So its 2 weeks from this weekend and it all begins :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
How do you think your county will do?
Dublin...
hurling - first round exit despite recent improvements.
football - AI semi final / final.
Tyrone Ulster and ALL Ireland foootball champions.
Hurling Nick Rackard cup - eh group stages.
Tyrone . . .
Hurling - no idea!
Football - fully fit team and we will win it!
Meath:
Football: your guess is as good as mine.
Hurling: Win a few games but wont challenge for trophies
RTE Schedule of Games:
http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/features/sundaygame.html (http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/features/sundaygame.html)
Countdown begins to 2007 Football Championship
27 April 2007
There's still more than two weeks to go to the start of the 2007 Bank of Ireland Football Championship but excitement is building as the 33 participants continue with their preparations for what will, as usual, be the biggest sporting show of the Irish summer.
Westmeath v Longford, Cavan v Down and New York v Sligo will launch the exciting campaign on May 13 and between then and All-Ireland final day on September 16, over sixty games will be played in the provincial, qualifier and All-Ireland series.
Up to 1.5 million people will attend the games while millions more will watch on TV as the exciting action unfolds all over the country. This will be the 14th year that the All-Ireland football championships are sponsored by Bank of Ireland, making it one of the longest link-ups in Irish sport.
Defending All-Ireland champions, Kerry will be seeking their 35th All-Ireland title in what is Pat O'Shea's first year as manager, having replaced Jack O'Connor who steered them to success in 2004 and 2006.
BANK OF IRELAND SFC SHORTS
*Can Kerry win the All-Ireland football title for the second successive year? The last county to achieve the double was Cork in 1990. Prior to that, Meath won the double in 1987-88.
*A total of 19 counties have won the All-Ireland football title, leaving 13 still trying to make the breakthrough. The following is a province-by-province breakdown with All-Ireland winners in capitals.
Connacht: GALWAY (9), MAYO (3), ROSCOMMON (2), Leitrim, Sligo, London, New York.
Leinster: DUBLIN (22), MEATH (7), WEXFORD (5), KILDARE (4), LOUTH (3), OFFALY (3), Laois, Carlow, Longford, Kilkenny, Wicklow, Westmeath.
Munster: KERRY (34), CORK (6), TIPPERARY( 4), LIMERICK (2), Waterford, Clare.
Ulster: CAVAN (5), DOWN (5), TYRONE (2), ARMAGH (1), DONEGAL (1), DERRY (1), Fermanagh, Antrim, Monaghan,
*Since the All-Ireland championship system was changed in 2001, Galway (2001), Tyrone (2005) and Kerry (2006) have won the title via the qualifier route while Kerry (2002) and Armagh (2003) reached the final through the same route but lost to Armagh and Tyrone respectively.
* Armagh will be bidding to win the Ulster title for a fourth successive year, a feat that hasn't been achieved since Cavan in 1942 when they completed a four-timer before going on to make it seven-in-a-row in 1945.
* Seven counties have won the Ulster title in the past 20 years. Monaghan, Derry, Tyrone, Down, Donegal, Armagh and Cavan have all lifted the Anglo-Celt Cup. In the same period, six counties have won the Leinster title - Meath, Dublin, Kildare, Offaly, Laois and Westmeath. Galway, Mayo, Roscommon and Leitrim have shared the Connacht titles while Kerry, Cork and Clare have shared the Munster titles. That means that 20 of the 32 counties have won provincial titles since 1987.
*There's a slight change in the format for this year's All-Ireland qualifiers. They have been cut from four to three rounds and will not include counties who will be in Division For of the National Football League next year, unless they lose a provincial final this season.
The teams in Division Four are: Offaly, Clare, Carlow, London, Wicklow, Antrim, Tipperary, Waterford
BANK OF IRELAND SFC 2007 THE PROGRAMME
LEINSTER
May 13: First round: Longford v Westmeath, Pearse Park.
May 20: First round: Louth v Wicklow; Meath v Kildare, Croke Park.
June 2: Quarter-final: Laois v Longford/Westmeath, Tullamore
June 3: Quarter-finals: Wexford v Louth/Wicklow; Dublin v Kildare/Meath, Croke Park.
June 24: Semi-finals: Wexford/Louth/Wicklow v Westmeath/Longford/Laois; Meath/Kildare/Dublin v Carlow/Offaly, Croke Park.
July 15: Final, Croke Park.
ULSTER
May 13: Preliminary Round: Cavan v Down, Kingspan Breffni Park.
May 20: Quarter-final: Fermanagh v Tyrone,
May 27: Quarter-final: Donegal v Armagh, Ballybofey
June 3: Quarter-final: Antrim v Derry, Casement Park.
June 10: Quarter-final: Monaghan v Cavan/Down
June 17: Semi-final: Fermanagh/Tyrone v Donegal/Armagh.
June 24: Semi-final: Antrim/Derry v Cavan/Down/Monaghan.
July 15: Final.
CONNACHT
May 13: Quarter-final: New York v Sligo, Gaelic Park, New York.
May 20: Quarter-final: Galway v Mayo, Pearse Stadium.
May 27: London v Leitrim, Ruislip.
June 17: Semi-final: Roscommon v Sligo/New York; Dr. Hyde Park.
June 24: Semi-final: Galway/Mayo v London/Leitrim.
July 8: Final
MUNSTER
May 20: Quarter-finals: Waterford v Clare, Dungarvan; Cork v Limerick, Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
June 3: Semi-finals: Kerry v Waterford/Clare; Tipperary v Cork/Limerick.
July 1: Final
ALL-IRELAND QUALIFIERS
July 7 - Round 1
July 14 Round 2
July 21/28 - Round 3
ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIPS
Aug 4: All-Ireland quarter-finals (2)
Aug 11: All-Ireland quarter-finals (2)
Aug 19: All-Ireland semi-final, Croke Park.
Aug 26: All-Ireland semi-final, Croke Park.
Sept 16: All-Ireland Final, Croke Park.
Meath
Football: I'll stick my neck out and say we'll win Leinster.
Hurling: Tip away like we always do.
Tyrone
Football: Ulster Champions and All Ireland Semi-Finalists.
Hurling: Wouldn't know, but I think they will be respectable for the level they're at, considering the performance of the NHL campaign.
Armagh
hurling - not sure
football - AI semi final from the back door.
The orchard,
all ireland 1/4 via the scenic route (exit to Donegal)
hurling - dunno
ARMAGH
Football: All-Ireland quarter or semi through the backdoor
Hurling: Playing in a complete new arena, hopefully it wont put them off-hope they put in a good performance in Ulster
Cavan
Football- Ulster Finalists and win a game in the qualifiers.
Hurling-to actually win a game in the Nicky Rackard Cup would be nice.
Sligo
Football
Connaght Finalists and qualifiers round 4.
Hurling
Rackard cup finalists
Armagh
Footbal: All Irleland Quarter Finals via the backdoor - exit to tyrone
Hurling: dunno
Quote
Tyrone . . .
Hurling - no idea!
Armagh
hurling - not sure
The orchard,
hurling – dunno
Armagh
Hurling: dunno
Real GAA people up there, no doubt about it.
LOngford
Football: Leinster semi-final
Hurling: Final of Rackard Cup
QuoteSligo
Football
Connaght Finalists and qualifiers round 4.
Hurling
Rackard cup finalists
I agree completely.
Jaysus lads, its not hard to see why hurling is struggling in ulster. Do any of yez care?!?!!?
How do we think our county will do or what do we hope for?
Hurling : Give wexford a game, maybe sneak a win. Given their improved NHL i think that might be stretching it
Football : a third leinster would be an achievement, hope to god we can up the performances from the league, but fear we'll come a cropper when we meet quality oposition.
Armagh
football: AI semi-final by back door
hurling: reasonable result against Derry and final of Rackard cup
Armagh
Football - AIF ;D
Hurling - Bad
Monaghan
Football - AIQF (through back door)
Hurling - Worse
Tyrone
Football: Lose to Fermanagh by 4 in the first round. Win at Westmeath in the qualifiers but lose to Meath. Mickey is hounded out of the county by the majority. He appeals the decision and wins with a sizeable population of the county forced into a plantation of Armagh. He redesigns the county and names it Tir Harte. British cartographers rebel but Mickey appeals and wins.
Hurling: Is that like rounders?
Armagh
Football - Winners
Hurling - beat Derry in Ulster C'ship and win Nicky Rackard
All Ireland double!!
Football: All Irealnd Semi-final
Hurling: Group stages of the Ring Cup, maybe knock out stages if lucky
Quote from: BallyhaiseMan on April 27, 2007, 12:48:55 PM
Cavan
Football- Ulster Finalists and win a game in the qualifiers.
Hurling-to actually win a game in the Nicky Rackard Cup would be nice.
Cavan to win 3 games in the Ulster Championship!!! Are u mad???
I go hurling at the weekends
(http://www.bangkokhealth.com/cimages/vomiting02.jpg)
Galway
Football: Connacht 1st round loss to Mayo, followed by backdoor wins until an All Ireland Q-final exit (unless we meet a very decent team in the backdoor system, in which case an earlier exit).
Hurling: Depending on the avoidance of Kilkenny, an All-Ireland Semi-final apperance.
Quote from: The Bottom Brick on April 27, 2007, 01:23:45 PM
Quote
Tyrone . . .
Hurling - no idea!
Armagh
hurling - not sure
The orchard,
hurling – dunno
Armagh
Hurling: dunno
Real GAA people up there, no doubt about it.
Is there a problem with not knowing how they will cope with the step up (i.e Derry)?
Quote from: Mid Mon on April 27, 2007, 02:41:08 PM
Quote from: BallyhaiseMan on April 27, 2007, 12:48:55 PM
Cavan
Football- Ulster Finalists and win a game in the qualifiers.
Hurling-to actually win a game in the Nicky Rackard Cup would be nice.
Cavan to win 3 games in the Ulster Championship!!! Are u mad???
Down and Derry/Antrim will be tough no doubt,but its good that we will have a break and a challenge against Monaghan in between :P
Longford
Football:
Victory over Westmeath, and sure we'll see how it goes from there. If we could beat Laois, then a Leinster final place should be achievable.
Realistically, Leinster quarter-final followed by a win or two in the qualifiers.
Hurling:
Rackard Cup final.
Derry
Football: Beat Antrim I suppose, then get beat by Monaghan in the semi-final (because we can't win two games in a row!). Possible All-Ireland Quarter-Final appearance after that, but that's probably about the height of it. By the way, how does the qualifier system work now if there's only 3 rounds... will the teams beaten in the first round go into the same qualifier round as the teams beaten in the provincial semi-finals (bar the division 4 teams)?
Hurling:
Fermanagh
Hurling, one win if we're lucky
Football, lose to Tyrone on a replay, sneak to the All-Ireland Q/F, Charlie signs out on a high
Antrim
hard to say on both, but cant wait
Mayo
Connaught title and to at least make the semi's of the All Ireland.
Hurling - win the Rackard Cup
Football -reach Connacht Final where we'd love to piss on Mayo's parade but won't.
Hope to get to the Quarters but will depend on the draw.
End of season Maughan to go back to Mayo and O'Mahony to manage the County he lives in.
Laois
Football- Leinster Champions/All Ireland Semi Final
Hurling- Might turn Offaly over but probably not
Football - Think we might scrape another Connacht title and maybe make the last 8 yet again (no great feat). Wouldn't be overly confident of that though.
Hurling - Think we might make the semi-finals or possibly final if we avoid Kilkenny long enough.
Down
Football - would love to make the AIQF for first time but doubt it very much. More likey an early exit from Ulster and possibly a win or 2 in the qualifers depending on a kind draw!
Hurling - Don't care
Mayo
Football: I'll put my head on the line and say we'll win Connacht. Don't know about Croke Park anymore
Hurling: Hopefully a respectable postiion in the Christy Ring cup again.
Westmeath
Football: If we have all our players fit then a path to the Leinster Final is there for the taking. Should get back to an AIQF and put up a better show than last year.
Hurling: Win the Christy Ring again, nothing less will do.
Dublin
Football: Leinster Champions / AI runner up
Hurling: Lenister Final
An Dun
Peil: To play more than two matches (whether that be in Ulster or Qualifiers)
Iomainiocht: Ulster final and win Christy Ring
Football: We can squeeze past Down as we're at home and never fear the Mourne men anyway, but Monaghan in the next round are on a real roll and would be just too good for us I'd say, just like they were in 1987, 1995, and 2001. ;)
Hurling: A win of any description would be most welcome.
Would it be to much to ask for RTE to do a we preview show ahead of the start of the championship? Maybe one is planned but I havent heard of it. I see there's talk of a mid week show, hopefully itll provide a good preview of upcoming matches.
Offaly
Football.
Realistic Expectations - Beat Carlow. Lose to Dublin (Big assumption they get past Kildare/Meath). Thanks to cat League campaign, no Qualifiers and Tommy Murphy Cup, where, to be honest, who cares?
Hopefully - Beat Carlow. Beat Meath/Kildare/Dublin. Beat Laois in Leinster Final. After that it's gravy.
Hurling
Realistic Expectations - Beat Laois. Lose to Kilkenny (By 5-10 points). Good run in Qualifiers to 1/4 final spot. Shock Galway in 1/4 final. Get beaten by Waterford in Semi.
Hopefully - See above.
Quote from: Tyrone Dreamer on May 05, 2007, 03:44:50 PM
Would it be to much to ask for RTE to do a we preview show ahead of the start of the championship? Maybe one is planned but I havent heard of it. I see there's talk of a mid week show, hopefully itll provide a good preview of upcoming matches.
Setanta have a decent preview program that is on for an hour. I think it is shown at 6pm on Fridays but i am sure it in repeated numerous times. RTE are pathetic in my opinion, unless you like soccer or Rugby don't expect too much in terms of a preview, both on the TV and their useless Aertel.
To right. When you consider that the gaa has provided rte with their best viewing figures for years its strange how little they put back into marketing the gaa. Their teletext service being a prime example with it being updated on less than a dailly basis. The championship coverage will soon be starting and you'd think theyd be looking to hype the thing up a bit with a preview show. There coverage from October to May is also extremely poor. If there's a market for live AIB rugby on a Saturday then surely an half and a half pure highlights show on a Sunday night for NFL/NHL would get sufficient viwers. I know Sunday sport does show about 12 minutes on a Sunday night from a game but it isnt enough. 3 games should be featured with camera's at other matches.
Mayo
Lose the Final by 1-2 points
Lose the Final by 12 points if its Kerry