it is more difficult for the GAA to gain a foothold in parts of Dublin than it is in any other county but even allowing for that, Dublin has a population which is over a million greater than the next biggest county in Leinster. At the moment, Kildare seem to be in the best position to challenge Dublin at both underage and senior yet they do start off at a major disadvantage.
Of course many Dubs will feel that mangling the county into various units, whether based on administrative units or collections of clubs, would destroy the supporter base and lead to apathy and they might not win anything either. Well, try the argument about winning with a county like Longford with a population of 39,000.
A lot of Dublin clubs pick from greater numbers than that. On top of this, many counties in Leinster run their underage teams reasonably well but have very little chance when the Dubs are organised as well as they are now. Are the smaller counties not worth protecting and given a real shot at a provincial title?
Naturally, there are those who feel that a break-up of Dublin is the penalty for doing things right and if they were not successful this would not arise. That is the dog-in-the-manger attitude. There is a bigger picture here. Dublin could easily have four under 14, under 16 and minor teams and the chances are that some of the combinations would meet in the Leinster final regularly. More importantly, it would give a much bigger number of players exposure to a much higher grade of football. At the moment there must be hundreds of very talented young players in Dublin who would walk on to many other county teams but never get a look-in with Dublin.
The opportunity of playing at a high level of football is what keeps a lot of young players interested. If it was with Dublin North or Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown would it make any difference? Hardly. As it is, a lot of talent drifts away in every county but this rate of attrition must surely be greater in Dublin even allowing for a lot of great clubs. The prospect of playing county football is a huge attraction in Croke Park and people would get used to a new name very quickly. Having greater numbers of underage teams would, eventually, lead to more than one side at senior level.
It would not suit the traditionalists and a swaying Hill 16 on a summer's day is a wonderful sight, but there will come a time when two teams from Dublin will meet in a Leinster senior final. Of course radical change like this would be very difficult and would involve setting up county boards
in new areas which may dilute the overall sponsorship take and create problems of identity for Dublin's current supporters.
At the moment, Dublin have a very exciting senior team with the introduction of many great young players. Sitting on the bench or not even getting a jersey is another team that would beat most other counties in Leinster. This is not a healthy situation for anyone but the players and management would certainly not want any change in the status quo until they have won at least one All-Ireland. This only goes to show that the best interests of the GAA in general and Dublin in particular are not the same on this topic.
Sooner or later, the turkeys will have to vote for Christmas. It would be better if Dublin started the process with at least two teams at all underage levels immediately which would give more of their own a chance and would show that fairness still means something.
It will take a brave Dublin chairman or secretary to propose this. The obvious thing to do is to sit back and say that helping to make the GAA a greater force is not their problem. Ultimately, though, it would be short-sighted not to realise that giving a bigger number of young footballers in Dublin a chance to play county football is in everyone's interest and is good for all other counties too.
http://eircomsports.eircom.net/News/news/gaa/EwanMacKennacolumn-2.aspx (http://eircomsports.eircom.net/News/news/gaa/EwanMacKennacolumn-2.aspx)
Quote
Ewan MacKenna column: United they conquer, undivided and football falls
13:09, 27 Feb 2013 eircom Exclusive
Ewan MacKenna, Sports Journalist of the Year 2012
It seems like the announcement was made to a different world. Back in 2002, the Strategic Review Committee reported back their recommendations and the one that grabbed all the headlines involved splitting Dublin into two. Former GAA president Peter Quinn suggested that the county be separated at the Liffey for administrative purposes "to maximise penetration". But if the timing of the suggestion was off as it was far too radical for that era, and if the rationale was off too as Dublin have gone on and begun to maximise penetration as a united entity, it's a theory that hasn't gone away. All in all, Quinn and his group may have hit upon a good idea for the wrong reasons.
Last week, after a 37-point win in the Leinster under-21 football championship, heads were turned and voices were raised. On the other end of that humiliation were Carlow and their chairman Michael Meaney brought up some serious points that shouldn't be smothered by the laughter around the result. "It was a reflection on the massive gulf," he said. "You're talking about Dublin having 25 times the population of Carlow. For the 30,000 we've to pick a panel from, they've to get just one player. They just have the size, strength and numbers so that they can be selective with who they work with and their guys are into this from an early age right up through development squads."
Of course you've to look at your own garden first before giving out about the neighbour's. Also, you can overreact to a result between a heavyweight and a lightweight at this time of year. But that scoreline is part of a trend in football that will see the sport, in my view, move from elitism and close in on a monopoly over the next 15 years and that will be all down to Dublin doing things right.
When Quinn and his group brought out their proposals, the way Gaelic football worked was hugely different. Way behind professional sports, science was in its infancy and fitness and size were at a premium. Mick O'Dwyer could still take over lesser sides and have them compete and surprise bigger and better teams purely by not getting tired. Páidí Ó Sé could still send a bunch of players into a frenzy by breaking a table and that too could be enough to tip the balance. Passion often prevailed over preparation, tribalism could still overcome tactics, but that is happening less and less. Outside of Meath and Galway, in recent years the best counties have all gotten their houses in order in terms of everything from development squads to facilities to the coaching staff surrounding their seniors. It's led to less and less room for the little guy on the biggest days and that's even extended to the early part of the year where Division One is now populated by the best eight counties.
But this is just a resting place on the climb to where we are headed. The next stage involves even the better counties being unable to compete with Dublin. It's easy to look up the record books and show that the capital has three of the last four Leinster minor and under-21 titles, two of the last three under-21 All Irelands, and been to the last two All Ireland minor finals. It's easier still to take some outdated view and put it down to a purple patch that every county has and this just being a phase.
But look at the reasons behind the first part of that paragraph and you can disprove the second. Indeed that is vital as suggesting these things are cyclical is a disservice to the work Dublin have done and shows an ignorance towards the damage they could do. For, in an era of science over sweat, Dublin now have all the key ingredients to dominate and that isn't going away. In fact the more professional Gaelic football gets, the more Dublin will dominate.
Firstly they've the population. Half Ulster given the religious and political divide and Dublin not only has twice number of people as Connacht and a greater population than Munster, it also has a bigger population that the rest of Leinster and the Gaelic games playing community in the northern province. In short, forget a county, Dublin as a province would be the biggest in the country. Look at it this way, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown matches Kildare for numbers while both Fingal and South Dublin have populations that only Antrim and Cork are greater than.
But that has always been the case – if not quite as pronounced due to modern societal migration – and Dublin for their size have a relatively dire record in terms of being victorious. But combine population with other ingredients and matters become problematic.
It's basic economics that leads Dublin to have more money than everyone else but the work they have done has maximised their potential. They've a €1m-a-year main sponsorship deal. They have their official water supplier too, official Easter eggs, official calendars, official clothes. They even have Aer Lingus as their official carrier of choice replete with low-cost trips to the States over the next couple of years for both players and wives while a chunk of the panel are now driving Renaults as part of another deal. The money they get is spread over a greater area, yes, but such a comment is to neglect the huge economies of scale that are present and distorting the playing field further.
With unemployment lower in the capital, there's a better chance of keeping players in the country, and not only that, there's a better chance of finding jobs that allow those players time to train as their profile and commercial value is greater than that of non-Dublin players. On top of that, the structures and organisation of the county board have put these circumstances to good use. Sure enough, you can only place 15 players on a pitch and there's only so much room on a bench, but Dublin are far more likely to find and mould elite players based on population, finance and framework. All that together and now it's a recipe for brilliant success for Dublin, but long term it's a recipe for disaster for the game.
If soccer had just one division that comprised of Manchester United in the Championship, we wonder how long it would still attract the interest and the attendances.
There are of course arguments against this. Some say Dublin have more people from abroad that will never play football and they've more competition from other sports. But I've never bought this. Look at immigration proportionately and it doesn't vary all that much. As for other games, growing up in Athy we had a choice of soccer, rugby, tennis, basketball, canoeing, horse riding and hockey to name but a few and that's the case in any rural town. These things are all relative.
None of this is Dublin's fault, mind. The basic premise of a nationalist sporting organisation wasn't on King John's mind when he visited this island in 1210. Instead he came up with a county system so administration would become easier. Eight-hundred-and-three years later and his borders have given Dublin a massive advantage. No one has ever claimed Gaelic football is fair and if it's not fair on the rest right now, it may not be fair on Dublin in the future when action is needed. We aren't suggesting breaking Dublin up right now but we are suggesting keeping a close eye on things over the next decade and being in a position to act accordingly. After all, even the Dublin County Board saw this coming.
In 2011, in their forward-thinking 'Blue Wave' document, they spoke of dominating the game at all levels. They also spoke of requesting the status of a province, a permanent member on the GAA's most important body, the Management Committee, and a similar appointment on the executive of the Leinster Council on the basis that they feel the needs of Dublin require constant attention because of the numbers involved from top to bottom. None of those are outrageous demands. But to have all those things and to field one team is outrageous.
The next handful of years will show exactly why.
I wonder would colm agree with another approach, leave Dublin as they are and amalgamate meath, kildare and west meath and then that new team could challenge Dublin. Sure 100 years of tradition would be down the toilet but sure Colm wouldn't worry about that.
Quote from: Itchy on February 27, 2013, 10:06:07 PM
I wonder would colm agree with another approach, leave Dublin as they are and amalgamate meath, kildare and west meath and then that new team could challenge Dublin. Sure 100 years of tradition would be down the toilet but sure Colm wouldn't worry about that.
I think his point is more about the next 100 years of domination from Dublin.
No way.
Instead of 10 counties we could not beat in Leinster we would then have 11.
Feck off.
Quote from: Shamrock Shore on February 27, 2013, 10:18:29 PM
No way.
Instead of 10 counties we could not beat in Leinster we would then have 11.
Feck off.
That leaves one county that ye can bate...Wonder which one it is...
Dubs have only won two Sams in last 25 years, I'll wait to see this dominance coming. No big mention of Dublin hurling I note in the articles.
Same old lazy journalist sh1te! On basis Kilkenny keep winning hurling All Ireland's they should be split into 4 teams. Kerry likewise cause they keep on winning football all Ireland's!
China have 200 times our population so they should be split 200 ways for international sport 'it's just not fair' that they have more people to pick from that us!
Surprised by orourke. Had figured him for decent enough commentator and journalist. Shows himself to be no better than that d1ckhead McKenna who has long & distinguished history of spouting sh1te.
McKenna writes a lot of decent articles to be fair.
QuoteNo big mention of Dublin hurling I note in the articles.
Why would there be? They've done little of real note in that code and most of the best dual players are choosing football so I'd imagine their domination of hurling is a way off yet.
I really don't agree with the idea of splitting Dublin but there is no point in ignoring the possible problems an overly dominant Dublin might pose for the GAA as a whole. A situation to be monitored but the idea of splitting Dublin would be worst case scenario stuff IMO.
It will never happen but it will be interesting to see if the recent trends at underage level continue. Dublin have got their act together and put great structures in place. There's great work being done and they are now in a position to harness their large population. This was something that was more of a hindrance up until recently because too many young players were lost through the cracks.
If they win the Leinster minor championship this year it will be their first three in a row at that level since the 1950s. If they go a year or two without winning a Leinster title at underage level then expect this debate to fade away very quickly.
I think both Kildare and Meath potentially have the resources to at least compete with Dublin into the future but it requires both county boards to get their respective houses in order and stop searching for quick fixes (particularly in Kildare's case). Counties like Carlow are always going to struggle given the demographics but splitting up Dublin is not going to provide the solution. The GAA and the Leinster Council need to look at ways that they can strategically invest in these smaller counties and get them up to a competitive level. A strong Dublin is indeed good for the GAA but I don't think a dominant Dublin would be particularly healthy for the organisation. If we're in a position in five or six years from now where Dublin are completing a clean sweep of Leinster competitions year on year then the game will begin to suffer in other counties.
Quote from: Zulu on February 27, 2013, 11:14:52 PM
McKenna writes a lot of decent articles to be fair.
QuoteNo big mention of Dublin hurling I note in the articles.
Why would there be? They've done little of real note in that code and most of the best dual players are choosing football so I'd imagine their domination of hurling is a way off yet.
I really don't agree with the idea of splitting Dublin but there is no point in ignoring the possible problems an overly dominant Dublin might pose for the GAA as a whole. A situation to be monitored but the idea of splitting Dublin would be worst case scenario stuff IMO.
So on that basis why not split Kilkenny or Kerry. Cork have dominated previously and actually have more club players than Dublin so why not split Cork too?? Dublin have 2 senior all Ireland's since 1983 and 2 minor titles! That's a serious state of affairs alright!
And no from Dublin perspective McKenna does not write decent articles as fair percentage involve derogatory comment & criticism of Dublin.
Quote from: Hill16 Blues on February 27, 2013, 11:24:04 PM
Quote from: Zulu on February 27, 2013, 11:14:52 PM
McKenna writes a lot of decent articles to be fair.
QuoteNo big mention of Dublin hurling I note in the articles.
Why would there be? They've done little of real note in that code and most of the best dual players are choosing football so I'd imagine their domination of hurling is a way off yet.
I really don't agree with the idea of splitting Dublin but there is no point in ignoring the possible problems an overly dominant Dublin might pose for the GAA as a whole. A situation to be monitored but the idea of splitting Dublin would be worst case scenario stuff IMO.
So on that basis why not split Kilkenny or Kerry. Cork have dominated previously and actually have more club players than Dublin so why not split Cork too?? Dublin have 2 senior all Ireland's since 1983 and 2 minor titles! That's a serious state of affairs alright!
And no from Dublin perspective McKenna does not write decent articles as fair percentage involve derogatory comment & criticism of Dublin.
Where's Mc Kenna from??
Aren't Dublin already pretty dominant within Leinster? They've won 7 of the last 8 senior Leinster titles and that trend looks very likely to continue given that they have won 6 of the last 8 Leinster titles at U-21 and minor and some of those were won almost at their leisure.
Obviously maybe they have just hit upon a rich seam of talent in recent years which occasionally happens to some counties or else they have finally got the coaching and production lines working efficiently and are now in a position to reap the rewards of their huge population base.
Dublin's history is irrelevant, it's the future that's being discussed. The point being made is that Dublin have got their act together now and are in a position to maximise the natural benefits they enjoy, i.e. population, finance, infrastructure etc. Kilkenny and Kerry have done well in one code but neither have distinct advantages over their rivals, sure Kerry may not win an All Ireland at any IC level in the next 10 years so comparisons are nonsensical in that regard.
You're only paranoid about McKenna.
Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on February 27, 2013, 11:34:19 PM
Aren't Dublin already pretty dominant within Leinster? They've won 7 of the last 8 senior Leinster titles and that trend looks very likely to continue given that they have won 6 of the last 8 Leinster titles at U-21 and minor and some of those were won almost at their leisure.
They went from 2003 until 2009 without a Leinster minor title. I think in the last three or four years we are beginning to see their work at underage bearing fruit but that's too small a sample to be labelling it as domination. If we're sat here in a five years time and they're sweeping the board in Leinster every year then this debate has some merit although I strongly believe that splitting up Dublin is not the answer.
Looking at it from a Kildare point of view, our record against Dublin teams is relatively poor and we would probably be one of the main beneficiaries of such a decision. However those rare occasions when a Kildare team beats a Dublin team wouldn't mean half as much if it was Dublin North or Fingal. It's up to our own county board (and others around Leinster) to stop looking for quick fixes and put proper structures and strategic plans in place to harness the considerable resources we have in our own county. Towns in North Kildare for instance have doubled in population in the last twenty years but I don't think our county board have seriously looked at any ways in which we could capitalise on this.
Quote from: Itchy on February 27, 2013, 10:06:07 PM
I wonder would colm agree with another approach, leave Dublin as they are and amalgamate meath, kildare and west meath and then that new team could challenge Dublin. Sure 100 years of tradition would be down the toilet but sure Colm wouldn't worry about that.
We have had tradition thrown at us in a different concept all my life. The up coming marching season will raise the point again. Tradition is not all its cracked up to be.
Quote from: Throw ball on February 28, 2013, 12:05:26 AM
Quote from: Itchy on February 27, 2013, 10:06:07 PM
I wonder would colm agree with another approach, leave Dublin as they are and amalgamate meath, kildare and west meath and then that new team could challenge Dublin. Sure 100 years of tradition would be down the toilet but sure Colm wouldn't worry about that.
We have had tradition thrown at us in a different concept all my life. The up coming marching season will raise the point again. Tradition is not all its cracked up to be.
Is that what we're doing now? Comparing the existence of a single Dublin GAA entity to orange marches? ::)
So is the argument to split Dublin up
A. The population of Dublin is too big, or
B. Dublin are likely to dominate in the coming years?
(A) is surely irrelevant. The relevant population is not the million+, but the amount of clubs/players.
(B) is just bizarre. Dublin might win a lot over the next few years, so we'd best put a stop to it?
Where was this argument when Kerry were dominating in the late 70's-early 80's? Or in the hurling for Kilkenny?
I don't get it.
story goes that this was brought up in the 90's. Dublin were going to put two teams into the league.North and South Dublin .There was a players meeting where this was brought up. One of the players(not the wisest one) stood up and said "sure Meath have be doing it for years ,so why dont we .Meath and Westmeath"
Quote from: Zulu on February 27, 2013, 11:14:52 PM
McKenna writes a lot of decent articles to be fair.
QuoteNo big mention of Dublin hurling I note in the articles.
Why would there be? They've done little of real note in that code and most of the best dual players are choosing football so I'd imagine their domination of hurling is a way off yet.
I really don't agree with the idea of splitting Dublin but there is no point in ignoring the possible problems an overly dominant Dublin might pose for the GAA as a whole. A situation to be monitored but the idea of splitting Dublin would be worst case scenario stuff IMO.
Does he? You might put them up I've never read on these decent articles. Miracles do happen I suppose.
Split Cork in half they have more clubs then us. Its a tired old argument built on sand tis debate
Vast tracks of Dublin don't even play GAA and probably never will if the truth be known.
Meath would have beaten Carlow by 25 points at least and this wouldn't have been a story.
This has more to do with the standard of other counties underage teams in Leinster being crap rather then Dublin being good.
Leinster at football is in a crisis in my view and its completely tilting results in making Dublin look like a superpower.
Other counties are well able to beat us at all levels. In my view its not dublin that needs to be split its the provincial boundaries that need to be reshaped to add a bit of balance to the provincial championships.
Feck sake, its a bad sign about how far Meath have fallen that O'Rourke thinks the only hope they have of beating Dublin is to drag them down to their level, rather than doing something to improve themselves. There's not a hope in hell O'Rourke would have put his name to that if Meath had a good team.
If we think radical changes are required, they should be about improving teams not making them worse!
Amalgamations rather than divisions should be first on the agenda. Although only if strong agreement is reached in those counties. For example in Connacht, you could play the Connacht championship as normal. But for the All Ireland series, instead of Roscommon, Sligo and Leitrim entering individual teams, they enter a combined team (unless one of them wins Connacht, in which case they enter on their own).
Listened to Tommy Carr and Nicky Brennan on Newstalk last night debating this - same arguments as above.
Can't see it happening myself. Is there an argument for doing it at underage level if as the projections seem to indicate Dublin will dominate for the next 10 years and we all know how well projections go in this country!!
Quote from: Zulu on February 27, 2013, 11:14:52 PM
McKenna writes a lot of decent articles to be fair.
QuoteNo big mention of Dublin hurling I note in the articles.
Why would there be? They've done little of real note in that code and most of the best dual players are choosing football so I'd imagine their domination of hurling is a way off yet.
I really don't agree with the idea of splitting Dublin but there is no point in ignoring the possible problems an overly dominant Dublin might pose for the GAA as a whole. A situation to be monitored but the idea of splitting Dublin would be worst case scenario stuff IMO.
He writes good articles? I've yet to see one, his blog is awful. More than half of that blog is copied and pasted from last year.
Fielding two teams will never happen. Uninformed bloggers like that gobshI8e can write as many blogs as they want.
I also find it hard to read his blogs with any credibility after I read this - to anyone unaware he's
'Tommy Keegan' http://kildaregaa.boardonly.com/t457-joining-dublin-club
Posted this on Dublin website. Basically haven't played in about five years, living in city centre on south side and just looking to join a club for a bit of craic and to get fit, preferably with country feel to it as don't fancy walking into a dressing room with 40 locals who've known each other since they were robbing houses together at 7. Have had St James's Gaels and St Brendan's recommended. Anyone with any knowledge of either of these or any other nearby clubs that might fit the bill up here?
---------
The other Leinster counties need to have a serious look at their underage structures as they don't seem to be producing top quality players/teams. As for Dublin going forward, I don't think they will dominate any more than Donegal, Cork, Tyrone or Kerry will.
Quote from: nrico2006 on February 28, 2013, 09:01:53 AM
The other Leinster counties need to have a serious look at their underage structures as they don't seem to be producing top quality players/teams. As for Dublin going forward, I don't think they will dominate any more than Donegal, Cork, Tyrone or Kerry will.
That Carlow team got together for the first time two weeks ahead of the 25 point drubbing.
They took us to extra time under Luke Dempsey in 2010 when we one the U21 AI.
If teams are going to have shambles of preparation then it shouldn't be used as a barometer for us.
Team needs to take responsibility for their own preparation levels.
Only and only when there are discussions of counties merging ( like clubs) imvho will the issue of Dublin being divided be a serious issue.
We have c 83 GAA clubs here in Dublin and I wish (yeah right!) that the journos would maybe on the odd occasion mention that.............. they much prefer the census figures ( we pale into comparison with Warwickshire, London and New York by the way). For every BBSE/ Kilmacud Crokes etc there are 2/3 clubs struggling to field teams at alot of grades.
Thinly disguised default Dub bashing is what alot of it is.
Oh and did I forget to mention the fact that Dubin is seriously trying to drag its standard of hurling up from a low base to become a genuine dual county.
Colm sure knows how to poke the Dubs with a pointy stick just for the fun of sitting back and watching the resulting splutters of indignation. GAA silly season. For what it's worth, I couldn't disagree with him more. One f****n' Dublin is bad enough.
His point about Dublin's financial resources are fair comment, forget about population, the money Dublin have at their disposal gives them a competitive advantage over every county in Ireland
Here's an article on Ireland's wheelchair rugby team. An very enjoyable piece
http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2013/0209/world/refusing-to-be-defined-by-twist-of-fate-222213.html (http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2013/0209/world/refusing-to-be-defined-by-twist-of-fate-222213.html)
Quote from: Dinny Breen on February 28, 2013, 01:28:33 PM
His point about Dublin's financial resources are fair comment, forget about population, the money Dublin have at their disposal gives them a competitive advantage over every county in Ireland
Here's an article on Ireland's wheelchair rugby team. An very enjoyable piece
http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2013/0209/world/refusing-to-be-defined-by-twist-of-fate-222213.html (http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2013/0209/world/refusing-to-be-defined-by-twist-of-fate-222213.html)
Lots of things give counties competitive advantages - you could say having a large, well organised supporters club with access to apartments to entice IC players from other counties gives an unfair competitive advantage
Quoteyou could say having a large, well organised supporters club with access to apartments to entice IC players from other counties gives an unfair competitive advantage
LOL
Quote from: INDIANA on February 28, 2013, 07:38:15 AM
Quote from: Zulu on February 27, 2013, 11:14:52 PM
McKenna writes a lot of decent articles to be fair.
QuoteNo big mention of Dublin hurling I note in the articles.
Why would there be? They've done little of real note in that code and most of the best dual players are choosing football so I'd imagine their domination of hurling is a way off yet.
I really don't agree with the idea of splitting Dublin but there is no point in ignoring the possible problems an overly dominant Dublin might pose for the GAA as a whole. A situation to be monitored but the idea of splitting Dublin would be worst case scenario stuff IMO.
Does he? You might put them up I've never read on these decent articles. Miracles do happen I suppose.
Split Cork in half they have more clubs then us. Its a tired old argument built on sand tis debate
Vast tracks of Dublin don't even play GAA and probably never will if the truth be known.
Meath would have beaten Carlow by 25 points at least and this wouldn't have been a story.
This has more to do with the standard of other counties underage teams in Leinster being crap rather then Dublin being good.
Leinster at football is in a crisis in my view and its completely tilting results in making Dublin look like a superpower.
Other counties are well able to beat us at all levels. In my view its not dublin that needs to be split its the provincial boundaries that need to be reshaped to add a bit of balance to the provincial championships.
He has written many fine articles and the one at the start of this thread is a recent example, just because the Dubs around here don't agree with him doesn't make it a poor article. While I agree with a number of his points, I don't think splitting Dublin is a solution but he doesn't propose that either, he simply doesn't rule it out as a solution to a potential future problem, which is a sensible thing.
The point that seems to be escaping our Dublin contributors is that unlike any other county, Dublin has the potential to utterly dominate the GAA IC scene through advantages no other county could hope to enjoy. This has to be a concern for everyone, Dubs included, as the integrity of our championships would be undermined if one county dominated not, primarily, through excellence but by population, infrastructure and finances.
Personally I think we are a long way from that happening and sport isn't all about numbers or money, English rugby proves that, but I think it is fair to raise the issue as a talking point and it's something worth tracking to make sure the worst case scenario doesn't transpire.
Quote from: heffo on February 28, 2013, 01:44:58 PM
Quote from: Dinny Breen on February 28, 2013, 01:28:33 PM
His point about Dublin's financial resources are fair comment, forget about population, the money Dublin have at their disposal gives them a competitive advantage over every county in Ireland
Here's an article on Ireland's wheelchair rugby team. An very enjoyable piece
http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2013/0209/world/refusing-to-be-defined-by-twist-of-fate-222213.html (http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2013/0209/world/refusing-to-be-defined-by-twist-of-fate-222213.html)
Lots of things give counties competitive advantages - you could say having a large, well organised supporters club with access to apartments to entice IC players from other counties gives an unfair competitive advantage
That rules Kildare out so.
MacKenna is far from the worst. I would have agreed with most of his views on the transfer situation last year but I wouldn't pay much heed to those power rankings he writes which are nonsense IMO.
Quote from: Donnellys Hollow on February 28, 2013, 02:21:03 PM
Quote from: heffo on February 28, 2013, 01:44:58 PM
Quote from: Dinny Breen on February 28, 2013, 01:28:33 PM
His point about Dublin's financial resources are fair comment, forget about population, the money Dublin have at their disposal gives them a competitive advantage over every county in Ireland
Here's an article on Ireland's wheelchair rugby team. An very enjoyable piece
http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2013/0209/world/refusing-to-be-defined-by-twist-of-fate-222213.html (http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2013/0209/world/refusing-to-be-defined-by-twist-of-fate-222213.html)
Lots of things give counties competitive advantages - you could say having a large, well organised supporters club with access to apartments to entice IC players from other counties gives an unfair competitive advantage
That rules Kildare out so.
MacKenna is far from the worst. I would have agreed with most of his views on the transfer situation last year but I wouldn't pay much heed to those power rankings he writes which are nonsense IMO.
Those power rankings did more damage than good but did stir up debate which is the point I suppose. He was quite consistent on the transfer saga and still is although I thought he was a bit preachy at times.
Quote from: Dinny Breen on February 28, 2013, 02:34:52 PM
Quote from: Donnellys Hollow on February 28, 2013, 02:21:03 PM
Quote from: heffo on February 28, 2013, 01:44:58 PM
Quote from: Dinny Breen on February 28, 2013, 01:28:33 PM
His point about Dublin's financial resources are fair comment, forget about population, the money Dublin have at their disposal gives them a competitive advantage over every county in Ireland
Here's an article on Ireland's wheelchair rugby team. An very enjoyable piece
http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2013/0209/world/refusing-to-be-defined-by-twist-of-fate-222213.html (http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2013/0209/world/refusing-to-be-defined-by-twist-of-fate-222213.html)
Lots of things give counties competitive advantages - you could say having a large, well organised supporters club with access to apartments to entice IC players from other counties gives an unfair competitive advantage
That rules Kildare out so.
MacKenna is far from the worst. I would have agreed with most of his views on the transfer situation last year but I wouldn't pay much heed to those power rankings he writes which are nonsense IMO.
Those power rankings did more damage than good but did stir up debate which is the point I suppose. He was quite consistent on the transfer saga and still is although I thought he was a bit preachy at times.
The power rankings were a load of balls but I wouldn't worry about them or his bias against Dublin, it's his preachy, whiney attitude and his Eamonn Dunphy-lite manner he tries to affect and then complain when people respond to his bait.
Quote from: Zulu on February 28, 2013, 02:13:45 PM
Quote from: INDIANA on February 28, 2013, 07:38:15 AM
Quote from: Zulu on February 27, 2013, 11:14:52 PM
McKenna writes a lot of decent articles to be fair.
QuoteNo big mention of Dublin hurling I note in the articles.
Why would there be? They've done little of real note in that code and most of the best dual players are choosing football so I'd imagine their domination of hurling is a way off yet.
I really don't agree with the idea of splitting Dublin but there is no point in ignoring the possible problems an overly dominant Dublin might pose for the GAA as a whole. A situation to be monitored but the idea of splitting Dublin would be worst case scenario stuff IMO.
Does he? You might put them up I've never read on these decent articles. Miracles do happen I suppose.
Split Cork in half they have more clubs then us. Its a tired old argument built on sand tis debate
Vast tracks of Dublin don't even play GAA and probably never will if the truth be known.
Meath would have beaten Carlow by 25 points at least and this wouldn't have been a story.
This has more to do with the standard of other counties underage teams in Leinster being crap rather then Dublin being good.
Leinster at football is in a crisis in my view and its completely tilting results in making Dublin look like a superpower.
Other counties are well able to beat us at all levels. In my view its not dublin that needs to be split its the provincial boundaries that need to be reshaped to add a bit of balance to the provincial championships.
He has written many fine articles and the one at the start of this thread is a recent example, just because the Dubs around here don't agree with him doesn't make it a poor article. While I agree with a number of his points, I don't think splitting Dublin is a solution but he doesn't propose that either, he simply doesn't rule it out as a solution to a potential future problem, which is a sensible thing.
The point that seems to be escaping our Dublin contributors is that unlike any other county, Dublin has the potential to utterly dominate the GAA IC scene through advantages no other county could hope to enjoy. This has to be a concern for everyone, Dubs included, as the integrity of our championships would be undermined if one county dominated not, primarily, through excellence but by population, infrastructure and finances.
Personally I think we are a long way from that happening and sport isn't all about numbers or money, English rugby proves that, but I think it is fair to raise the issue as a talking point and it's something worth tracking to make sure the worst case scenario doesn't transpire.
Dublin has the potential to dominate?? Ah right so we should now split Dublin as a result. This is such a pile of crap! Kilkenny and to a lesser extent Kerry have actually dominated. At what point has that dick written an article suggesting the splitting of these counties? As already highlighted its the usual dub bashing that is nothing but boloxology! As also pointed why try and raise standards elsewhere when you can drag the likes of Dublin down! O'rourke should know better if he wants to be taken seriously!
The Dublin bucks here are very defensive and stick in the mud I see .
"Not an inch" seems to be the order of the day. :D
Yet didn't their Chairman ask for Dublin to be made a Province?
Ye won't be getting a one county Province anyway.
Quote from: Zulu on February 28, 2013, 02:13:45 PM
Quote from: INDIANA on February 28, 2013, 07:38:15 AM
Quote from: Zulu on February 27, 2013, 11:14:52 PM
McKenna writes a lot of decent articles to be fair.
QuoteNo big mention of Dublin hurling I note in the articles.
Why would there be? They've done little of real note in that code and most of the best dual players are choosing football so I'd imagine their domination of hurling is a way off yet.
I really don't agree with the idea of splitting Dublin but there is no point in ignoring the possible problems an overly dominant Dublin might pose for the GAA as a whole. A situation to be monitored but the idea of splitting Dublin would be worst case scenario stuff IMO.
Does he? You might put them up I've never read on these decent articles. Miracles do happen I suppose.
Split Cork in half they have more clubs then us. Its a tired old argument built on sand tis debate
Vast tracks of Dublin don't even play GAA and probably never will if the truth be known.
Meath would have beaten Carlow by 25 points at least and this wouldn't have been a story.
This has more to do with the standard of other counties underage teams in Leinster being crap rather then Dublin being good.
Leinster at football is in a crisis in my view and its completely tilting results in making Dublin look like a superpower.
Other counties are well able to beat us at all levels. In my view its not dublin that needs to be split its the provincial boundaries that need to be reshaped to add a bit of balance to the provincial championships.
He has written many fine articles and the one at the start of this thread is a recent example, just because the Dubs around here don't agree with him doesn't make it a poor article. While I agree with a number of his points, I don't think splitting Dublin is a solution but he doesn't propose that either, he simply doesn't rule it out as a solution to a potential future problem, which is a sensible thing.
The point that seems to be escaping our Dublin contributors is that unlike any other county, Dublin has the potential to utterly dominate the GAA IC scene through advantages no other county could hope to enjoy. This has to be a concern for everyone, Dubs included, as the integrity of our championships would be undermined if one county dominated not, primarily, through excellence but by population, infrastructure and finances.
Personally I think we are a long way from that happening and sport isn't all about numbers or money, English rugby proves that, but I think it is fair to raise the issue as a talking point and it's something worth tracking to make sure the worst case scenario doesn't transpire.
Dublin is full of people with zero time for da gah. There must be at least 100,000 Man Utd fans in BAC who use the 'we' form to describe what happened at the so called "Theatre of dreams" the previous Saturday.
So i don't think there is much chance of Dublin dominating.
If money and population meant anything Kildare would have a county standard pitch.
Divide it in 7 and then cut out its tongue. And then shoot the tongue.
Quote from: Ard-Rí on February 28, 2013, 11:52:50 PM
Divide it in 7 and then cut out its tongue. And then shoot the tongue.
OK.... maybe we'll just rotate Tommy Carr in as Manager every 3 or 4 years. That should keep yiz happy.
WHY WONT ANYONE MENTION THE 7 MILLION REASONS WHY DUBLIN ARE DOMINATING UNDERAGE FOOTBALL AND HURLING?
For those who don't know, in 2005 true blue Bertie Ahern gave Dublin 7 million smackeronies. This is the reason Dublin have won numerous underage Leinsters and All Irelands in the last few years. Not because they got their act together, that they've had a sudden interest in improving hurling and other untruths thrown out on this thread.
They were happy enough to take the money and be bought success so they'll have to accept being split into two.
Quote from: Dont Matter on March 01, 2013, 12:05:08 AM
WHY WONT ANYONE MENTION THE 7 MILLION REASONS WHY DUBLIN ARE DOMINATING UNDERAGE FOOTBALL AND HURLING?
For those who don't know, in 2005 true blue Bertie Ahern gave Dublin 7 million smackeronies. This is the reason Dublin have won numerous underage Leinsters and All Irelands in the last few years. Not because they got their act together, that they've had a sudden interest in improving hurling and other untruths thrown out on this thread.
They were happy enough to take the money and be bought success so they'll have to accept being split into two.
Its never going to happen so we don't have to accept anything.
Dublin went to the other counties and copied their development model- thats why we've been successful of late.
We've been improving hurling since 97 with the first Dublin Colleges hurling team. So you are talking out of your arse.
As a poster said above soccer is huge in Dublin still and always will be. A lot of areas don't play it at all and never will
There are now areas of Dublin where GAA largely dominates and thats great credit due to the people in those areas because its no mean feat when you've a million more distractions then other counties.
Quote from: Dont Matter on March 01, 2013, 12:05:08 AM
WHY WONT ANYONE MENTION THE 7 MILLION REASONS WHY DUBLIN ARE DOMINATING UNDERAGE FOOTBALL AND HURLING?
For those who don't know, in 2005 true blue Bertie Ahern gave Dublin 7 million smackeronies. This is the reason Dublin have won numerous underage Leinsters and All Irelands in the last few years. Not because they got their act together, that they've had a sudden interest in improving hurling and other untruths thrown out on this thread.
They were happy enough to take the money and be bought success so they'll have to accept being split into two.
This is absolute nonsense. Can you produce some evidence of these outlandish ramblings? I have a feeling we will be waiting.
Quote from: Dont Matter on March 01, 2013, 12:05:08 AM
WHY WONT ANYONE MENTION THE 7 MILLION REASONS WHY DUBLIN ARE DOMINATING UNDERAGE FOOTBALL AND HURLING?
Why won't anyone mention it? Since you've joined you've scarcely mentioned anything else.
Quote from: INDIANA on March 01, 2013, 07:40:08 AM
Its never going to happen so we don't have to accept anything.
First and foremost - absolutely. I get physically sick when I hear people talking about amalgamating smaller counties and if I'm not going to allow my own county identity to be stripped away, I'm sure as hell not going to say that it should be stripped away from Dublin GAA people.
No proper, competitive person wants to split up Dublin, and I suspect Colm doesn't either. He probably just left it too late to take the time to come up with a proper article and so he knocked together a whinge quickly.
Quote from: INDIANA on March 01, 2013, 07:40:08 AM
Dublin went to the other counties and copied their development model- thats why we've been successful of late.
We've been improving hurling since 97 with the first Dublin Colleges hurling team. So you are talking out of your arse.
Dublin's work in underage hurling has been a huge boost to everyone. God knows the number of counties that can succeed in the world of hurling is small enough, let's not go taking away another one.
Quote from: INDIANA on March 01, 2013, 07:40:08 AM
As a poster said above soccer is huge in Dublin still and always will be. A lot of areas don't play it at all and never will
I'm not sure if you're referring to soccer or gaelic games when you say "it" in the above sentence. Either way, the GAA should never accept any territory as lost. Dublin have a huge monetary advantage certainly and there may have to be an examination of ways to level that out, but my limited experience is that the Dublin CB have done their best to exploit all areas.
As an aside, perhaps this is one of those situations where a little bit more information is needed before we can judge? The reason I say that is because we all know Dublin have an awful lot more money than other counties. That said, splitting up a county that makes €1m in sponsorship per annum to make up four counties that get €100k each makes no sense.
However I think the concern people have, sometimes unfounded, is that Dublin get to spend millions on team preparation while other counties have to make do with less than a tenth of that. That is unfair. It's not right that Dublin players know that they'll benefit financially from playing intercounty games while other county players will suffer.
Perhaps the trade off here is that Dublin should be kept together, allowed to maximise their potential, but there should be oversight to ensure that the huge amounts of extra revenue they have is spent on things that are good for the association as a whole - new clubs in areas where more clubs are needed, more playing pitches, more underage coaches - not more members of Jim Gavin's backroom team.
Quote from: INDIANA on March 01, 2013, 07:40:08 AM
There are now areas of Dublin where GAA largely dominates and thats great credit due to the people in those areas because its no mean feat when you've a million more distractions then other counties.
I call BS here. Rural Ireland isn't the same as it was in feckin Glenroe. I grew up in Ferbane, a village of 900 people in West Offaly. Within a half an hour you had access to pretty much every sport or activity that a child in Terenure or Glasnevin could get at, and more.
Making GAA the number one priority of the next generation is tough everywhere, and Dublin's challenges are not unique in that regard.
Urbanisation/rural depopulation is going to be a real challenge for the GAA over the next 100 years.
Even in traditionally strong counties like Offaly you have economic centralisation with Tullamore growing at the expense of the rural parishes. Same in Galway . Athlone is a "Hub" town that might not have as much GAA DNA as other places in Roscommon/Westmeath.
This seems to be a solution in search of a problem. If Dublin come to dominate the game completely - and we're talking ten-in-a-row territory here before it become a problem - then fine, let's see what needs to be done. But as heffo points out, the Carlow example is a terrible one and doesn't indicate any long-term trends.
I don't have any problem with Ewan MacKenna. I admired his stance on Cian O'Connor, although he undermined his position a bit by castigating 'RTÉ' for their supine interview technique when it comes to drug cheats even though he's writing Bill O'Herlihy's biography. But he's typical of the GAA hack who constantly feels the need to Do Something To Fix The GAA. I blame the lack of transfer market churn which allows other sports writers to endlessly make stuff up speculate while GAA journalists chew their pencils down to the point trying to fill column space.
It's a non-issue really. Even if Dublin do five-in-a-row they won't be split. Nor should they be. Even if splitting counties that are successful in two was a good idea (it surely isn't) then I don't see why a county that's won two Sams in almost 30 years would be front of the queue.
Maybe if they won 18 or 19 Leinster minors out of 20, you might look at them fielding two teams at that level, but making this argument on the basis of three or four years of underage success is a bit knee-jerk.
Dublin appeared in very few underage All Irelands for years, they really struggled. Why has there success in both codes exploded in the last couple of years?
Here's some quotes from 2004: 'Today is about establishing the foundations for the future, it is about securing the foothold of Gaelic games in this city and county.'
Can anyone guess who said that while announcing the 7 million bonanza for Dublin GAA?
Here was the game plan: The strategy for dealing with the challenge will be based on devolving work to regional areas, where the focus will be sharper on servicing the schools in those regions and identifying the elite talent.
Dublin have been given an unfair advantage over all other counties in Ireland, if Carlow were given the 7 million they would have beaten Dublin.
It's a huge embarrassment for Dublin to have only won 1 senior All Ireland with all the resources behind them, they've basically been handed the opportunity to win bucket loads on a plate but I feel soon enough the inevitable will happen and the All Irelands will come rolling in. It's almost impossible for them not to.
Lets do what's best for the GAA, split Dublin in two.
Just to bring some perspective to this. On a football pitch, fifteen players play against fifteen players. Extra players are not awarded per billion spent. If Dublin do end up running away with All-Ireland titles for the next 20 years, then consider splitting it. But frankly, that does not seem remotely likely to me and I don't care how much they've spent. Some of our best players come from, and have come from, poorer clubs in North and East Meath. Money is no guarantee of victory and I would like to see our own lads, as well as everybody else, rise to the challenge of competing with Dublin rather than bemoan their extra funding.
Quote from: Dont Matter on March 01, 2013, 06:46:06 PM
Dublin appeared in very few underage All Irelands for years, they really struggled. Why has there success in both codes exploded in the last couple of years?
Here's some quotes from 2004: 'Today is about establishing the foundations for the future, it is about securing the foothold of Gaelic games in this city and county.'
Can anyone guess who said that while announcing the 7 million bonanza for Dublin GAA?
Here was the game plan: The strategy for dealing with the challenge will be based on devolving work to regional areas, where the focus will be sharper on servicing the schools in those regions and identifying the elite talent.
Dublin have been given an unfair advantage over all other counties in Ireland, if Carlow were given the 7 million they would have beaten Dublin.
It's a huge embarrassment for Dublin to have only won 1 senior All Ireland with all the resources behind them, they've basically been handed the opportunity to win bucket loads on a plate but I feel soon enough the inevitable will happen and the All Irelands will come rolling in. It's almost impossible for them not to.
Lets do what's best for the GAA, split Dublin in two.
Shut your hole you clown
there's two ways of looking at this.
1. it wouldn't be half as much fun beating dublin.
2. it would be twice as much fun beating dublin if you got to play both halves in the same campaign.
tough one.
The Dubs won't be stopped this year, next year, or any year.
Quote from: heffo on March 01, 2013, 07:24:52 PM
Quote from: Dont Matter on March 01, 2013, 06:46:06 PM
Dublin appeared in very few underage All Irelands for years, they really struggled. Why has there success in both codes exploded in the last couple of years?
Here's some quotes from 2004: 'Today is about establishing the foundations for the future, it is about securing the foothold of Gaelic games in this city and county.'
Can anyone guess who said that while announcing the 7 million bonanza for Dublin GAA?
Here was the game plan: The strategy for dealing with the challenge will be based on devolving work to regional areas, where the focus will be sharper on servicing the schools in those regions and identifying the elite talent.
Dublin have been given an unfair advantage over all other counties in Ireland, if Carlow were given the 7 million they would have beaten Dublin.
It's a huge embarrassment for Dublin to have only won 1 senior All Ireland with all the resources behind them, they've basically been handed the opportunity to win bucket loads on a plate but I feel soon enough the inevitable will happen and the All Irelands will come rolling in. It's almost impossible for them not to.
Lets do what's best for the GAA, split Dublin in two.
Shut your hole you clown
Dublin is one county, not two, they deserve to field a team from player from the entire county, to suggest anything else is ridiculous!
Quote from: heffo on March 01, 2013, 07:24:52 PM
Quote from: Dont Matter on March 01, 2013, 06:46:06 PM
Dublin appeared in very few underage All Irelands for years, they really struggled. Why has there success in both codes exploded in the last couple of years?
Here's some quotes from 2004: 'Today is about establishing the foundations for the future, it is about securing the foothold of Gaelic games in this city and county.'
Can anyone guess who said that while announcing the 7 million bonanza for Dublin GAA?
Here was the game plan: The strategy for dealing with the challenge will be based on devolving work to regional areas, where the focus will be sharper on servicing the schools in those regions and identifying the elite talent.
Dublin have been given an unfair advantage over all other counties in Ireland, if Carlow were given the 7 million they would have beaten Dublin.
It's a huge embarrassment for Dublin to have only won 1 senior All Ireland with all the resources behind them, they've basically been handed the opportunity to win bucket loads on a plate but I feel soon enough the inevitable will happen and the All Irelands will come rolling in. It's almost impossible for them not to.
Lets do what's best for the GAA, split Dublin in two.
Shut your hole you clown
Rise above it. He's probably Ewan Mc Kenna in disguise.
You can't have rational debate with someone who probably left school at 11( or maybe never went at all) Because from his above statement that's about the only thing you could deduce from his level of intelligence.
The Narth Side
(http://ballsdot.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/c5.png)
v
The South Soide
(http://ballsdot.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/b2-500x833.png)
If this idea had any merit it should start with Kilkenny hurlers and then maybe Kerry.
Of course that would be absurd but then that is the territory we seem to be in.
Quote from: Dont Matter on March 01, 2013, 06:46:06 PM
Dublin appeared in very few underage All Irelands for years, they really struggled. Why has there success in both codes exploded in the last couple of years?
Here's some quotes from 2004: 'Today is about establishing the foundations for the future, it is about securing the foothold of Gaelic games in this city and county.'
Can anyone guess who said that while announcing the 7 million bonanza for Dublin GAA?
Here was the game plan: The strategy for dealing with the challenge will be based on devolving work to regional areas, where the focus will be sharper on servicing the schools in those regions and identifying the elite talent.
Dublin have been given an unfair advantage over all other counties in Ireland, if Carlow were given the 7 million they would have beaten Dublin.
It's a huge embarrassment for Dublin to have only won 1 senior All Ireland with all the resources behind them, they've basically been handed the opportunity to win bucket loads on a plate but I feel soon enough the inevitable will happen and the All Irelands will come rolling in. It's almost impossible for them not to.
Lets do what's best for the GAA, split Dublin in two.
Once again I'll ask you to show us some evidence of this phantom 7 million? Was it Irish Sports Council Money or did Bertie just give it over from the state coffers?
Presume we can delete this thread now
QuoteIf this idea had any merit it should start with Kilkenny hurlers and then maybe Kerry.
Counties should not be penalised for being successful. There is a case for dividing them though when they have the population of a province and one that is growing relative to other places.
Longford U-21 side tonight almost split county in 2, only 2 of the starting 15 from the south of a small county and only 2 subs from Slashers, the main team in the county town.
Shur only for Mullinalaghta we wouldn't have any county teams in Longford!
You'll have to have a word with your corner forward Shamrock, tell him to calm down a wee bit!
Off to dreaded Portlaoise for the semi final, not a good omen but we'll worry about that when the time comes!
Qwerty - I'm having a small laugh there. I'm not from Mullinalaghta - I'm from Eggistown
Maybe divide Longford in 2 after tonights defeat of the unbeatable Dubs? :D
Quote from: BartSimpson on March 06, 2013, 11:58:00 PM
Maybe divide Longford in 2 after tonights defeat of the unbeatable Dubs? :D
We could just let the bit south of the N4 specialise in hurling.
Quote from: Hill16 Blues on February 27, 2013, 11:05:38 PM
Surprised by orourke. Had figured him for decent enough commentator and journalist.
Have you never watched The Sunday Game???!!
Quote from: LaurelEye on March 07, 2013, 12:01:11 AM
Quote from: BartSimpson on March 06, 2013, 11:58:00 PM
Maybe divide Longford in 2 after tonights defeat of the unbeatable Dubs? :D
We could just let the bit south of the N4 specialise in hurling.
Are we're still saying that this would be good for hurling?
Quote from: BartSimpson on March 07, 2013, 12:15:09 AM
Quote from: LaurelEye on March 07, 2013, 12:01:11 AM
Quote from: BartSimpson on March 06, 2013, 11:58:00 PM
Maybe divide Longford in 2 after tonights defeat of the unbeatable Dubs? :D
We could just let the bit south of the N4 specialise in hurling.
Are we're still saying that this would be good for hurling?
Are you saying that it would make things any worse for Longford hurling?
Quote from: LaurelEye on March 07, 2013, 12:18:59 AM
Quote from: BartSimpson on March 07, 2013, 12:15:09 AM
Quote from: LaurelEye on March 07, 2013, 12:01:11 AM
Quote from: BartSimpson on March 06, 2013, 11:58:00 PM
Maybe divide Longford in 2 after tonights defeat of the unbeatable Dubs? :D
We could just let the bit south of the N4 specialise in hurling.
Are we're still saying that this would be good for hurling?
Are you saying that it would make things any worse for Longford hurling?
lol
Longford stick work is one of the greatest threats to Kilkenny/Tipperary. I expect a central council proposition any day.
Quote from: BartSimpson on March 07, 2013, 12:22:56 AM
Quote from: LaurelEye on March 07, 2013, 12:18:59 AM
Quote from: BartSimpson on March 07, 2013, 12:15:09 AM
Quote from: LaurelEye on March 07, 2013, 12:01:11 AM
Quote from: BartSimpson on March 06, 2013, 11:58:00 PM
Maybe divide Longford in 2 after tonights defeat of the unbeatable Dubs? :D
We could just let the bit south of the N4 specialise in hurling.
Are we're still saying that this would be good for hurling?
Are you saying that it would make things any worse for Longford hurling?
lol
Longford stick work is one of the greatest threats to Kilkenny/Tipperary. I expect a central council proposition any day.
The kind of stick work that takes place in Pauric Colum Heights or MacEoin Park after YouTube videos, maybe.