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@Captain Scarlet can update the thread title to 2025.

Kildare v Louth this weekend will decide the full set or Tailteann Cup seedings, with New York to join at the preliminary quarter-final stage. 


First Seeds: Offaly, Kildare / Louth, Fermanagh, Westmeath

Second Seeds: Sligo, Laois, Limerick, Wexford

Third Seeds: Antrim, Leitrim, Wicklow, Carlow

Fourth Seeds: Tipperary, Longford, London, Waterford

Should be a decent competition this year, all of the top seeds well capable of winning it, likes of Wicklow and Antrim could go well and will want to build on decent championship performances in their provinces. Wexford obviously had a very good league but ran out of steam by all accounts by the league final, would imagine the few weeks off will do them good.

Quote from: Cunny Funt on April 23, 2025, 01:13:12 PM@Captain Scarlet can update the thread title to 2025.

Kildare v Louth this weekend will decide the full set or Tailteann Cup seedings, with New York to join at the preliminary quarter-final stage. 


First Seeds: Offaly, Kildare / Louth, Fermanagh, Westmeath

Second Seeds: Sligo, Laois, Limerick, Wexford

Third Seeds: Antrim, Leitrim, Wicklow, Carlow

Fourth Seeds: Tipperary, Longford, London, Waterford

Fermanagh would have been viewed as a more defensive side in recent past but played some really nice football against Down with the new rules. Connor Love put in a great showing and be one to watch for them.  Winning the Tailteann be huge for Fermanagh given they have never won Ulster would be great to see.  I don't think they will have any fear of the other sides, Westmeath and the loser of Kildare/Louth won't be easy beat.  Sligo should be decent also. 

Quote from: Cunny Funt on April 23, 2025, 01:13:12 PM@Captain Scarlet can update the thread title to 2025.

Kildare v Louth this weekend will decide the full set or Tailteann Cup seedings, with New York to join at the preliminary quarter-final stage. 


First Seeds: Offaly, Kildare / Louth, Fermanagh, Westmeath

Second Seeds: Sligo, Laois, Limerick, Wexford

Third Seeds: Antrim, Leitrim, Wicklow, Carlow

Fourth Seeds: Tipperary, Longford, London, Waterford

@admin

Lads feel like my ma here, but how do I update thread topic?

Is it a desktop job?

The draw Wicklow are hoping for...

First Seeds: Westmeath
Second Seeds: Wexford
Third Seeds: Wicklow
Fourth Seeds: Waterford

Quote from: Captain Scarlet on April 24, 2025, 09:23:40 AM

Quote from: Cunny Funt on April 23, 2025, 01:13:12 PM@Captain Scarlet can update the thread title to 2025.

Kildare v Louth this weekend will decide the full set or Tailteann Cup seedings, with New York to join at the preliminary quarter-final stage. 


First Seeds: Offaly, Kildare / Louth, Fermanagh, Westmeath

Second Seeds: Sligo, Laois, Limerick, Wexford

Third Seeds: Antrim, Leitrim, Wicklow, Carlow

Fourth Seeds: Tipperary, Longford, London, Waterford

@admin

Lads feel like my ma here, but how do I update thread topic?

Is it a desktop job?

First post of this thread and click edit.

Quote from: Fogarty on April 24, 2025, 11:12:00 AMThe draw Wicklow are hoping for...

First Seeds: Westmeath
Second Seeds: Wexford
Third Seeds: Wicklow
Fourth Seeds: Waterford

To keep the alliterative theme/team maybe
First Seeds:  Louth
Second Seeds: Limerick
Third Seeds:  Leitrim
Fourth Seeds: Longford

Tailteann Cup needs more television exposure. It would be great if there was one live game from the Tailteann Cup and Joe McDonagh shown each week on TG4. Showcase these competitions more and give them the media exposure they deserve. The novelty of this new championship is already starting to fade. Down didn't show huge emotion winning the competition last year and if Kildare were to fall into it this year and win it, I cannot see them being overly excited about winning it either. I would also consider moving the final from a Saturday to a Sunday. Last year, it felt like it was get it played and out of the way so that the focus could go on both All-Ireland semi-finals. By playing it on a Sunday you will definitely up the attendance from both counties at the final itself and allow local media coverage to gain further traction with previews, build up to game extending into the weekend. Little things that can make a big difference to upping the importance placed on the competition.   

Is the draw next week like last year?

Quote from: The Boy Wonder on April 24, 2025, 02:21:55 PM

Quote from: Fogarty on April 24, 2025, 11:12:00 AMThe draw Wicklow are hoping for...

First Seeds: Westmeath
Second Seeds: Wexford
Third Seeds: Wicklow
Fourth Seeds: Waterford

To keep the alliterative theme/team maybe
First Seeds:  Louth
Second Seeds: Limerick
Third Seeds:  Leitrim
Fourth Seeds: Longford

Not wishing to cause acrimony,  but as acronyms go, this group wouldn't cause much of a stir:
First Seeds:  Fermanagh
Second Seeds: Laois
Third Seeds:  Antrim
Fourth Seeds: Tipperary

Quote from: Laois Rising on April 24, 2025, 04:08:21 PMTailteann Cup needs more television exposure. It would be great if there was one live game from the Tailteann Cup and Joe McDonagh shown each week on TG4. Showcase these competitions more and give them the media exposure they deserve. The novelty of this new championship is already starting to fade. Down didn't show huge emotion winning the competition last year and if Kildare were to fall into it this year and win it, I cannot see them being overly excited about winning it either. I would also consider moving the final from a Saturday to a Sunday. Last year, it felt like it was get it played and out of the way so that the focus could go on both All-Ireland semi-finals. By playing it on a Sunday you will definitely up the attendance from both counties at the final itself and allow local media coverage to gain further traction with previews, build up to game extending into the weekend. Little things that can make a big difference to upping the importance placed on the competition.   

Think a few Down and Kildare boys in the past had thought themselves above a second tier competition, they've been in it for a reason. Realistically neither are close to a provincial or All Ireland title at the minute. Totally agree with you about giving the TC more exposure. 

The GAA said that there was no appetite for a third tier from the Counties when consulted last year.
The TC has been and probably will be won by teams in the top half of div 3.
The danger is that div 4 teams will only make a half baked effort as time goes on.

Was great to see Westmeath winning and it meant something to them.
Down and Meath with 12 or 13 Sams between them on the other hand...

Quote from: Rossfan on April 24, 2025, 06:00:28 PMThe GAA said that there was no appetite for a third tier from the Counties when consulted last year.
The TC has been and probably will be won by teams in the top half of div 3.
The danger is that div 4 teams will only make a half baked effort as time goes on.

Was great to see Westmeath winning and it meant something to them.
Down and Meath with 12 or 13 Sams between them on the other hand...

Why would the division 4 teams bother fielding at all then if thats the attitude? They've probably more chance of going on a run in the TC than winning a provincial or taking a big scalp an All Ireland series.

As for Down and Meath, their All Ireland winners would be old enough to have children/grandchildren playing for the county by now. They're a long way from being good enough to turn their nose up at any silverware.

Get back to me when a D4 team wins it...

Hopefully next July  :o

Quote from: Rossfan on April 24, 2025, 06:51:14 PMGet back to me when a D4 team wins it...

Hopefully next July  :o

They'll likely not. Then again they won't win anything else. Likes of Wicklow/Wexford could take a scalp.

Finalists and where they finished in league that year

2024 -  Down 1st in Div 3  Laois  1st in Div 4

2023 -  Meath 6th in Div 2  Down 3rd in Div 3

2022 -  Westmeath 3rd in Div 3 and  Cavan 1st in Div 4

Instead of a need for 3rd tier perhaps leave the Tailteann Cup to Div 3 teams minus the two promoted teams and  the 8 Div 4 teams plus New York?

Louth will be favourites for this .

Quote from: LarryStiles on April 27, 2025, 09:12:09 AMLouth will be favourites for this .

Oh dear.

Quote from: Fogarty on April 27, 2025, 08:41:30 PM

Quote from: LarryStiles on April 27, 2025, 09:12:09 AMLouth will be favourites for this .

Oh dear.

Kildare  made a dung in the bed. They walk the Tailteann and will Kerry will for Sam McGuire.

Quote from: Blowitupref on April 24, 2025, 08:45:29 PMFinalists and where they finished in league that year

2024 -  Down 1st in Div 3  Laois  1st in Div 4

2023 -  Meath 6th in Div 2  Down 3rd in Div 3

2022 -  Westmeath 3rd in Div 3 and  Cavan 1st in Div 4

Instead of a need for 3rd tier perhaps leave the Tailteann Cup to Div 3 teams minus the two promoted teams and  the 8 Div 4 teams plus New York?

In my opinion the Tailteann Cup should be based on last year's league standings not this year.

This way you know what competition you're playing that given year you can set targets and it's not a disappointment for likes of Kildare when they'd have been expecting to play Sam Maguire this year

I'm from Kildare and I disagree. That was a proper championship game v Louth with real jeopardy yesterday.

If you are good enough you are in Sam.

Quote from: Captain Scarlet on April 28, 2025, 10:00:54 AMI'm from Kildare and I disagree. That was a proper championship game v Louth with real jeopardy yesterday.

If you are good enough you are in Sam.

It still would have had similar jeopardy if it effected next years championship status though.

In club football you know what grade of championship you are in at the start of the year. In soccer you know if your going to be in the Champions league or Europa league or Conference.

Same in Rugby.

I think the Tailteann Cup is suffering because of this.

The Tailteann Cup has a shelf-life in it's current guise. If we have a couple of years in a row of winners winning the competition who aren't genuinely delighted to win it then it is going to lose traction fast. Down last year barely celebrated the win. Kildare gave a typical Kildare performance yesterday and didn't show the clinicality or confidence required to win a game they should have won. They will probably win the Tailteann Cup but it won't mean too much to them bar being a stepping stone to getting back into the Sam Maguire mix for next year. Of course publicly the management team will say all the right things but in reality its not a competition that's going to excite the Kildare supporters or players. I fear for the future for the Tailteann Cup if this scenario keeps repeating itself. Hopefully the GAA will work to a three tier championship-Senior, Intermediate and Junior. All of the teams are then competing more to their level. Have a 10, 12, 12 split and remove the league positions and championship connection. You could have the Junior Final before one All-Ireland semi-final and the Intermediate before the other All-Ireland semi-final. Alternatively, have an All-Ireland Finals weekend, Junior and Intermediate Finals on the Saturday and the All-Ireland Final the Sunday.   

Quote from: Laois Rising on April 28, 2025, 11:55:26 AMThe Tailteann Cup has a shelf-life in it's current guise. If we have a couple of years in a row of winners winning the competition who aren't genuinely delighted to win it then it is going to lose traction fast. Down last year barely celebrated the win. Kildare gave a typical Kildare performance yesterday and didn't show the clinicality or confidence required to win a game they should have won. They will probably win the Tailteann Cup but it won't mean too much to them bar being a stepping stone to getting back into the Sam Maguire mix for next year. Of course publicly the management team will say all the right things but in reality its not a competition that's going to excite the Kildare supporters or players. I fear for the future for the Tailteann Cup if this scenario keeps repeating itself. Hopefully the GAA will work to a three tier championship-Senior, Intermediate and Junior. All of the teams are then competing more to their level. Have a 10, 12, 12 split and remove the league positions and championship connection. You could have the Junior Final before one All-Ireland semi-final and the Intermediate before the other All-Ireland semi-final. Alternatively, have an All-Ireland Finals weekend, Junior and Intermediate Finals on the Saturday and the All-Ireland Final the Sunday.   

The 3 tier All-Ireland football is already in place, Kilkenny and New York being the last 2 Junior winners, and that final is plated before an All-Ireland semi-final

What I think might be better is 4 tiers, where the KK/overseas competition is Junior-Novice, though I don't think anyone realistically expects promotion/relegation between the current tier 2/tier 3, or future tier 3/tier 4

At the end of the day anyone who thinks they are too good for Tailteann and don't target/celebrate it appropriately probably won't last too long at Sam. Someone has to play Tier 2, proud counties like Kildare and Down might not like it but tough, get over it

We are in an era of constant flux in the GAA at the moment but I'd near guarantee that we will we have a three tier competition in place within the next 3/4 years.

HQ said last year there was " no appetite " among the Counties for a 3 tier system.
That was during the Jarlath Jeopardy campaign.
Maybe 2 or 3 years of being knocked out in Tailteann Round 2B might might bring on an appetite..

I don't think Kildare would be bankers to win it this year at all.

Are Westmeath in it? If Offaly are in it they'll give anyone their fill of it assuming they keep their players at it.

When Westmeath won it the first year it was a big deal for them because of a historic lack of success.
The other winners since then would have been embarrassed to have ended up there in the first place.

Quote from: imtommygunn on April 28, 2025, 02:46:48 PMI don't think Kildare would be bankers to win it this year at all.

Are Westmeath in it? If Offaly are in it they'll give anyone their fill of it assuming they keep their players at it.

A few teams will be in the mix. Sligo should be thereabouts. Antrim  got to the semis the last couple of years. Conor Love could inspire Fermanagh.

Kildare,Offaly and Westmeath the main teams but its open enough. Wicklow put up a good performance against Dublin.

Odds to win the Tailteann Cup should be a slight change after the draw on Wednesday.

Westmeath 5/2
Offaly 7/2
Kildare 3/1
Fermanagh 15/2
Sligo 15/2
Laois 13/1
Antrim 25/1
Limerick 33/1
Wexford 40/1
Wicklow 50/1
Longford 66/1
Tipperary 66/1
Carlow 88/1
London 100/1
Leitrim 100/1
New York 250/1
Waterford 250/1

I think this competition is dying a slow death.

As predicted , it gets zero exposure , has to compete against the main competition, and will have very low attendances .

Quote from: FermGael on April 28, 2025, 07:13:39 PMI think this competition is dying a slow death.

As predicted , it gets zero exposure , has to compete against the main competition, and will have very low attendances .

Unless it's run at a different time, it's always going to be 2nd fiddle.

Quote from: FermGael on April 28, 2025, 07:13:39 PMI think this competition is dying a slow death.

As predicted , it gets zero exposure , has to compete against the main competition, and will have very low attendances .

The 2 Semi finals and final be shown on Rte in Croke Park. The Hurling equivalent Christy Ring gets less exposure. TG4 Youtube might show the odd game.

Too many games to show with the All Ireland series and Hurling to get all on. Munster hurling use to be knockout.

Group 1 -  Kildare,Sligo,Leitrim,Tipperary
Group 2 - Offaly,Laois,Wicklow,Waterford
Group 3 - Westmeath,Limerick,Antrim,London
Group 4 - Fermanagh,Wexford,Carlow,Longford

Quote from: Blowitupref on April 30, 2025, 01:39:56 PMGroup 1 -  Kildare,Sligo,Leitrim,Tipperary
Group 2 - Offaly,Laois,Wicklow,Waterford
Group 3 - Westmeath,Limerick,Antrim,London
Group 4 - Fermanagh,Wexford,Carlow,Longford

Should be a fair few decent games there.

Group 1 looking the trickiest group.

A good draw for Wicklow. Offaly and Laois are beatable.

Quote from: FermGael on April 28, 2025, 07:13:39 PMI think this competition is dying a slow death.

As predicted , it gets zero exposure , has to compete against the main competition, and will have very low attendances .

Lack of posts or interest to the draw would suggest that.  Can certainly forget about any 3rd tier competition when struggling to keep this competition popular. 

First round games

Saturday 10th May

Group 1
St Conleth's Park, 17:00 Kildare v Leitrim

Group 2

O'Connor Park, 13:30 Offaly v Wicklow
O'Moore Park, 15:00 Laois v Waterford

Group 3
Mick Neville Park, 13:00 Limerick v London

Group 4
Wexford Park, 18:30 Wexford v Longford

Sunday May 11th

Group 1

Tubbercurry, Sligo 13:30 Sligo v Tipperary

Group 3

Cusack Park, 14:00 Westmeath v Antrim live on GAA+

Group 4

Brewster Park, 14:00 Fermanagh v Carlow

Quote from: Captain Obvious on May 02, 2025, 01:34:48 PM

Quote from: FermGael on April 28, 2025, 07:13:39 PMI think this competition is dying a slow death.

As predicted , it gets zero exposure , has to compete against the main competition, and will have very low attendances .

Lack of posts or interest to the draw would suggest that.  Can certainly forget about any 3rd tier competition when struggling to keep this competition popular. 

GAA need to say they're abolishing the TC but keeping the Sam as a 16 team competition!

Remember hurling suddenly got all important in a few Counties when HQ suggesting abolishing their County hurling teams!!

Quote from: FermGael on April 28, 2025, 07:13:39 PMI think this competition is dying a slow death.

As predicted , it gets zero exposure , has to compete against the main competition, and will have very low attendances .

What exposure did many of those counties receive back in the old format? I agree that the tailteann cup needs more promotion but let's not pretend there would be more coverage and bigger attendance for a Wicklow vs Waterford back door game in the championship than there would be if they faced each other in the Tailteann cup.

I think, in general, the GAA's promotion of all their competitions is relatively poor.

Absolutely.
Appalling or non existent.

The last 2 years they were charging children €5 for TC group games.
They should have been giving out complimentary tickets to children in schools and GAA clubs and charging accompanying adults €5.

Anything tovtry and get people on the gates and try to make an occasion of it.
As for promotion and marketing....can't they get those competition sponsors to use their marketing and promotion departments to come up with something?

Quote from: Rossfan on May 03, 2025, 09:01:23 AMAbsolutely.
Appalling or non existent.

The last 2 years they were charging children €5 for TC group games.
They should have been giving out complimentary tickets to children in schools and GAA clubs and charging accompanying adults €5.

Anything tovtry and get people on the gates and try to make an occasion of it.
As for promotion and marketing....can't they get those competition sponsors to use their marketing and promotion departments to come up with something?

The GAA would be absolutely nothing without the thousands of volunteers and players etc who give up their time for the love of it, yet it's exactly those people who are being priced out to watch their county by those in suits getting paid.

Years ago there was no need for promotion or marketing to fill out stadiums. The interest is still there but it's just not affordable to take your family to every game as it used to be.

Quote from: Rossfan on May 02, 2025, 04:01:54 PM

Quote from: Captain Obvious on May 02, 2025, 01:34:48 PM

Quote from: FermGael on April 28, 2025, 07:13:39 PMI think this competition is dying a slow death.

As predicted , it gets zero exposure , has to compete against the main competition, and will have very low attendances .

Lack of posts or interest to the draw would suggest that.  Can certainly forget about any 3rd tier competition when struggling to keep this competition popular. 

GAA need to say they're abolishing the TC but keeping the Sam as a 16 team competition!

Remember hurling suddenly got all important in a few Counties when HQ suggesting abolishing their County hurling teams!!

I remember it well with HQ showing they only care about the "elite" teams/competitions and underage competitions get in the way also.  Money made with Concerts in Croke Park is creating big profits so all is rosy. 

Quote from: Captain Obvious on May 02, 2025, 01:34:48 PM

Quote from: FermGael on April 28, 2025, 07:13:39 PMI think this competition is dying a slow death.

As predicted , it gets zero exposure , has to compete against the main competition, and will have very low attendances .

Lack of posts or interest to the draw would suggest that.  Can certainly forget about any 3rd tier competition when struggling to keep this competition popular. 

There will be interest when it gets to the later stages. Fermanagh should be embracing it. A chance to win a trophy in croke park.

No matter how you dress it up the Tailteann Cup will always be a 2nd tier competition.

The provincial championships are the main obstacle to a proper open-draw knock-out Sam Maguire competition.

Open-draw Sam Maguire Cup
Round 1: Open draw for the 16 Division 3 and Division 4 teams
Round 2: Open draw for 8 Round 1 winners and 8 Division 2 teams
Round 3 (last 16): Open draw for 8 Round 2 winners and 8 Division 1 teams
Round 4 (quarter-finals) : Open draw for Round 3 winners
All-Ireland Semi-Finals : Open draw for Round 4 winners
All-Ireland Final: What odds on a Round 1 winner reaching final ?  e.g. 2025 Kildare, Offaly ?

The possibilities that the open draw provides and the likelihood of shocks would made it far more exciting that the current 2-tier round-robin system. Who is to say that Division 3 teams such as Laois, Sligo and Wicklow could not progress to the quarter-finals of an unrestricted Sam Maguire Cup ?

As it stands Clare & Tipperary in Munster and Sligo & Leitrim in Connacht have a better chance of qualifying for the Sam Maguire via a provincial final than a Leinster or Ulster Division 3 team simply because they can qualify by winning just 2 matches in their province.

"No matter how you dress it up the Tailteann Cup will always be a 2nd tier competition."

It is literally a second tier competition...it was established to be so.

Quote from: BrendanAntrim on May 05, 2025, 10:38:09 PM"No matter how you dress it up the Tailteann Cup will always be a 2nd tier competition."

It is literally a second tier competition...it was established to be so.

I was responding to previous posts re. seeming lack of interest in Tailteann Cup and it's promotion.

But thank you Brendan for pointing this out  :)

Lads where the fook can I buy a ticket?
I've googled and it brings me to the main GAA page with the Provincials but no Tailteann.

Even Kildare website has no link...

Welcome to GAA promotion and marketing....


Update

https://am.ticketmaster.com/gaa/buy/kildaretc3mp

Quote from: Blowitupref on May 02, 2025, 02:45:07 PMFirst round games

Saturday 10th May

Group 1
St Conleth's Park, 17:00 Kildare v Leitrim

Group 2

O'Connor Park, 13:30 Offaly v Wicklow
O'Moore Park, 15:00 Laois v Waterford

Group 3
Mick Neville Park, 13:00 Limerick v London

Group 4
Wexford Park, 18:30 Wexford v Longford

Sunday May 11th

Group 1

Tubbercurry, Sligo 13:30 Sligo v Tipperary

Group 3

Cusack Park, 14:00 Westmeath v Antrim live on GAA+

Group 4

Brewster Park, 14:00 Fermanagh v Carlow

Round 2 games confirmed today.

Saturday May 17th

Tipperary v Kildare - Clonmel 4pm
Waterford v Offaly -  Walsh Park 1:30pm
Wicklow v Laois - Aughrim 6pm
Antrim v Limerick - Corrigan Park 4:30pm

Sunday May 18th

Leitrim v Sligo - Pairc Sean MacDiarmada 2pm live on GAA+
London v Westmeath - Ruislip 2pm
Carlow v Wexford - Cullen Park  2:30pm
Longford v Fermanagh - Pearse Park  3pm

Quote from: Blowitupref on May 07, 2025, 02:41:54 PMSaturday May 17th

Wicklow v Laois - Aughrim 6pm

I predict Laois will start crying again about 1986.

Quote from: Captain Scarlet on May 06, 2025, 08:15:56 AMLads where the fook can I buy a ticket?
I've googled and it brings me to the main GAA page with the Provincials but no Tailteann.

Even Kildare website has no link...

Would I be right in saying Kildare are embarrassed to be in Tailteann Cup?
Considering their player base and resources its a pretty poor position to be in.

Weren't they in it last year too?
A County with 3 Provincials in 90 years.

I'd say more recent Sam winners Meath and Down must have been pretty embarrassed too but they knuckled down and won it.

Would I be right in saying Kildare are embarrassed to be in Tailteann Cup?
Considering their player base and resources its a pretty poor position to be in.
[/quote]

Maybe some are embarrassed but I certainly don't feel that way. It's our level. As someone alluded to up above we have 3 Leinster's in 90 years. Last AI title was 1928. So I'm not sure what you mean by player base and resources.

There are delusion of grandeur within Kildare GAA.

Quote from: mup on May 09, 2025, 02:43:52 PMWould I be right in saying Kildare are embarrassed to be in Tailteann Cup?
Considering their player base and resources its a pretty poor position to be in.

Maybe some are embarrassed but I certainly don't feel that way. It's our level. As someone alluded to up above we have 3 Leinster's in 90 years. Last AI title was 1928. So I'm not sure what you mean by player base and resources.

There are delusion of grandeur within Kildare GAA.
[/quote]
Why would they be embarrassed. Thry haven't won an all Ireland in 100 years.  Meath and Down took to the competition and they've a much bigger history. As do Offaly.

Quote from: snoopdog on May 09, 2025, 04:26:09 PM

Quote from: mup on May 09, 2025, 02:43:52 PMWould I be right in saying Kildare are embarrassed to be in Tailteann Cup?
Considering their player base and resources its a pretty poor position to be in.

Maybe some are embarrassed but I certainly don't feel that way. It's our level. As someone alluded to up above we have 3 Leinster's in 90 years. Last AI title was 1928. So I'm not sure what you mean by player base and resources.

There are delusion of grandeur within Kildare GAA.

Why would they be embarrassed. Thry haven't won an all Ireland in 100 years.  Meath and Down took to the competition and they've a much bigger history. As do Offaly.

[/quote]

Ehh thats what I just wrote.

Fair play to the Gaa.
Savage launch .
And first games on the same day as the Ulster final , just genius .

And brilliant match previews in today's Irish news .

Results

Offaly 2-13 Wicklow 0-11
Laois 0-28 Waterford 1-16
Limerick 0-25 London 1-15
Kildare 0-36 Leitrim 0-11
Wexford: 2-24  Longford: 1-18

Quote from: ck on May 09, 2025, 08:28:23 AM

Quote from: Captain Scarlet on May 06, 2025, 08:15:56 AMLads where the fook can I buy a ticket?
I've googled and it brings me to the main GAA page with the Provincials but no Tailteann.

Even Kildare website has no link...

Would I be right in saying Kildare are embarrassed to be in Tailteann Cup?
Considering their player base and resources its a pretty poor position to be in.

Kildare beat Carlow in Joe McDonagh hurling today. A huge result for them. Maybe they are a hurling county now.

Why not both?!

While the scoreboard says we lost last night by 9 it wasn't a hammering. We were competitive and in it until Wexford got 3 2 pointers in the last 5 minutes.

It was an entertaining game and Longford played far better than in the League. Lead at half time even.

Our kick-out policy was a disaster - assuming the policy was kicking it over the sideline or into a Wexford man's willing arms.

Fermanagh 2-18 Carlow 3-18.

Fair play to Carlow
Best team won.
Fermanagh were a complete shambles.

Really best just to get the year over with at this stage

Today's results

Sligo 2-15 Tipperary 2-10
Fermanagh 2-18 Carlow 3-18
Westmeath 4-24 Antrim 1-17  (Luke Loughlin with 1-17 in that game)

Luke Loughlin with 1-17 today.

Mans looking like one of the best forwards in the country at the moment

Quote from: FermGael on May 11, 2025, 04:46:09 PMFermanagh 2-18 Carlow 3-18.

Fair play to Carlow
Best team won.
Fermanagh were a complete shambles.

Really best just to get the year over with at this stage

Whats going on in Fermanagh? Seems to be going from bad to worse.

Quote from: Blowitupref on May 11, 2025, 04:47:35 PMToday's results

Sligo 2-15 Tipperary 2-10
Fermanagh 2-18 Carlow 3-18
Westmeath 4-24 Antrim 1-17  (Luke Loughlin with 1-17 in that game)

Sligo made hard work of it. Tipp are a big physical side.
Murphy injured for Sligo? Big loss if he is.

Quote from: ck on May 12, 2025, 10:25:31 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on May 11, 2025, 04:47:35 PMToday's results

Sligo 2-15 Tipperary 2-10
Fermanagh 2-18 Carlow 3-18
Westmeath 4-24 Antrim 1-17  (Luke Loughlin with 1-17 in that game)

Sligo made hard work of it. Tipp are a big physical side.
Murphy injured for Sligo? Big loss if he is.

Played a period with 13 men (two blacks) probably didn't help.  Murphy went off injured midway through the 1st half.

Quote from: Blowitupref on May 13, 2025, 02:33:43 PM

Quote from: ck on May 12, 2025, 10:25:31 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on May 11, 2025, 04:47:35 PMToday's results

Sligo 2-15 Tipperary 2-10
Fermanagh 2-18 Carlow 3-18
Westmeath 4-24 Antrim 1-17  (Luke Loughlin with 1-17 in that game)

Sligo made hard work of it. Tipp are a big physical side.
Murphy injured for Sligo? Big loss if he is.

Played a period with 13 men (two blacks) probably didn't help.  Murphy went off injured midway through the 1st half.

What is Murphys injury? Fingers crossed for a speedy return.

I am told Murphy is ok and was just precautionary taking him off. Mullen could be out for a while.

Sligo were poor by all accounts but should improve with competitive games. Leitrim v Sligo is on GAA+ this weekend.

Quote from: SLIGONIAN on May 13, 2025, 09:21:36 PMI am told Murphy is ok and was just precautionary taking him off. Mullen could be out for a while.

Sligo were poor by all accounts but should improve with competitive games. Leitrim v Sligo is on GAA+ this weekend.

Precautionary taking him off in a game they were losing and could easily have lost? Very strange altogether.

Previews with all published teams

https://www.gaa.ie/article/preview-weekend-s-tailteann-cup-action-x0386

Quote from: Blowitupref on May 16, 2025, 01:11:40 PMPreviews with all published teams

https://www.gaa.ie/article/preview-weekend-s-tailteann-cup-action-x0386

Didier Cordonnier doesn't sound very Tipp.

Result from today

Waterford 1-13 Offaly 1-18
Tipperary 1-11 Kildare 3-19
Antrim 1-10 Limerick 1-18
Wicklow 0-21 Laois 0-16

Quote from: Blowitupref on May 17, 2025, 07:22:52 PMResult from today

Waterford 1-13 Dublin 1-18
Tipperary 1-11 Kildare 3-19
Antrim 1-10 Limerick 1-18

They finally split Dublin?  :D

Seems like Waterford done well in that game?

Quote from: Armagh18 on May 17, 2025, 07:36:49 PMThey finally split Dublin?  :D

Seems like Waterford done well in that game?

Had Dublin on my mind when typing that.  Offaly of course.

Quote from: Blowitupref on May 17, 2025, 07:45:56 PM

Quote from: Armagh18 on May 17, 2025, 07:36:49 PMThey finally split Dublin?  :D

Seems like Waterford done well in that game?

Had Dublin on my mind when typing that.  Offaly of course.

Considering league performances Waterford did Offaly well in that game :D

Leitrim led for the majority of the game but a late rally won it for Sligo.  2-19 to 1-18.

Other results

London 1-10 Westmeath 0-26
Carlow 2-16 Wexford 1-19
Longford 0-7 Fermanagh 2-19

Wicklow are making good progress. We won't fear anyone in the knock outs.

When are fixtures out?

Leitrim seem to have saved some face this season.

Kildare were a mixed bag v Tipp but facing Sligo in a neutral spot should be good.

Westmeath we're very unlucky against is in Leinster and should win it out.

Quote from: Captain Scarlet on May 18, 2025, 08:41:58 PMWhen are fixtures out?

Leitrim seem to have saved some face this season.

Kildare were a mixed bag v Tipp but facing Sligo in a neutral spot should be good.

Westmeath we're very unlucky against is in Leinster and should win it out.

Leitrim threw it away had a goal chance to go 10 up. Was an absolute sitter

They butchered a few more in the closing stages.
I suppose they have restored a bit of pride at least.

Quote from: Rossfan on May 18, 2025, 09:29:20 PMThey butchered a few more in the closing stages.
I suppose they have restored a bit of pride at least.

They did.

McNulty could've had 4 or 5 goals himself.

Another low day for Longford. Tis worse we are getting. Bottom of the heap.

Last game v Carlow is a dead rubber for us.

Quote from: Shamrock Shore on May 19, 2025, 11:13:41 AMAnother low day for Longford. Tis worse we are getting. Bottom of the heap.

Last game v Carlow is a dead rubber for us.

What sort of a team will you have out for that? Will lads just walk away now. Means a lot to us as topping group might come down to points difference

Haven't been here in ages as I was so peed off with Carlow, last few years. Appointing Shane Curran was insane, he fell out with most players on the panel. Brought training back to the dark ages, and was clueless with tactics etc.
Thankfully, the players stepped up and ousted him, and in a few weeks Joe Murphy came in and has transformed the team. Beating Fermanagh away, and yesterday should have had Wexford beaten by ht, hitting crossbar and post 3 times. Almost lost it, but some fight to get the draw in the end.
Am 100% confident we will get out of Div 4 next year once he has time in charge and more players come back, for now this is fun and bonus territory

2 defeats now for Antrim, after some had predicted them to do well after a decent 50 minutes against Armagh.

Daniel Flynn made his first appearance of the year for kildare on saturday. Top player when his he's tuned in.

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Poor oul Longford the first team eliminated from the Championship(s).

Quote from: Shamrock Shore on May 19, 2025, 11:13:41 AMAnother low day for Longford. Tis worse we are getting. Bottom of the heap.

Last game v Carlow is a dead rubber for us.

Was a complete mismatch Sunday .

Would have been fearful enough heading down  but youse are in terrible shape.

Quote from: FermGael on May 19, 2025, 07:58:21 PM

Quote from: Shamrock Shore on May 19, 2025, 11:13:41 AMAnother low day for Longford. Tis worse we are getting. Bottom of the heap.

Last game v Carlow is a dead rubber for us.

Was a complete mismatch Sunday .

Would have been fearful enough heading down  but youse are in terrible shape.

Spoke to a man who was at that game Sunday and he reckoned Longford were a mess. It wasn't event a challenge for Fermanagh. I know Longford got new Management this year but does anyone know who he is and who is in backroom team?

Last round of group games

Saturday May 31st

Offaly v laois - St Conleth's Park 6pm
Wicklow v Waterford - Wexford Park  6pm
Westmeath v Limerick - O'Moore Park 2pm

Sunday June 1st

Leitrim v Tipperary - Mullingar 1:30pm
Kildare v Sligo -  Dr Hyde Park 2pm
Antrim v London - Newry 1:45pm
Fermanagh v Wexford - Croke Psrk  1:45pm  (on before Armagh v Dublin it seems)
Carlow v Longford - O'Connor Park 1:45pm 

Quote from: Blowitupref on May 20, 2025, 01:39:35 PMLast round of group games

Saturday May 31st

Offaly v laois - St Conleth's Park 6pm
Wicklow v Waterford - Wexford Park  6pm
Westmeath v Limerick - O'Moore Park 2pm

Sunday June 1st

Leitrim v Tipperary - Mullubgar 1:30pm
Kildare v Sligo -  Dr Hyde Park 2pm
Antrim v London - Newry 1:45pm
Fermanagh v Wexford - Croke Psrk  1:45pm  (on before Armagh v Dublin it seems)
Carlow v Longford - O'Connor Park 1:45pm 

Surely they should've put Antrim London as a double header with the Down Louth game on the Saturday? Plenty of supporters with interest in both Down and Antrim

Quote from: AnDúnAbú94 on May 20, 2025, 01:47:07 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on May 20, 2025, 01:39:35 PMLast round of group games

Saturday May 31st

Offaly v laois - St Conleth's Park 6pm
Wicklow v Waterford - Wexford Park  6pm
Westmeath v Limerick - O'Moore Park 2pm

Sunday June 1st

Leitrim v Tipperary - Mullubgar 1:30pm
Kildare v Sligo -  Dr Hyde Park 2pm
Antrim v London - Newry 1:45pm
Fermanagh v Wexford - Croke Psrk  1:45pm  (on before Armagh v Dublin it seems)
Carlow v Longford - O'Connor Park 1:45pm 

Surely they should've put Antrim London as a double header with the Down Louth game on the Saturday? Plenty of supporters with interest in both Down and Antrim

And should've put Kildare v Sligo on before Meath and Roscommon on Saturday in the Hyde.

Nice run out in Croke Park for Fermanagh and Wexford.

Brilliant for Fermanagh and Wexford to get a run out in Croke park and be a curtain raiser to a big game.


Use to be minors that did that .
Replaced the minors with county teams .
Genius ........

Quote from: FermGael on May 20, 2025, 04:58:37 PMBrilliant for Fermanagh and Wexford to get a run out in Croke park and be a curtain raiser to a big game.


Use to be minors that did that .
Replaced the minors with county teams .
Genius ........

You were saying the Tailtean Cup teams were getting no Profile. Can't win

Quote from: rodney trotter on May 20, 2025, 08:20:38 PM

Quote from: FermGael on May 20, 2025, 04:58:37 PMBrilliant for Fermanagh and Wexford to get a run out in Croke park and be a curtain raiser to a big game.


Use to be minors that did that .
Replaced the minors with county teams .
Genius ........

You were saying the Tailtean Cup teams were getting no Profile. Can't win

Is this profile ?

Game being played in an empty Croke park at 1.45 and should all be finished before the main crowd starts coming in.

Quote from: FermGael on May 20, 2025, 10:14:38 PM

Quote from: rodney trotter on May 20, 2025, 08:20:38 PM

Quote from: FermGael on May 20, 2025, 04:58:37 PMBrilliant for Fermanagh and Wexford to get a run out in Croke park and be a curtain raiser to a big game.


Use to be minors that did that .
Replaced the minors with county teams .
Genius ........

You were saying the Tailtean Cup teams were getting no Profile. Can't win

Is this profile ?

Game being played in an empty Croke park at 1.45 and should all be finished before the main crowd starts coming in.

If Fermanagh and Wexford people can't come out snd support their teams what do you want the GAA to do?

Quote from: FermGael on May 20, 2025, 10:14:38 PM

Quote from: rodney trotter on May 20, 2025, 08:20:38 PM

Quote from: FermGael on May 20, 2025, 04:58:37 PMBrilliant for Fermanagh and Wexford to get a run out in Croke park and be a curtain raiser to a big game.


Use to be minors that did that .
Replaced the minors with county teams .
Genius ........

You were saying the Tailtean Cup teams were getting no Profile. Can't win

Is this profile ?

Game being played in an empty Croke park at 1.45 and should all be finished before the main crowd starts coming in.

How many would have been at the neutral venue if not in croke
Tbh would say the players happy enough to get a run out in croke park

Croke Park makes sense for many reasons:

- Vast majority of players would prefer a game in Croke Park over any other ground in the country.
- You will get more Fermanagh/Wexford supporters to the game than if it was standalone as they're also getting to see Dublin/Armagh after, particularly young fans.
- The game wouldn't be getting streamed on GAA+ if it was a standalone game elsewhere realistically.

I don't see it in anyway patronizing as suggested to be the first game on before a massive game. This is a great opportunity for raising the profile of a group stage game for these teams.

Quote from: Rossfan on April 24, 2025, 06:00:28 PMThe GAA said that there was no appetite for a third tier from the Counties when consulted last year.
The TC has been and probably will be won by teams in the top half of div 3.
The danger is that div 4 teams will only make a half baked effort as time goes on.

Was great to see Westmeath winning and it meant something to them.
Down and Meath with 12 or 13 Sams between them on the other hand...

I think a 3rd tier would be a disaster.

Introducing a 3rd tier just makes it more acceptable to be sub standard.

How many tiers are there in hurling and theres hammerings at every tier.

Hammerings are just a part of sport and are hard to eliminate. There will always be mismatches.

Does your County have graded Club Championships?

There's no equivalence between County and Inter-County championships.

Re. inter-county
- the National Football League is a graded competition and works well as such
- the Sam Maguire Cup used to be a knockout competition for all counties.

The provincial championships are a hindrance to an equitable Sam Maguire Cup competition:
Open-draw Sam Maguire Cup
Round 1: Open draw for the 16 Division 3 and Division 4 teams
Round 2: Open draw for 8 Round 1 winners and 8 Division 2 teams
Round 3 (last 16): Open draw for 8 Round 2 winners and 8 Division 1 teams
Round 4 (quarter-finals) : Open draw for Round 3 winners
All-Ireland Semi-Finals : Open draw for Round 4 winners

Bring back the cutting edge of knockout football.

Quote from: Rossfan on May 22, 2025, 06:43:29 PMDoes your County have graded Club Championships?

Yes they have but thats different.

33 teams is not enough for 3 grades in my opinion.

The only way I'd introduce a 3rd tier is if they introduced more teams from abroad. But very hard to see how any more teams from abroad would be competitive.

In an ideal world if you had a Boston Team, Warwickshire, Lancashire, Glasgow and maybe team from Europe.

But unfortunately there's no way these teams would be anyway competitive.

Quote from: The Boy Wonder on May 22, 2025, 10:42:08 PMThere's no equivalence between County and Inter-County championships.

Re. inter-county
- the National Football League is a graded competition and works well as such
- the Sam Maguire Cup used to be a knockout competition for all counties.

The provincial championships are a hindrance to an equitable Sam Maguire Cup competition:
Open-draw Sam Maguire Cup
Round 1: Open draw for the 16 Division 3 and Division 4 teams
Round 2: Open draw for 8 Round 1 winners and 8 Division 2 teams
Round 3 (last 16): Open draw for 8 Round 2 winners and 8 Division 1 teams
Round 4 (quarter-finals) : Open draw for Round 3 winners
All-Ireland Semi-Finals : Open draw for Round 4 winners

Bring back the cutting edge of knockout football.

The provincials are fecking class. 3 cracking finals and the Munster final in all but name was a serious battle as well.

I think we can take it that the Provincials are staying.
Their link to Sam is being reduced as next year's system won't have seedings. However the 8 Finalists will be in 1 pot and will get a home venue for Round 1 of the Sam.

Will the TC be an open draw??

The Draw for the Preliminary Quarter Finals of the Tailteann Cup will take place on Sunday evening at 6.15pm and will be broadcast live on GAA.ie and the GAA YouTube channel.

The draw will see the four teams who finished second in the Group Stages being drawn to play at home against the three best placed runners-up and New York with these games taking place on the weekend of June 7th/8th.


Teams for this weekend games.

https://www.gaa.ie/article/tailteann-cup-weekend-previews

Kildare Team:

Cian Burke
Harry O'Neill, Mark Dempsey, Brian Byrne
Tommy Gill, David Hyland. James McGrath
Kevin Feely & Brendan Gibbons
Ben McCormack, Alex Beirne, Darragh Swords
Ryan Sinkey, Daniel Flynn, Jimmy Hyland

Presuming that starts there is a fair bit to come off the bench across every line. Dan Flynn is a headliner and he is lucky enough to be in at all, but if he is fit on hard ground he can do damage.
To be honest even if he is playing poorly we need to use him as a decoy more. Himself and Jimmy Hyland work well together.
Feely is colossal at any level, so interesting to see how him and Gibbons work.

In the league Kevin Flynn came on and changed the game for us, but the pitch was awful and it'll be interesting to see how we go.

Limerick 0-19 Westmeath 0-18. That result means Limerick top the group and Westmeath 2nd.

Quote from: Cunny Funt on May 31, 2025, 04:33:34 PMLimerick 0-19 Westmeath 0-18. That result means Limerick top the group and Westmeath 2nd.

Any time that beats Westmeath gets my vote.

Wicklow top the group that all the experts said we would finish 3rd in!
A great closing run of points at the end to overturn the scoring difference.

Here's the link to the draw for the next round tonight .
Gaa really pushing the boat out again and getting behind the competition.
Won't be long til the competition is exclusive to YouTube like the hurling tiers this weekend

Quote from: Fogarty on June 01, 2025, 12:29:01 AMWicklow top the group that all the experts said we would finish 3rd in!
A great closing run of points at the end to overturn the scoring difference.

Who'd have thought Wicklow would finish above the Biffos?
Well done.

Dead rubber time for Longford today in Tullamore v Carlow.

I will head like it matters. Hope to see an open game with Longford starting or bringing on some new lads.

Carlow will be eager to put us to the sword, again! The league meeting was a massacre and this was WITH Cake in charge.

The only way is up.

Quote from: Shamrock Shore on June 01, 2025, 10:14:50 AMDead rubber time for Longford today in Tullamore v Carlow.

I will head like it matters. Hope to see an open game with Longford starting or bringing on some new lads.

Carlow will be eager to put us to the sword, again! The league meeting was a massacre and this was WITH Cake in charge.

The only way is up.

Fair play to you.
A true supporter.
Can't be many days in the sun following Longford

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New York will take Leitrim place in the knock out stages.

For a game Kildare had won 10 minutes into the 2nd half they got out of jail in the end helped  by a Sligo 3 up breach.

Good win in Carlow. The wind was the 16th and 17th player for each side in each half. Longford made better use of it in the first half (1-16 to 0-06). Matthew Carey scored 7 2pointers, I think. Prob a record?

Carlow won the second half 1-09 to 0-04.

It was an entertaining game and the row at the end topped it off nicely for the few that were there.
All started when a few Carlows told Longford players to eff off at the final whistle and enjoy the rest of the summer. That kicked things off.  ;D

An Longfort abu

Slán for now.

Preliminary Quarter Finals

Saturday June 7th

Offaly v New York  - O'Connor Park 2pm  GAA+
Westmeath v Laois - Cusack Park 5pm GAA+

Sunday June 8th

Sligo v Carlow  - Tubbercurry 2pm
Wexford v Antrim  - Wexford Park 1pm

Quote from: Cunny Funt on May 31, 2025, 04:33:34 PMLimerick 0-19 Westmeath 0-18. That result means Limerick top the group and Westmeath 2nd.

Great credit due to Limerick for how they are going this year. It's such hard going in a county where most of the resources and support goes to the hurlers and then Rugby and Soccer dominate the city. Most of the squad and mgmt are from West Limerick rural areas.

I look at Longford the last few years and just wonder what is going? Shamrock shore, ye have had some decent underage teams but seniors seem to be underperforming? curious as to why. Some show by Carey 0-15.

Bambrick 2-4 v Fermanagh, no score yesterday? Strange.

We are decent but defensively inconsistent. Carlow will cause us issues but we have the firepower to win this one.

Quote from: SLIGONIAN on June 02, 2025, 05:31:49 PMI look at Longford the last few years and just wonder what is going? Shamrock shore, ye have had some decent underage teams but seniors seem to be underperforming? curious as to why. Some show by Carey 0-15.

Bambrick 2-4 v Fermanagh, no score yesterday? Strange.

We are decent but defensively inconsistent. Carlow will cause us issues but we have the firepower to win this one.

Fermanagh didn't man mark him
It's that simple .
We were shocking

Hoping Wicklow or Antrim go all the way in this. Shame to see the poor turnout for some of these games. It deserves support as a competition.

No attempt at marketing or promotion.
Charging children €5 for the group games...

Quote from: Rossfan on June 03, 2025, 12:04:35 AMNo attempt at marketing or promotion.
Charging children €5 for the group games...

You'd be thinking kids would be for free. Encourage parents to bring their kids and their kids friends, whose family may not interested in Football. It's all about fostering the future.

24 games to get rid of 4 teams. It's a bit of a farce really.

Don't get me started on the pre-quarter final knockout games. Talk about giving teams little or no chance.

Quote from: From the Bunker on June 03, 2025, 12:35:27 AMDon't get me started on the pre-quarter final knockout games. Talk about giving teams little or no chance.

Down 2023 and Laois last year reached the Tailteann Cup final off the back of playing in a pre-quarter finals.

Midlands derby between Laois and Westmeath could be a humdinger. One game from each knock out round of competition should be shown on national tv and give it the promotion it deserves. I still think that the Joe McD and Tailteann Cup should be handed to TG4 with even one game from each competition shown live each week. Carlow and Laois last week was a proper knock out game of hurling with a real local rivalry thrown in to boot and it got all of thirty seconds air time on Sunday Game with presenter and panel having a joke about the commentary of the last minute goal instead of providing any insight into the game. These competitions are not being provided with the oxygen needed to ignite and grow. 

They should indeed be given to TG4.

Teams for the Four Preliminary Quarter Finals

OFFALY: Paddy Dunican; Lee Pearson, David Dempsey, Daire McDaid; Aidan Bracken, John Furlong, Rory Egan; Jack McEvoy, Jordan Hayes; Kyle Higgins, Cathal Flynn, Cillian Bourke; Keith O'Neill, Jack Bryant, Shane Tierney.

Subs: Sean O'Toole, Marcas Dalton, Cormac Egan, Robbie Gallagher, Dylan Hyland, Oisin Keenan-Martin, Aaron Kellaghan, Aaron Leavy, Shane O'Toole Greene, Ruairi McNamee, Morgan Tynan.

NEW YORK: Joey Grace; Cian O'Dea, Sean Wilson, Shane Bolger; Bill Maher, Rob Wharton, Tiarnan Mathers; Kieran Murphy, Gavin O'Brien; Shane Brosnan, Eoghan McElligott, Adam Loughlin Stones; Frank O'Reilly, Bobby O'Regan, Killian Butler.

Subs: Ryan Corrigan, Tadhg O'Riordan, Matthew Queenan, Mike McCarthy, Jack McKenna, Michael Argue, Conall Kennedy, Jack Robinson, Joe Hagan, Morgan Garry, Mickey Brosnan.



WESTMEATH: Conor McCormack; Daniel Scahill, Sam Smyth, Jamie Gonoud; Joseph Moran, Ronan Wallace, Sam McCartan; Ray Connellan, Eoghan McCabe; Matthew Whittaker, Kevin O'Sullivan, Nigel Harte; Luke Loughlin, Stephen Smith, Brandon Kelly.

Subs: Joe Hyland, Kieran Martin, Tadhg Baker, Robbie Forde, Danny McCartan, Lorcan Dolan, Shane Allen, Shane Ormsby, Jack Geoghegan, Brian Guerin, Brian Cooney.

LAOIS: Killian Roche; Ben Dempsey, Trevor Collins, Liam Knowles; Pa Kirwan, Patrick O'Sullivan, Aaron McEvoy; Seamus Lacey, Damon Larkin; Mark Barry, Ronan Coffey, Conor Heffernan; Niall Corbet, Kevin Swayne, Brian Byrne.

Subs: Conor Brown, John Brennan, Jamie Conway, Jake Darcy, Michael Doran, Josh Hogan, Jonah Kelly, Cathal Lee, Jack Lennon, Sean O'Neill, Cian Ryle.



WEXFORD: Darragh Brooks; Michael Furlong, Gavin Sheehan, Liam O'Connor; Eoin Porter, Glen Malone, Pairic Hughes; Liam Coleman, Niall Hughes; Martin O'Connor, Tom Byrne, Mark Rossiter; Kevin O'Grady, Robbie Brooks, Sean Nolan.

Subs: Colum Feeney, Sean Barden, Ruairi Martin, Dylan Furlong, Cathal Kehoe, Cathal Walsh, Jack Higgins, Conor Carty, Michael Kinsella, Ben Brosnan, Sean Ryan.

ANTRIM: Michael Byrne; Eoghan McCabe, Eunan Walsh, Kavan Keenan; James McAuley, Dermot McAleese, Patrick Finnegan; Conor Hand, Marc Jordan; Ronan Boyle, Adam Loughran, Patrick McBride; Ryan McQuillan, Ruairi McCann, Dominic McEnhill.

Subs: Luke Mulholland, Calum Higgins, Conor Stewart, Daniel McNicholl, Eunan Quinn, Fionn Nagle, James McDonnell, John Morgan, Joseph Finnegan, Niall Burns, Ryan Murray.



SLIGO: Aidan Devaney; Evan Lyons, Eddie McGuinness, Paul McNamara; Brian Cox, Darragh Cummins, Jack Lavin; Canice Mulligan, Patrick O'Connor; Alan Reilly, David Quinn, Cian Lally; Alan McLoughlin, Niall Murphy, Shane Deignan.

Subs: Daniel Lyons, Ross Doherty, Lee Deignan, Mikey Gordon, Paul Kilcoyne, Eoghan Smith, Donal Conlon, Pat Spillane, Luke Towey, Peter Laffey, Ciaran O'Dowd.

CARLOW: Johnny Furey; Paddy McDonnell, Mark Furey, Colin Byrne; John Phiri, Niall Hickey, John Murphy; Kyle Nolan, Conor Doyle; Ross Dunphy, Darragh Foley, Mikey Bambrick; Conor Crowley, Kevin Murphy, Sean Murphy.

Subs: Ben McCarron, Paddy Regan, Lee Moore, Shane Clarke, Ciaran Moran, Liam Brennan, Mark Mullen, Aaron Amond, Liam Gavin, Jamie Clarke, Adam Burgess.



Quarter-final draw will take place Monday morning and It will be broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 as part of Morning Ireland after the news at 8.30am

Half time in O'Connor Park one way traffic.  Offaly 1-14 New York 0-2.   

Result Offaly 2-25 New York 1-12.   Dylan Hyland scored 1-12 for Offaly.

Hope the second GAA+ game is a bit better. New York being eaten alive.

Quote from: Captain Scarlet on June 07, 2025, 03:09:25 PMHope the second GAA+ game is a bit better. New York being eaten alive.

Wait till they implement the tariffs.

Quote from: Captain Scarlet on June 07, 2025, 03:09:25 PMHope the second GAA+ game is a bit better. New York being eaten alive.

Did anyone expect anything else?

Half time Westmeath 2-12 Laois 0-7

Result Westmeath 3-26 Laois 1-15.  Last score of the game after the hooter a Laois goal.

Weastmeath running away with it. Westmeath. Meath. Down have won this competition. No lower tier county are realistically going to win it. It's not working. On a straight knockout competition westmeath could give any team in the country a serious go. Sam maguire series is too elitist.

Quote from: ONARAGGATIP on June 07, 2025, 06:10:09 PMWeastmeath running away with it. Westmeath. Meath. Down have won this competition. No lower tier county are realistically going to win it. It's not working. On a straight knockout competition westmeath could give any team in the country a serious go. Sam maguire series is too elitist.

Westmeath will play in Div 3 next year having lost 6 and drew one of their 7 Div 2 games this year. When they won the Tailteann Cup in 2022 they finished 3rd in Div 3 is that not "lower tier" county winning it?

Quote from: Cunny Funt on June 07, 2025, 06:28:06 PM

Quote from: ONARAGGATIP on June 07, 2025, 06:10:09 PMWeastmeath running away with it. Westmeath. Meath. Down have won this competition. No lower tier county are realistically going to win it. It's not working. On a straight knockout competition westmeath could give any team in the country a serious go. Sam maguire series is too elitist.

Westmeath will play in Div 3 next year having lost 6 and drew one of their 7 Div 2 games this year. When they won the Tailteann Cup in 2022 they finished 3rd in Div 3 is that not "lower tier" county winning it?

2 of the teams that topped their groups were division 4 teams this year too

Limerick beat Westmeath last weekend. They aren't unbeatable. Laois have been terrible today and Westmeath clicked.

Get ya alright and they did have a poor championship. They had no luck at all in the league. Laois must be wondering wtf they have to do. Semi final 2 years ago and destroyed. Final last year and gave it a fair rattle. Then hammered again today. Is it becoming more of a hurling county now or geographical split?

Quote from: Cunny Funt on June 07, 2025, 06:28:06 PM

Quote from: ONARAGGATIP on June 07, 2025, 06:10:09 PMWeastmeath running away with it. Westmeath. Meath. Down have won this competition. No lower tier county are realistically going to win it. It's not working. On a straight knockout competition westmeath could give any team in the country a serious go. Sam maguire series is too elitist.

Westmeath will play in Div 3 next year having lost 6 and drew one of their 7 Div 2 games this year. When they won the Tailteann Cup in 2022 they finished 3rd in Div 3 is that not "lower tier" county winning it?

In fairness to Westmeath they were unlucky in Div 2. It was as close a league as I've ever seen. Down also got relegated with 6pts. Louth only stayed uo on head to head and they won Leinster.
I've seen Westmeath a good few times in the last few years, they are a solid outfit and very hard to beat. They along with Kildare, Fermanagh and Sligo will be the favourites for this. Offaly and Antrim could have a big say also.
It's a with this  competition gets little coverage.

Div. 2 in most sports/competitions is usually tight and competitive.

Like a Hurling result between Antrim v Wexford. Wexford 5-23 Antrim 2-21

Half time in the other game Sligo 1-15 Carlow 0-13

Result Sligo 1-27 Carlow 2-19. 

Antrim need that spell in Division 4 to rebuild.

Kildare v Offaly
Fermanagh v Sligo
Limerick v Wexford
Wicklow v Westmeath

Are they neutral?

Interesting matches with only wicklow westmeath being a game where there would be a very strong favourite.

I predict Kildare to get payback and Fermanagh, Limerick and Westmeath to win.

Table toppers at home.

Ah. Thanks. Predicting one away win then.

Quarter Finals odds

Fermanagh 5/4 Sligo 5/6
Kildare 8/15 Offaly 15/8
Limerick 4/6 Wexford 6/4
Wicklow 5/1 Westmeath 1/6

Odds to win the Tailteann Cup

Kildare 7/4
Westmeath 9/4
Sligo 6/1
Fermanagh 8/1
Offaly 9/1
Limerick 9/1
Wexford 18/1
Wicklow 25/1



Details of the Quarter finals confirmed

Saturday 14 June
Kildare v Offaly,St Conleth's Park, 6.30pm
Fermanagh v Sligo, Brewster Park, 5pm
 
Sunday 15 June
Limerick v Wexford,Gaelic Grounds, 3.45pm - GAA+
Wicklow v Westmeath, Aughrim, 1.15pm - GAA+

Quote from: Blowitupref on June 09, 2025, 02:10:05 PMQuarter Finals odds

Fermanagh 5/4 Sligo 5/6
Kildare 8/15 Offaly 15/8
Limerick 4/6 Wexford 6/4
Wicklow 5/1 Westmeath 1/6

No way should Westmeath be 1/6. They'll come to Aughrim with their trademark arrogance and get a big surprise.

Big day tomorrow for Kildare GAA. The hurlers have the Dubs and then it's time to get one back against Offaly.
We were so poor both times we played them, but upped the levels

Dan Flynn is back on form, and we have introduced some cut from half back with Gill. But, we have lads like Kirwan, Gibbons and McCormack who many reckoned would not even be in the 26 due to injury...

Published teams for the Quarter finals.

https://www.gaa.ie/article/preview-weekend-s-tailteann-cup-action-and-all-ireland-jfc-quarter-final

Result   Wicklow 2-18 Westmeath 2-17. Wicklow win it after the hooter going and were four point behind.

 Later Limerick v Wexford. (result in that one Wexford 2-19 Limerick 4-21


Yesterday results Fermanagh 0-21 Sligo 1-16.  Kildare 1-17 Offaly 0-19


@fogarty out of interest did you have any money on Wicklow at those odds?

Quote from: Fogarty on June 11, 2025, 10:17:07 AM

Quote from: Blowitupref on June 09, 2025, 02:10:05 PMQuarter Finals odds

Fermanagh 5/4 Sligo 5/6
Kildare 8/15 Offaly 15/8
Limerick 4/6 Wexford 6/4
Wicklow 5/1 Westmeath 1/6

No way should Westmeath be 1/6. They'll come to Aughrim with their trademark arrogance and get a big surprise.

Yes indeed!
A fully deserved Wicklow win. Especially sweet when it's against the Westmeath shower.
We fell well behind at stages but just kept going and fought back well.

What a brilliant talent Dean Healy is. Like so may Wicklow greats he gets no credit from the media who only care about a handful of counties.

There was a big crowd in Aughrim who left happy.

What a weekend of games.
Fair play to Wicklow as I think Westmeath at most venues would beat the rest.

Kildare wobbled a bit, but got the better of Offaly in the end.
We do have some walking wounded, so our options up top are a bit limited.

On to next weekend and a day in the sun.

Final four Wicklow,Kldare,Fermanagh,Limerick was the four group winners and who got a week rest.

League position this spring of the final four.  1st in Div 3,  4th in Div 3,  2nd in Div 4,  3rd in Div 4

The Wicklow result the big shock. I thought Westmeath would win the whole thing.

Fermanagh starting to go well. I wouldn't mind seeing them win it though Kildare would be the favourites I expect.

Delighted to see Fermanagh in the semi-finals. With so many Ulster teams competing for the Sam Maguire I always keep my eye on them for the Talteann and next weekend will be a great day out.

Brilliant for the Limerick footballers as well. They have been overshadowed by the hurlers for so long, it must be disheartening but semi-final of an all island competition is just reward for a good season.

You could see what the win meant to Wicklow today at the end. That is what the Talteann should be about. And to be fair not too many would begrudge them that win. Great crowd in Aughrim as well.

Kildare if they go about their business as they should are probably heavy favourites to win the whole thing. A place in the Sam Maguire next year up for grabs and they will be desperate to ensure it is they who take it.

All in all it's been great viewing this year for the neutral.

Fermanagh have really come on. They were very poor in the league in Newbridge.
Wicklow have blown it open as Westmeath would have beaten the rest.
They lost Connellan for the last 20 minutes in the Leinster match and it helped swing the game for Kildare.

Kildare NEED a few bodies back eg Callum Bolton with legs as we are slow in the middle at times.

Fermanagh vs Kildare
Wicklow vs Limerick

fermanagh with match under there belts in croker will beat kildare. Limerick to pip wicklow

Was hoping to avoid Fermanagh. We were a bit out on our feet up front v Offaly near the end.

A lot will depend on Darragh Kirwan being sharper and Callum Bolton's fitness.
Ben McCormack is another one in and out with injuries.

Is it as listed in terms of fixtures? Is it Kildare v Fermanagh first?

GAA.ie preview and teams.

Sunday, June 22    Tailteann Cup, semi-finals

Wicklow v Limerick, Croke Park, 2pm, RTE

The fact that these two teams are clashing means that we will definitely have a Division 4 team in this season's final.

Limerick gained promotion from the Allianz League's bottom tier earlier in the year though, significantly, didn't beat Wicklow when they met, drawing 3-15 to 1-21 in Aughrim.

Wicklow got the three goals on that occasion and may need as many again as Limerick put four on the board against Wexford in an impressive quarter-final win.

Kevin Quinn has been brought back into the Wicklow full-forward line, the team's only alteration.

Limerick, along with Kildare, are the only unbeaten teams left in the competition and have in-form attackers in Danny Neville, who netted twice against Wexford last weekend, and the prolific James Naughton.

The latter scored 0-9 against Wexford and went one better with 0-10 against Wicklow in that league meeting. Don't forget Naughton's staggering 4-12 against Waterford in the league either.

Iain Corbett continues to provide vital experience for Jimmy Lee's side at the back and Emmett Rigter made the 2024 Tailteann Cup Team of the Year. All of them are retained in an unchanged team.

Limerick's threats are clear but so are Wicklow's. Goalkeeper Mark Jackson can slot two-pointers from anywhere within the 65m line almost and has 0-19 in the competition so far while veteran Dean Healy is having another fine season, lording it in the middle third.

Beating 2022 winners Westmeath last weekend proved not that just that Aughrim continues to be Wicklow's fortress but that Oisin McConville's crew are genuine title contenders.

WICKLOW: Mark Jackson; Tom Moran, Matt Nolan, Malachy Stone; Joe Prendergast, Patrick O'Keane, Darragh Fee; Dean Healy, Padraig O'Toole; Christopher O'Brien, Eoin Darcy, Cathal Baker; Oisin McGraynor, Kevin Quinn, Mark Kenny.

Subs: Cathal Fitzgerald, Jaques McCall, Jack Hardy, Liam O'Neill, Conor Fee, Paidi Kavanagh, Craig Maguire, Jack Kirwan, John Paul Nolan, Cian Deering, Gavin Fogarty.

LIMERICK: Josh Ryan; Jason Hassett, Darren O'Doherty, Mark McCarthy; Paul Maher, Iain Corbett, Tony McCarthy; Tommie Childs, Darragh O'Hagan; James Naughton, Emmett Rigter, Cillian Fahy; Peter Nash, Danny Neville, Killian Ryan.

Subs: Jeffrey Alfred, Ruadhan O'Connor, Tadgh O Siochru, Conall O Duinn, Barry Coleman, Sean Clancy, Diarmuid Buckley, Darragh Murray, Rory O'Brien, Andrew Meade, Rob Childs.



Kildare v Fermanagh, Croke Park, 4pm, RTE

This is new ground for both counties who are through to the last four of the Tailteann Cup for the first time.

Kildare entered the competition for the first time last year and lost to Laois at the quarter-final stage while Fermanagh previously lost a preliminary quarter-final (2023) and two quarter-finals (2022 and 2024).

Kildare were installed as tournament favourites when they beat Offaly last weekend, gaining revenge for two previous losses to Offaly this season, including the Division 3 league final.

Alex Beirne struck seven points against the Faithful, adding to his previous 0-12, 1-5 and 1-6 tallies. Daniel Flynn, with 2-4 and 2-3 against Tipperary and Sligo, could potentially cut loose again too. As could the fit again Darragh Kirwan or the increasingly influential Ryan Sinkey, one of a number of Kildare's 2023 All-Ireland U-20 winners.

It's an unchanged Kildare starting team meaning that Jimmy Hyland misses out again through injury, as do Ben McCormack and Ryan Houlihan, though Callum Bolton is an option again on the bench.

Fermanagh, who are also unchanged, topped Group 4 and had an impressive 0-21 to 1-16 win over 2024 semi-finalists Sligo last weekend.

Their physicality, strength throughout the middle third where Joe McDade and Darragh McGurn have excelled, and their sheer scoring power in the shape of Conor Love and Garvan Jones have stood out.

Fermanagh, crucially, gave a brilliant display at Croke Park earlier this month when seeing off Wexford so should be comfortable on that stage while Kildare have lost their last five league and Championship games at GAA HQ.

KILDARE: Cian Burke; Harry O'Neill, Mark Dempsey, Ryan Burke; Brian Byrne, David Hyland, James McGrath; Kevin Feely, Brendan Gibbons; Tommy Gill, Alex Beirne, Colm Dalton; Ryan Sinkey, Darragh Kirwan, Daniel Flynn.

Subs: Didier Cordonnier, Jack McKevitt, Mick O'Grady, Kevin Flynn, Callum Bolton, Aaron Masterson, Paddy McDermott, Darragh Swords, Brian McLoughlin, Niall Kelly, Eoin Cully.

FERMANAGH: Sean McNally; Luke Flanagan, Lee Cullen, Oisin Smyth; Shane McGullion, Declan McCusker, Jonathan Cassidy; Joe McDade, Darragh McGurn; Fionan O'Brien, Ryan Lyons, Ronan McCaffrey; Josh Largo Ellis, Garvan Jones, Conor Love.

Subs: Ross Bogue, Che Cullen, Sean Cassidy, Diarmuid Owens, Glenn Treacy, Aogan Kelm, Jack Largo Ellis, Oisin Murphy, Conor McGee, Brandon Horan, Paul Breen.



Match odds

Limerick 8/13  Wicklow 9/5

Kildare 4/11 Fermanagh 13/5


To win the Tailteann Cup

Kildare 4/6
Limerick 7/2
Fermanagh 4/1
Wicklow 6/1

Have to say , even though we are in the semi final , there is very little buzz about this at all.

This competition is a dead duck.

It's not been promoted.
Little to no media coverage.
It's up against knockout games in the big boys championship .

And you just have to look at the reward Down get for their good run in this year's main competition
An all expenses paid trip back to the Tailtean unless you win Sam this year or make an Ulster final next year

Re. Down - you could look at it in another way.
There is obviously great potential there - Pat Havern is standout player.

Fermanagh left their Ulster SFC game against Down behind in April despite Conor Love's outstanding performance.

If Fermanagh bring their A-game on Sunday they could well upset the odds.

Quote from: FermGael on June 20, 2025, 08:10:40 PMHave to say , even though we are in the semi final , there is very little buzz about this at all.

This competition is a dead duck.

It's not been promoted.
Little to no media coverage.
It's up against knockout games in the big boys championship .

And you just have to look at the reward Down get for their good run in this year's main competition
An all expenses paid trip back to the Tailtean unless you win Sam this year or make an Ulster final next year

Not necessarily: if Down win division 3 next year they have a better chance of being in Sam than Division 3 winners of other years.

Especially if Kildare win Tailteann this year and stay up in division 2.

And secondly and more importantly if they start seeding Munster Championship next year.

Quote from: SouthOfThe Bann on June 20, 2025, 10:18:03 PM

Quote from: FermGael on June 20, 2025, 08:10:40 PMHave to say , even though we are in the semi final , there is very little buzz about this at all.

This competition is a dead duck.

It's not been promoted.
Little to no media coverage.
It's up against knockout games in the big boys championship .

And you just have to look at the reward Down get for their good run in this year's main competition
An all expenses paid trip back to the Tailtean unless you win Sam this year or make an Ulster final next year

Not necessarily: if Down win division 3 next year they have a better chance of being in Sam than Division 3 winners of other years.

Especially if Kildare win Tailteann this year and stay up in division 2.

And secondly and more importantly if they start seeding Munster Championship next year.

And the games are on rte, the race for Sam is on GAA+. Really looking forward to both semi finals

Quote from: FermGael on June 20, 2025, 08:10:40 PMHave to say , even though we are in the semi final , there is very little buzz about this at all.

This competition is a dead duck.

It's not been promoted.
Little to no media coverage.
It's up against knockout games in the big boys championship .

And you just have to look at the reward Down get for their good run in this year's main competition
An all expenses paid trip back to the Tailtean unless you win Sam this year or make an Ulster final next year

Maybe if Down brought half of their summer form instead of having a shite league. They'll fully believe they can win division 3 next year and next step would be making an Ulster final.

Quote from: Armagh18 on June 21, 2025, 08:50:12 AM

Quote from: FermGael on June 20, 2025, 08:10:40 PMHave to say , even though we are in the semi final , there is very little buzz about this at all.

This competition is a dead duck.

It's not been promoted.
Little to no media coverage.
It's up against knockout games in the big boys championship .

And you just have to look at the reward Down get for their good run in this year's main competition
An all expenses paid trip back to the Tailtean unless you win Sam this year or make an Ulster final next year

Maybe if Down brought half of their summer form instead of having a shite league. They'll fully believe they can win division 3 next year and next step would be making an Ulster final.

Down didn't have a shite league
They competed very well.

Still waiting to hear how the Tailtean cup helps develop teams if development means a year with the big teams and then back you go .

It's a joke

It didn't seem to do meath any harm.

Quote from: FermGael on June 21, 2025, 06:51:42 PM

Quote from: Armagh18 on June 21, 2025, 08:50:12 AM

Quote from: FermGael on June 20, 2025, 08:10:40 PMHave to say , even though we are in the semi final , there is very little buzz about this at all.

This competition is a dead duck.

It's not been promoted.
Little to no media coverage.
It's up against knockout games in the big boys championship .

And you just have to look at the reward Down get for their good run in this year's main competition
An all expenses paid trip back to the Tailtean unless you win Sam this year or make an Ulster final next year

Maybe if Down brought half of their summer form instead of having a shite league. They'll fully believe they can win division 3 next year and next step would be making an Ulster final.

Down didn't have a shite league
They competed very well.

Still waiting to hear how the Tailtean cup helps develop teams if development means a year with the big teams and then back you go .

It's a joke

It's a chance at an All Ireland medal at an appropriate level, I'm sure the Fermanagh boys aren't thinking like you. Down should get promoted from division 3 next year and be competitive in Ulster.

The Connacht/Munster issue of a shite team getting to a provincial final needs looked at, Clare should have been Tailteann this year.

The 2 Semis on RTE but Down v Galway at 1.45 on GAA + and Donegal v Louth at 4. They shouldn't be competing against Tailtean Cup when its at semi final stage.

Quote from: rodney trotter on June 21, 2025, 07:57:06 PMThe 2 Semis on RTE but Down v Galway at 1.45 on GAA + and Donegal v Louth at 4. They shouldn't be competing against Tailtean Cup when its at semi final stage.

Why couldn't they have all 4 prelims today
 

1 3 5 and 7.

Quote from: rodney trotter on June 21, 2025, 07:57:06 PMThe 2 Semis on RTE but Down v Galway at 1.45 on GAA + and Donegal v Louth at 4. They shouldn't be competing against Tailtean Cup when its at semi final stage.

The two Minor football All Ireland semi finals on tomorrow on TG4 also. 

Quote from: ardtole on June 21, 2025, 06:57:20 PMIt didn't seem to do meath any harm.

I actually think it was one of the lowest points in Meath football.
We won it yes but should never have gotten to that level. But thank god we won it cause if not we would probably have been in it last year and got well beat. O so believe it's all about the manager.

Quote from: ardtole on June 21, 2025, 06:57:20 PMIt didn't seem to do meath any harm.

Any word of Westmeath ?

Surely as the first winners off the competition, they have pushed and established themselves as one of the top 10 teams in Ireland .


Like the all Ireland B, back in the 90s, the novelty is wearing off.

Ten years ago Fermangh appeared in the quarter finals of the All+Ireland while playing in division 3.

I know which game has more profile

Westmeath lost a lot of key players. John Heslin James Dolan and McGuire retired. Ronan O Toole their playmaker moved to Australia for work.

Quote from: FermGael on June 21, 2025, 11:32:46 PM

Quote from: ardtole on June 21, 2025, 06:57:20 PMIt didn't seem to do meath any harm.

Any word of Westmeath ?

Surely as the first winners off the competition, they have pushed and established themselves as one of the top 10 teams in Ireland .


Like the all Ireland B, back in the 90s, the novelty is wearing off.

Ten years ago Fermangh appeared in the quarter finals of the All+Ireland while playing in division 3.

I know which game has more profile

Would you rather be out of the AI series or sitting in a semi final live on rte with a chance to show you should be playing in the top 16 competition? Playing Tailtean shows where a team is at in a given year, it's up to the county to develop a team that progresses, not the competition they're currently playing in

Where would you rather be .
In an All Ireland series or getting a pat on the head from all the big teams while everybody tunes into Down v Galway.

Imagine comparing the last 8 of the Sam Maguire to a b competition.

As for the it's up to a county rubbish lol.

Never heard a worse argument .

As I said Fermanagh made All Ireland semi finals and quarter finals while there were a division 3 team. No better way to develop a county unless they win a B competition.

League is more serious now then back then. They use to play a few league games in october november. Then a break, and come back a stone overweight in janurary. A long gap until championship.

Quote from: FermGael on June 21, 2025, 11:59:57 PMWhere would you rather be .
In an All Ireland series or getting a pat on the head from all the big teams while everybody tunes into Down v Galway.

Imagine comparing the last 8 of the Sam Maguire to a b competition.

As for the it's up to a county rubbish lol.

Never heard a worse argument .

As I said Fermanagh made All Ireland semi finals and quarter finals while there were a division 3 team. No better way to develop a county unless they win a B competition.

Ok

Quote from: FermGael on June 21, 2025, 11:59:57 PMWhere would you rather be .
In an All Ireland series or getting a pat on the head from all the big teams while everybody tunes into Down v Galway.

Imagine comparing the last 8 of the Sam Maguire to a b competition.

As for the it's up to a county rubbish lol.

Never heard a worse argument .

As I said Fermanagh made All Ireland semi finals and quarter finals while there were a division 3 team. No better way to develop a county unless they win a B competition.

If Fermanagh were good enough to be in a quarter final they would be.

Quote from: FermGael on June 21, 2025, 11:59:57 PMWhere would you rather be .
In an All Ireland series or getting a pat on the head from all the big teams while everybody tunes into Down v Galway.

Imagine comparing the last 8 of the Sam Maguire to a b competition.

As for the it's up to a county rubbish lol.

Never heard a worse argument .

As I said Fermanagh made All Ireland semi finals and quarter finals while there were a division 3 team. No better way to develop a county unless they win a B competition.

That was 20 years ago. The game has changed immeasurably since then. Fermanagh have never won a National title and made the semi-finals once in the Sam Maguire? And here you are disrespecting the Talteann Cup, a cup Fermanagh are in with a chance of winning.

The alternative would be that Fermanagh would have been out of the Sam Maguire and sitting at home now. Instead its semi-final of a decent competition at Croke Park. But hey you can't please everyone I suppose.

Nothing against Kildare or Limerick but a Fermanagh v Wicklow Final would mean a lot more to those 2 Counties.

Quote from: Stickittotheman on June 22, 2025, 09:53:28 AM

Quote from: FermGael on June 21, 2025, 11:59:57 PMWhere would you rather be .
In an All Ireland series or getting a pat on the head from all the big teams while everybody tunes into Down v Galway.

Imagine comparing the last 8 of the Sam Maguire to a b competition.

As for the it's up to a county rubbish lol.

Never heard a worse argument .

As I said Fermanagh made All Ireland semi finals and quarter finals while there were a division 3 team. No better way to develop a county unless they win a B competition.

That was 20 years ago. The game has changed immeasurably since then. Fermanagh have never won a National title and made the semi-finals once in the Sam Maguire? And here you are disrespecting the Talteann Cup, a cup Fermanagh are in with a chance of winning.

The alternative would be that Fermanagh would have been out of the Sam Maguire and sitting at home now. Instead its semi-final of a decent competition at Croke Park. But hey you can't please everyone I suppose.

Fermangh played the Dubs 10 years ago in an all Ireland quarter final.

Fermanagh have never won a national title ?

We have .
All Ireland Bs.
At least back then they were given there proper name .

Tiering doesn't help drive standards up .

It does the opposite .
It widens the gap.

Look at hurling and the tiered system
How many counties keep winning the same competitions ?
Once they win it , they go up and then they usually get relegated back down.

How does that develop them ?

Winning national titles with zero exposure and a wee pat on the head.

Quote from: FermGael on June 22, 2025, 12:00:24 PM

Quote from: Stickittotheman on June 22, 2025, 09:53:28 AM

Quote from: FermGael on June 21, 2025, 11:59:57 PMWhere would you rather be .
In an All Ireland series or getting a pat on the head from all the big teams while everybody tunes into Down v Galway.

Imagine comparing the last 8 of the Sam Maguire to a b competition.

As for the it's up to a county rubbish lol.

Never heard a worse argument .

As I said Fermanagh made All Ireland semi finals and quarter finals while there were a division 3 team. No better way to develop a county unless they win a B competition.

That was 20 years ago. The game has changed immeasurably since then. Fermanagh have never won a National title and made the semi-finals once in the Sam Maguire? And here you are disrespecting the Talteann Cup, a cup Fermanagh are in with a chance of winning.

The alternative would be that Fermanagh would have been out of the Sam Maguire and sitting at home now. Instead its semi-final of a decent competition at Croke Park. But hey you can't please everyone I suppose.

Fermangh played the Dubs 10 years ago in an all Ireland quarter final.

Fermanagh have never won a national title ?

We have .
All Ireland Bs.
At least back then they were given there proper name .

Tiering doesn't help drive standards up .

It does the opposite .
It widens the gap.

Look at hurling and the tiered system
How many counties keep winning the same competitions ?
Once they win it , they go up and then they usually get relegated back down.

How does that develop them ?

Winning national titles with zero exposure and a wee pat on the head.

A quarter finals ten years ago? What an achievement. A National title as in a National league- never won a National league nor a Sam Maguire. Never won an Ulster.

The Talteann Cup is a good competition and is not easy to win. The players who- let's not forget have dedicated so much of their lives to the sport have a chance of a reward. They also have a chance to be guaranteed a Sam Maguire spot next year. Look at the last few finalists- Cavan, Meath, Westmeath and Down. All improved and pushed on.

Cavan ? Pushed on ?

Down will be back in the Tailtean next year and Westmeath are all ready back in it after they won


Regardless of what Fermanagh have never won , how does winning this competition develop counties at this level ?

How does it get them closer to winning proper national titles?

The main thing that does that is money

Quote from: FermGael on June 22, 2025, 01:37:20 PMCavan ? Pushed on ?

Down will be back in the Tailtean next year and Westmeath are all ready back in it after they won


Regardless of what Fermanagh have never won , how does winning this competition develop counties at this level ?

How does it get them closer to winning proper national titles?

The main thing that does that is money

Well considering Down are in a preliminary quarter final today, Cavan were in one yesterday, Meath are in the Quarters next week and Westmeath gave a very good account of themselves the last few years I would say that is evidence that they have pushed on.

Quote from: FermGael on June 22, 2025, 01:37:20 PMCavan ? Pushed on ?

Down will be back in the Tailtean next year and Westmeath are all ready back in it after they won


Regardless of what Fermanagh have never won , how does winning this competition develop counties at this level ?

How does it get them closer to winning proper national titles?

The main thing that does that is money

Numbers and participation goes a long way, yes maintaining that requires money but even counties that have a large playing population in comparison to Fermanagh (Antrim for instance) still can't get it right.

Not sure money alone is the factor, I'm all for playing your grade, and Fermanagh is playing at their level, not that long ago Louth were plying their trade at the lower levels..

I've fond memories of Fermanagh's run in the All Ireland those years ago, it can be done again, winning a lower competition mean's regardless of how they play in their province they get a chance to raise their standard against the better teams.

That alone should be the carrot to take it seriously

How much were tickets today?

You'd think Wicklow fans especially would get the feck out of the house and support their team.

Quote from: FermGael on June 22, 2025, 01:37:20 PMCavan ? Pushed on ?

Down will be back in the Tailtean next year and Westmeath are all ready back in it after they won


Regardless of what Fermanagh have never won , how does winning this competition develop counties at this level ?

How does it get them closer to winning proper national titles?

The main thing that does that is money

No mystery what you have to do, get your hole up the leagues. Simple. Serious notions as they say

Result Wicklow 1-17  Limerick 2-18 

A missed opportunity for Wicklow - 7 points up after 50 minutes.
Then gave away a goal - keeper dispossessed after collecting a ball that was going wide.
Wicklow missed a penalty to go back into a 4 point lead.
Limerick then took over.

Ah ref! Kildare have 22 players on the pitch.

Oh wait, they're seagulls 😐

Quote from: Armagh18 on June 22, 2025, 02:07:26 PMHow much were tickets today?

You'd think Wicklow fans especially would get the feck out of the house and support their team.

It's a dead rubber competition that the GAA will quickly shit can like the Joe McDonagh Cup or Christy Ring Cup.

I have to agree with Ferm Gaels assessment of what it'll do for counties. It's really just a way for the GAA to hide the small counties rather than help them.

I work with a lot of Fermanagh people and haven't heard one of them mention the Tailteann Cup. The interest that getting to a tailteann final will generate is fairly pitiful compared to the hype and colour that is generated when Fermanagh have gotten to Ulster finals.

Competing with the best is much much more important than simply winning when it comes to developing counties. A Ulster final appearance every 10 years (at any level) would do much more for Fermanagh GAA than 10 Tailteann Cups.

Awful game this. Limerick will fancy themselves in the final.

Some rain!!

Quote from: trileacman on June 22, 2025, 04:38:37 PM

Quote from: Armagh18 on June 22, 2025, 02:07:26 PMHow much were tickets today?

You'd think Wicklow fans especially would get the feck out of the house and support their team.

It's a dead rubber competition that the GAA will quickly shit can like the Joe McDonagh Cup or Christy Ring Cup.

I have to agree with Ferm Gaels assessment of what it'll do for counties. It's really just a way for the GAA to hide the small counties rather than help them.

I work with a lot of Fermanagh people and haven't heard one of them mention the Tailteann Cup. The interest that getting to a tailteann final will generate is fairly pitiful compared to the hype and colour that is generated when Fermanagh have gotten to Ulster finals.

Competing with the best is much much more important than simply winning when it comes to developing counties. A Ulster final appearance every 10 years (at any level) would do much more for Fermanagh GAA than 10 Tailteann Cups.

After watching that absolutely dreadful Fermanagh performance the disrespect shown on here to the Talteann Cup is even more mystifying.

FT Kildare 1-13 Fermanagh 0-9

Kildare on for the Double.

Quote from: Blowitupref on June 22, 2025, 05:41:15 PMFT Kildare 1-13 Fermanagh 0-9

Fermanagh can now turn their gaze to Sam '26 now that destruction, sorry destraction is out of the way 

Quote from: JoG2 on June 22, 2025, 06:30:12 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on June 22, 2025, 05:41:15 PMFT Kildare 1-13 Fermanagh 0-9

Fermanagh can now turn their gaze to Sam '26 now that destruction, sorry destraction is out of the way 

:D

Yeah, I think Fermanagh should just concentrate on Ulster Championship  ;D

They, based on that level of performance would struggle in a lower tier competition if it was available.

That all said, Kildare were awful also

We were absolutely brutal today .
Kildare were not good by any means either.
We had a good chance as Kildare were very wasteful but we just have zero plan up front .
Defensively we were very solid but around the middle and in attack we just looked like a team without a plan.

Wicklow will be kicking themselves.
Jackson is an excellent keeper but that was a serious howler to bring Limerick back into to it

Limerick will trouble Kildare if Kildare don't improve.


As for the competition, it's just dying a death.
There is zero interest from supporters.
13000 in Croke Park.
Think that's tells you everything you need to know.
We have more at All Ireland b finals in the 90s

The Fermanaghs seem to have a bee in their bonnet about being in the Tailteann Cup for some reason.

Think this competition is on its last legs.

Quote from: FermGael on June 22, 2025, 08:24:56 PMWe were absolutely brutal today .
Kildare were not good by any means either.
We had a good chance as Kildare were very wasteful but we just have zero plan up front .
Defensively we were very solid but around the middle and in attack we just looked like a team without a plan.

Wicklow will be kicking themselves.
Jackson is an excellent keeper but that was a serious howler to bring Limerick back into to it

Limerick will trouble Kildare if Kildare don't improve.


As for the competition, it's just dying a death.
There is zero interest from supporters.
13000 in Croke Park.
Think that's tells you everything you need to know.
We have more at All Ireland b finals in the 90s

Nonsensical playing the semi-finals at Croke Park. Neutral venues would add much more to atmosphere etc. It's unfortunate some teams feel themselves above the competition which doesn't help promote it. Would prefer to see teams get through whose fans would appreciate it.

Some teams think they're above the competition. That's clear to be seen.

Might seem odd but I'd actually add in a 3rd tier to it.

Quote from: Dunneroyal on June 22, 2025, 09:18:27 PMThink this competition is on its last legs.

So one game and then out?


I'll be honest, I'd prefer less games but for some reason we are, at club level, happy with junior intermediate and senior but when it comes to intercounty it's crazy

Playing the Tailteann in Croke Park does nothing for it. Contrast the atmosphere and occasion at Newry today, with only 1k people more at the game.

 Our Association needs to move the mindset of all competitions away from "getting a run out at Croke Park" being an objective. Winning a championship should be the objective.

Quote from: thewobbler on June 22, 2025, 10:10:39 PMPlaying the Tailteann in Croke Park does nothing for it. Contrast the atmosphere and occasion at Newry today, with only 1k people more at the game.

 Our Association needs to move the mindset of all competitions away from "getting a run out at Croke Park" being an objective. Winning a championship should be the objective.

Yeah 100%.

Although f**k me if Fermanagh/Kildare/Wicklow people can't be bothered getting out of the house to support their teams pushing for a realistic chance at silverware then what hope do you have. (Limerick as a county have obviously been spoiled with the hurling success lately.)

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 10:02:15 PM

Quote from: Dunneroyal on June 22, 2025, 09:18:27 PMThink this competition is on its last legs.

So one game and then out?


I'll be honest, I'd prefer less games but for some reason we are, at club level, happy with junior intermediate and senior but when it comes to intercounty it's crazy

We don't have inter county reserve games either.

We need to stop comparing the club game to the county game. They are nothing like each other.

Quote from: FermGael on June 22, 2025, 08:24:56 PMWe were absolutely brutal today .
Kildare were not good by any means either.
We had a good chance as Kildare were very wasteful but we just have zero plan up front .
Defensively we were very solid but around the middle and in attack we just looked like a team without a plan.

Wicklow will be kicking themselves.
Jackson is an excellent keeper but that was a serious howler to bring Limerick back into to it

Limerick will trouble Kildare if Kildare don't improve.


As for the competition, it's just dying a death.
There is zero interest from supporters.
13000 in Croke Park.
Think that's tells you everything you need to know.
We have more at All Ireland b finals in the 90s

Seems the hurling snobbery has now took root in football too. Corral the smaller counties off into a dark corner and then sneer at them when their fans and players lose interest. When the fans of Wicklow, Kildare, Fermanagh and Limerick see the Tailteann Cup for the tin pot it is then what defence can you make for it?

The tiers in hurling has absolutely reinforced the strata of county hurlers and have done nothing for the 2nd and 3rd tier counties except shovel them off the scene. Now it seems we are delighted to do the same with vast swathes of the football landscapes especially with counties who have shown that when given funding, organisation and good tacticians can mix it with the top teams.

The Tailteann Cup is dying on it's feet and yet the fior Gaels attitude on GAAboard is "fck them, they think they're better than it." Maybe an idea would be to maybe give these counties a chance again? Revive the structures that allowed them to compete and win things until recently?

Having the 2 semis as a standalone day in Croker was touted as one of the plus points of the competition.

Quote from: Armagh18 on June 22, 2025, 10:14:23 PM

Quote from: thewobbler on June 22, 2025, 10:10:39 PMPlaying the Tailteann in Croke Park does nothing for it. Contrast the atmosphere and occasion at Newry today, with only 1k people more at the game.

 Our Association needs to move the mindset of all competitions away from "getting a run out at Croke Park" being an objective. Winning a championship should be the objective.

Yeah 100%.

Although f**k me if Fermanagh/Kildare/Wicklow people can't be bothered getting out of the house to support their teams pushing for a realistic chance at silverware then what hope do you have. (Limerick as a county have obviously been spoiled with the hurling success lately.)

You're only interested in what you're interested in.
Sure, the ladies games could be packed out with people looking out of the house following their county in the quest for a cup. But, they aren't.

Quote from: Rossfan on June 22, 2025, 10:20:45 PMHaving the 2 semis as a standalone day in Croker was touted as one of the plus points of the competition.

It has proved to be a disaster although it'll surely suit the accountants in Croke Park and the GAA journalists when it gets moved to provincial venues next year. The media will get to ignore it, which is what they want, and the GAA will get to focus it's funding and attention on the top tier counties which is what they want.

I'd agree playing games in Croke park did nothing today and was a political decision that made sense in some committee meeting but didn't translate to reality. It might not be as enticing but a packed Tullamore or Portlaoise might have been better.

Don't understand the Fermanagh negativity when they have never won a national title or Ulster title. But fine if that's their attitude.

Limerick  deserve huge credit. They're in a county where Football is 5th/6th fiddle and miles behind hurling, rugby and soccer so this would be massive for them. There's men from all over the county but there's a hardcore bunch in West Limerick which is serious football country as much as anywhere in the land. We'd often slag them down here and say they'd be better off joining Kerry but they deserve their day in the sun.

Sure get rid of the Tailteann cup, let those counties ( who at the start actually compete to be in the Sam Maguire) be out of championship from the moment they get bate in their championship.

Less games and less annoyance

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 10:27:19 PMSure get rid of the Tailteann cup, let those counties ( who at the start actually compete to be in the Sam Maguire) be out of championship from the moment they get bate in their championship.

Less games and less annoyance

Sounds fair. We did similar when we gassed the Tommy Murphy Cup.
Most would rather they were back playing club football anyway.

Quote from: trileacman on June 22, 2025, 10:20:09 PM

Quote from: FermGael on June 22, 2025, 08:24:56 PMWe were absolutely brutal today .
Kildare were not good by any means either.
We had a good chance as Kildare were very wasteful but we just have zero plan up front .
Defensively we were very solid but around the middle and in attack we just looked like a team without a plan.

Wicklow will be kicking themselves.
Jackson is an excellent keeper but that was a serious howler to bring Limerick back into to it

Limerick will trouble Kildare if Kildare don't improve.


As for the competition, it's just dying a death.
There is zero interest from supporters.
13000 in Croke Park.
Think that's tells you everything you need to know.
We have more at All Ireland b finals in the 90s

Seems the hurling snobbery has now took root in football too. Corral the smaller counties off into a dark corner and then sneer at them when their fans and players lose interest. When the fans of Wicklow, Kildare, Fermanagh and Limerick see the Tailteann Cup for the tin pot it is then what defence can you make for it?

The tiers in hurling has absolutely reinforced the strata of county hurlers and have done nothing for the 2nd and 3rd tier counties except shovel them off the scene. Now it seems we are delighted to do the same with vast swathes of the football landscapes especially with counties who have shown that when given funding, organisation and good tacticians can mix it with the top teams.

The Tailteann Cup is dying on it's feet and yet the fior Gaels attitude on GAAboard is "fck them, they think they're better than it." Maybe an idea would be to maybe give these counties a chance again? Revive the structures that allowed them to compete and win things until recently?

Would you really rather the old system where you might play two games and you are gone? Or maybe you would prefer to get walloped by 20 points playing the best in the country. A great way to treat the players, management and fans. 20 quid to see your team get destroyed. Players getting disillusioned after training all winter to be eliminated in two games. What a reward.

Or compete in the competition you are in and support your team trying to win it.

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 10:30:05 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 10:27:19 PMSure get rid of the Tailteann cup, let those counties ( who at the start actually compete to be in the Sam Maguire) be out of championship from the moment they get bate in their championship.

Less games and less annoyance

Sounds fair. We did similar when we gassed the Tommy Murphy Cup.
Most would rather they were back playing club football anyway.

So you're not into a tier competition set up at intercounty, but ok at club level or is it a pointless range of competitions?

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 10:34:58 PM

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 10:30:05 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 10:27:19 PMSure get rid of the Tailteann cup, let those counties ( who at the start actually compete to be in the Sam Maguire) be out of championship from the moment they get bate in their championship.

Less games and less annoyance

Sounds fair. We did similar when we gassed the Tommy Murphy Cup.
Most would rather they were back playing club football anyway.

So you're not into a tier competition set up at intercounty, but ok at club level or is it a pointless range of competitions?

Stop comparing club and county. It's futile.

But.....it's not about me or what I think*. It's the supporters of all these counties. They aren't on board. I don't think you'll get them on board. We couldn't do it for Tommy Murphy either.

* Antrim went rightly in this competition in previous years. I watched with some interest but meh really. The competition isn't "below" Antrim btw but it didn't really interest me. I don't think I can help that.

Quote from: Ciarrai_thuaidh on June 22, 2025, 10:26:20 PMI'd agree playing games in Croke park did nothing today and was a political decision that made sense in some committee meeting but didn't translate to reality. It might not be as enticing but a packed Tullamore or Portlaoise might have been better.

Don't understand the Fermanagh negativity when they have never won a national title or Ulster title. But fine if that's their attitude.

Limerick  deserve huge credit. They're in a county where Football is 5th/6th fiddle and miles behind hurling, rugby and soccer so this would be massive for them. There's men from all over the county but there's a hardcore bunch in West Limerick which is serious football country as much as anywhere in the land. We'd often slag them down here and say they'd be better off joining Kerry but they deserve their day in the sun.

It was a brilliant win for Limerick and the footballers who have been completely overshadowed, by one of the greatest hurling teams ever. They get their day in the sun and a just reward for a few years of hard toil with very little to shout about.

Players/managers seem to be fully bought in to the TC for the most part, I know how delighted Oisin McConville was last week after their win and I'm sure he'll be devastated this evening, as will his players and I'm sure Fermanagh will be the same.

Question is what can the GAA do to get fans engaged?

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 10:40:43 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 10:34:58 PM

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 10:30:05 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 10:27:19 PMSure get rid of the Tailteann cup, let those counties ( who at the start actually compete to be in the Sam Maguire) be out of championship from the moment they get bate in their championship.

Less games and less annoyance

Sounds fair. We did similar when we gassed the Tommy Murphy Cup.
Most would rather they were back playing club football anyway.

So you're not into a tier competition set up at intercounty, but ok at club level or is it a pointless range of competitions?

Stop comparing club and county. It's futile.

But.....it's not about me or what I think*. It's the supporters of all these counties. They aren't on board. I don't think you'll get them on board. We couldn't do it for Tommy Murphy either.

* Antrim went rightly in this competition in previous years. I watched with some interest but meh really. The competition isn't "below" Antrim btw but it didn't really interest me. I don't think I can help that.

Why? Surely a realistic chance at winning something is more appealing than watching them getting clippings or at best a morale boosting performance?

Quote from: Armagh18 on June 22, 2025, 10:41:46 PMPlayers/managers seem to be fully bought in to the TC for the most part, I know how delighted Oisin McConville was last week after their win and I'm sure he'll be devastated this evening, as will his players and I'm sure Fermanagh will be the same.

Question is what can the GAA do to get fans engaged?

Probably handier when you're getting paid right enough.

Quote from: Armagh18 on June 22, 2025, 10:43:33 PM

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 10:40:43 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 10:34:58 PM

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 10:30:05 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 10:27:19 PMSure get rid of the Tailteann cup, let those counties ( who at the start actually compete to be in the Sam Maguire) be out of championship from the moment they get bate in their championship.

Less games and less annoyance

Sounds fair. We did similar when we gassed the Tommy Murphy Cup.
Most would rather they were back playing club football anyway.

So you're not into a tier competition set up at intercounty, but ok at club level or is it a pointless range of competitions?

Stop comparing club and county. It's futile.

But.....it's not about me or what I think*. It's the supporters of all these counties. They aren't on board. I don't think you'll get them on board. We couldn't do it for Tommy Murphy either.

* Antrim went rightly in this competition in previous years. I watched with some interest but meh really. The competition isn't "below" Antrim btw but it didn't really interest me. I don't think I can help that.

Why? Surely a realistic chance at winning something is more appealing than watching them getting clippings or at best a morale boosting performance?

Maybe if they'd have won it I might have felt differently, I don't know.

It doesn't take you to win something to know if you've progressed at all. If Antrim got to an All Ireland quarter final, and got hockeyed, I'd take that!!

Hurling or football.

G how did that penalty stay out!

Quote from: Stickittotheman on June 22, 2025, 10:31:45 PMWould you really rather the old system where you might play two games and you are gone? Or maybe you would prefer to get walloped by 20 points playing the best in the country. A great way to treat the players, management and fans. 20 quid to see your team get destroyed. Players getting disillusioned after training all winter to be eliminated in two games. What a reward.

Or compete in the competition you are in and support your team trying to win it.

Today proves people would rather pay 20 quid watching their team get destroyed than watch the Tailteann Cup. Yeah I'd rather a county going through a trough got their 2 beatings and were gone back to club football than the current structure.

For plently of fallow years Fermanagh, Wicklow, Westmeath, Louth, Wexford and Lognford got their beatings and were glad their seasons were over. Sometimes they'd bad squads, bad managers or a lot of injuries but every 10 or 15 years they'd have a great run or secure a cracking victory that would lift them off the floor for a while and keep the flame of IC football alive in those counties. Dragging out seasons for teams like Clare, Kildare or Fermanagh, when they're so clearly in a trough period serves no-one.

We desperately need to go back to the 2 division structure so teams can get regular exposure to the teams above them to see the tactics, fitness and dedication that they need to employ to compete with them. It was the backbone of the nineties and noughties period when smaller counties achieved so absolutely cracking results. The advent of the 4 teir league has driven a lot of smaller counties backward. Also giving the minnows home adavantage in the qualifiers so they get a slightly better chance, (remember fortress Aughrim, Newbridge or Nowhere).

There's plenty of other changes we could make to give smaller teams a fighting chance but no-one wants to consider them or discuss them. Instead we want to press them off into the periphery like we've done with the hurling structure and ignore it whilst they wither on the vine. It's sad to see that Gaels would rather have county teams disappear off stage than watch them take a hammering every so often.

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 10:50:44 PM

Quote from: Armagh18 on June 22, 2025, 10:43:33 PM

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 10:40:43 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 10:34:58 PM

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 10:30:05 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 10:27:19 PMSure get rid of the Tailteann cup, let those counties ( who at the start actually compete to be in the Sam Maguire) be out of championship from the moment they get bate in their championship.

Less games and less annoyance

Sounds fair. We did similar when we gassed the Tommy Murphy Cup.
Most would rather they were back playing club football anyway.

So you're not into a tier competition set up at intercounty, but ok at club level or is it a pointless range of competitions?

Stop comparing club and county. It's futile.

But.....it's not about me or what I think*. It's the supporters of all these counties. They aren't on board. I don't think you'll get them on board. We couldn't do it for Tommy Murphy either.

* Antrim went rightly in this competition in previous years. I watched with some interest but meh really. The competition isn't "below" Antrim btw but it didn't really interest me. I don't think I can help that.

Why? Surely a realistic chance at winning something is more appealing than watching them getting clippings or at best a morale boosting performance?

Maybe if they'd have won it I might have felt differently, I don't know.

It doesn't take you to win something to know if you've progressed at all. If Antrim got to an All Ireland quarter final, and got hockeyed, I'd take that!!

Hurling or football.

Exactly..As a Down fan, making the last 12 and coming close to Galway in  a very exciting match is a far better achievement than winning the Tailteann cup..I think a lot of our players were on record as saying the most important about winning the Tailteann is getting the place in the "All" Ireland.

Getting a few games against difficult better teams has been a far better challenge and we have progressed a lot better than being in last years Tailteann cup.

We are now back in division 3, and given how strong ulster is, it will be very difficult for Down to get into the All Ireland again next year.

Players, managers and supporters all want to be in the fight for Sam (even if they get kicked out early!)

If we are really going to insist on a 2 tier championship, we need a 3 tier one..

Down or the rest of the teams were never out of the Sam Maguire? Had that changed? Am I missing something?

The buy in involves creating a legacy. You have to sacrifice profit initially. Charge less into games. Free in for under 18. Give the TV rights to TG4. Have the winners qualify for the AI QF.

Games in Croke Park create a sterile atmosphere and swallow up even the most decent of crowds.

Give the winners a tour.

Brand the Competition as The All Ireland Intermediate Football title.
While still calling it the Tailteann Cup.

Players and fans buy into AI titles.

Quote from: Armagh18 on June 22, 2025, 10:43:33 PM

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 10:40:43 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 10:34:58 PM

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 10:30:05 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 10:27:19 PMSure get rid of the Tailteann cup, let those counties ( who at the start actually compete to be in the Sam Maguire) be out of championship from the moment they get bate in their championship.

Less games and less annoyance

Sounds fair. We did similar when we gassed the Tommy Murphy Cup.
Most would rather they were back playing club football anyway.

So you're not into a tier competition set up at intercounty, but ok at club level or is it a pointless range of competitions?

Stop comparing club and county. It's futile.

But.....it's not about me or what I think*. It's the supporters of all these counties. They aren't on board. I don't think you'll get them on board. We couldn't do it for Tommy Murphy either.

* Antrim went rightly in this competition in previous years. I watched with some interest but meh really. The competition isn't "below" Antrim btw but it didn't really interest me. I don't think I can help that.

Why? Surely a realistic chance at winning something is more appealing than watching them getting clippings or at best a morale boosting performance?

It's a straw man argument comparing club and county too. Most parishes are a few thousand people, getting 15 really good footballers is a hard thing for them to do, most of the smaller ones without a football tradition will struggle to do it when compared to the larger, more traditional parishes. It's a lot easier for counties with a thousand or more players to choose from to be able to piece together 15 really good players.

I'm not suggesting we should have 32 counties with the equal chance of winning, but we should lend a hand to 1 or 2 underdogs going through a purple patch for a few years and give them a chance to beat a top tier team. And if that means a certain amount of trimming so be it. The championship has always had hammerings and yet it survived and prospered. Hiding the smaller counties out of view in a separate championship entombs them in perpetual mediocrity.

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:05:42 PMDown or the rest of the teams were never out of the Sam Maguire? Had that changed? Am I missing something?

He backed that up....

Dropping to Div 3 probably means Down need to reach an Ulster final to get into the Sam Maguire. That's not an easy task at the moment. There are certainly easier paths to it.....

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:05:42 PMDown or the rest of the teams were never out of the Sam Maguire? Had that changed? Am I missing something?

Ah just some Gaaboarders who love a good rant especially a negative one and get a dig at the GAA powers that be as well.

Quote from: From the Bunker on June 22, 2025, 11:07:42 PMThe buy in involves creating a legacy. You have to sacrifice profit initially. Charge less into games. Free in for under 18. Give the TV rights to TG4. Have the winners qualify for the AI QF.

Games in Croke Park create a sterile atmosphere and swallow up even the most decent of crowds.

Give the winners a tour.

Brand the Competition as The All Ireland Intermediate Football title.
While still calling it the Tailteann Cup.

Players and fans buy into AI titles.

Jesus Christ we tried all this with the Railway Cup, no-one cared and it died a death. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.

Quote from: Rossfan on June 22, 2025, 11:13:03 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:05:42 PMDown or the rest of the teams were never out of the Sam Maguire? Had that changed? Am I missing something?

Ah just some Gaaboarders who love a good rant especially a negative one and get a dig at the GAA powers that be as well.

So you think the TC is a success?

Quote from: Rossfan on June 22, 2025, 11:13:03 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:05:42 PMDown or the rest of the teams were never out of the Sam Maguire? Had that changed? Am I missing something?

Ah just some Gaaboarders who love a good rant especially a negative one and get a dig at the GAA powers that be as well.

Not quite. Fermanagh were getting it in the neck when I entered the discussion. They should like the competition and that's that....according to some Gaaboarders.

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 11:12:28 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:05:42 PMDown or the rest of the teams were never out of the Sam Maguire? Had that changed? Am I missing something?

He backed that up....

Dropping to Div 3 probably means Down need to reach an Ulster final to get into the Sam Maguire. That's not an easy task at the moment. There are certainly easier paths to it.....

But it's still available and up to them.. the door isn't shut, win or at least get to a provincial final and you're in, if you ain't good enough to be a div 2 team or can't win two (sometimes) games then you probably won't get too far, so players can concentrate on their clubs.

As I've said I personally prefer less games, senior championship should only be the top teams in first two divisions and a seeded straight knockout out for me

I'm not against your view.

However, the route to qualifying for Sam Maguire should be the same for all. That's not currently the case. And before I'm accused of whinging for Ulster (which I am), Leinster has 11 teams in it ffs.

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:23:11 PM

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 11:12:28 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:05:42 PMDown or the rest of the teams were never out of the Sam Maguire? Had that changed? Am I missing something?

He backed that up....

Dropping to Div 3 probably means Down need to reach an Ulster final to get into the Sam Maguire. That's not an easy task at the moment. There are certainly easier paths to it.....

But it's still available and up to them.. the door isn't shut, win or at least get to a provincial final and you're in, if you ain't good enough to be a div 2 team or can't win two (sometimes) games then you probably won't get too far, so players can concentrate on their clubs.

As I've said I personally prefer less games, senior championship should only be the top teams in first two divisions and a seeded straight knockout out for me

Ridiculous - you would deny a Division 3 counties like Kildare & Offaly a shot at Division 2 counties like Louth and Westmeath ? Kildare and Offaly had far more pedigree in Leinster Football than Louth & Westmeath.

Quote from: trileacman on June 22, 2025, 11:14:40 PM

Quote from: Rossfan on June 22, 2025, 11:13:03 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:05:42 PMDown or the rest of the teams were never out of the Sam Maguire? Had that changed? Am I missing something?

Ah just some Gaaboarders who love a good rant especially a negative one and get a dig at the GAA powers that be as well.

So you think the TC is a success?

Define success.

Limerick and Kildare players (especially the lad who got the goal)looked very happy.

14,000 in Newry
15,000 Ballybofey
13,900 Croke Park
9,000 in Killarney

Quote from: Rossfan on June 22, 2025, 11:53:41 PM

Quote from: trileacman on June 22, 2025, 11:14:40 PM

Quote from: Rossfan on June 22, 2025, 11:13:03 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:05:42 PMDown or the rest of the teams were never out of the Sam Maguire? Had that changed? Am I missing something?

Ah just some Gaaboarders who love a good rant especially a negative one and get a dig at the GAA powers that be as well.

So you think the TC is a success?

Define success.

Limerick and Kildare players (especially the lad who got the goal)looked very happy.

14,000 in Newry
15,000 Ballybofey
13,900 Croke Park
9,000 in Killarney

4 teams in Croke Park, and you usually get your biggest crowds in a final - not prelim QFs. Bizarre reasoning

Quote from: Rossfan on June 22, 2025, 11:53:41 PM

Quote from: trileacman on June 22, 2025, 11:14:40 PM

Quote from: Rossfan on June 22, 2025, 11:13:03 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:05:42 PMDown or the rest of the teams were never out of the Sam Maguire? Had that changed? Am I missing something?

Ah just some Gaaboarders who love a good rant especially a negative one and get a dig at the GAA powers that be as well.

So you think the TC is a success?

Define success.

Limerick and Kildare players (especially the lad who got the goal)looked very happy.

14,000 in Newry
15,000 Ballybofey
13,900 Croke Park
9,000 in Killarney

Use your own definition of success, it's a relatively common word and stop trying to deflect the question.

Has the TC been a success?

Quote from: Rossfan on June 22, 2025, 09:07:46 PMThe Fermanaghs seem to have a bee in their bonnet about being in the Tailteann Cup for some reason.

Quote from: marty34 on June 22, 2025, 09:57:30 PMSome teams think they're above the competition. That's clear to be seen.

Might seem odd but I'd actually add in a 3rd tier to it.

Yes, Fermanagh who were 'brutal', have no midfield or forward plan would surely welcome a 3rd tier

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 11:32:53 PMI'm not against your view.

However, the route to qualifying for Sam Maguire should be the same for all. That's not currently the case. And before I'm accused of whinging for Ulster (which I am), Leinster has 11 teams in it ffs.

I agree there. Clare beating Waterford/Tipp shouldn't get them into Sam, same with Sligo beating New York and Leitrim, in comparison to who Down could have to beat, draw dependent. 

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 11:17:00 PM

Quote from: Rossfan on June 22, 2025, 11:13:03 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:05:42 PMDown or the rest of the teams were never out of the Sam Maguire? Had that changed? Am I missing something?

Ah just some Gaaboarders who love a good rant especially a negative one and get a dig at the GAA powers that be as well.

Not quite. Fermanagh were getting it in the neck when I entered the discussion. They should like the competition and that's that....according to some Gaaboarders.

I wouldn't say that. But if getting to a quarter final of the All Ireland or an Ulster Final once every ten years is your aim then that is pretty grim tbh. Look at Westmeath the year they won the Talteann. Fully bought in and a big party in Mullingar to bring the trophy home. They aren't used to much success but enjoyed themselves.

And yet here are Fermanagh, who have never won a League title, never won an Ulster Championship nor an All Ireland and they are turning their nose up. It doesn't make any sense to me, plus the fact if Fermanagh were to make an Ulster final they would have been in the Sam Maguire. If you were so desperate to be in Sam it would be even more important to win the Talteann. Automatic entry next year. But hey ho.

You're reading a bit too much into it tbh.
People just don't seem bothered about going to watch the Tailteann Cup matches. There's really not that much more to it.

Down have a very good chance of winning it next year. I'd say they are hardly wetting themselves with anticipation over that prospect this morning though.

As I say, you're only interested in what you're interested in.

I know a fair few from Fermanagh who were down and brought the family. Ones who have never had the kids down before. That wouldn't have happened without it.

Quote from: Stickittotheman on June 23, 2025, 08:14:57 AM

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 11:17:00 PM

Quote from: Rossfan on June 22, 2025, 11:13:03 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:05:42 PMDown or the rest of the teams were never out of the Sam Maguire? Had that changed? Am I missing something?

Ah just some Gaaboarders who love a good rant especially a negative one and get a dig at the GAA powers that be as well.

Not quite. Fermanagh were getting it in the neck when I entered the discussion. They should like the competition and that's that....according to some Gaaboarders.

I wouldn't say that. But if getting to a quarter final of the All Ireland or an Ulster Final once every ten years is your aim then that is pretty grim tbh. Look at Westmeath the year they won the Talteann. Fully bought in and a big party in Mullingar to bring the trophy home. They aren't used to much success but enjoyed themselves.

And yet here are Fermanagh, who have never won a League title, never won an Ulster Championship nor an All Ireland and they are turning their nose up. It doesn't make any sense to me, plus the fact if Fermanagh were to make an Ulster final they would have been in the Sam Maguire. If you were so desperate to be in Sam it would be even more important to win the Talteann. Automatic entry next year. But hey ho.

The Fermanagh players went hard at it. They showed the competition no disrespect.

Making an all Ireland quarter final isn't pretty grim when you are a smaller county. Those days are what keeps the dream alive.
Beating a big team and going on a run via the backdoor did more to promote and push Gaelic in Fermanagh than any Tailtean cup will ever do .

Let's look at Westmeath .
Won the first competition.

How have they been developed ?
Back into the competition after 1 or 2 years .

What we are seeing is what happened in the hurling tiers.
Teams will now yo yo up and down .
Repeat winners etc .

Tell me how the Tailtean cup is developing all these counties ?

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:23:11 PM

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 22, 2025, 11:12:28 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 22, 2025, 11:05:42 PMDown or the rest of the teams were never out of the Sam Maguire? Had that changed? Am I missing something?

He backed that up....

Dropping to Div 3 probably means Down need to reach an Ulster final to get into the Sam Maguire. That's not an easy task at the moment. There are certainly easier paths to it.....

But it's still available and up to them.. the door isn't shut, win or at least get to a provincial final and you're in, if you ain't good enough to be a div 2 team or can't win two (sometimes) games then you probably won't get too far, so players can concentrate on their clubs.

As I've said I personally prefer less games, senior championship should only be the top teams in first two divisions and a seeded straight knockout out for me

Down won 3 games and got cheated out of a draw by a blind umpire. Now it's back to square 1. How do you keep players interested. I'd much rather the chances in a back door system. We managed to reach an all Ireland final 15 years ago through it. The T Cup only creates elitism. Needs gone. Believe me no one here cared that much about the actual competition. The goal was purely getting to the sam maguire series. Give me 14k in newry any day than playing warm up to the proper stuff in croker.

2024 TC winners Down. Reached last 12 Sam in 25.
2023 TC winners Meath. Leinster Finalists and at least AI Quarter finalists 2025.
2022 winners Westmeath.
Got 2 years in Sam, didnt set world alight but some v narrow defeats.
Lot of players retired for 2025 and they failed to make Sam.

Quote from: Rossfan on June 23, 2025, 11:19:51 AM2024 TC winners Down. Reached last 12 Sam in 25.
2023 TC winners Meath. Leinster Finalists and at least AI Quarter finalists 2025.
2022 winners Westmeath.
Got 2 years in Sam, didnt set world alight but some v narrow defeats.
Lot of players retired for 2025 and they failed to make Sam.

2 of the 3 winners are back at it again next year probably.

Those unhappy with the tiered system is that solely for football? Is the hurling system ok?

So what's the best format then?

Provincial championships (as we have now)
Knocked out, season over
back at it again next year?

OR

Provincial championships (as we have now)
Knocked out, back door
Lose out and back at it next year?
Win then into a playoff knockout group?
lose that, season over and back again next year?

Kildare had notions above our station after in 2024 a year with zero wins, a relegation and failing to win the Tailteann when we were in it.

For us this year, some still think we shouldn't be happy winning it after the dirge we served up yesterday. Teams and fans need to get a grip and stop moaning about a competition they are in because of an inability to win games at the highest level.

Quote from: Captain Scarlet on June 23, 2025, 02:21:11 PMKildare had notions above our station after in 2024 a year with zero wins, a relegation and failing to win the Tailteann when we were in it.

For us this year, some still think we shouldn't be happy winning it after the dirge we served up yesterday. Teams and fans need to get a grip and stop moaning about a competition they are in because of an inability to win games at the highest level.

Personally I dont really care about the competition. I certainly wont be celebrating winning it. Give me a Leinster title any day of the week.

3 in 90 years isn't exactly any day of the week.
That's about 1 per 10,000 days..

I don't think they are given either...or maybe we just haven't been asking nicely enough...
Lookit, any team is down here for a reason. Fans can switch off for a year, work away if people don't fancy it.
 

Quote from: Rossfan on June 23, 2025, 03:16:09 PM3 in 90 years isn't exactly any day of the week.
That's about 1 per 10,000 days..

Ehh what?

What about fans who are down there every year  :o 

I think it's a good competition. I probably come from a different place though as my county has won maybe half a dozen provincial championship matches in my life and that's getting closer to half a century than I would care for it to be  :o

FWIW I don't think Fermanagh were particularly up for it this last few years but were this year. I do think it will get them better as where they are at the minute(particularly in ulster) then they are likely to be beat in the first game unless they get antrim (Cavan and Down maybe they would fancy themselves against but I wouldn't be so sure). Maybe if it were more open in the next round or two then they might take a few scalps but the way it is they can blood players, get a run of confidence etc and I don't think that would happen in an A championship only.

Quote from: Captain Scarlet on June 23, 2025, 03:33:59 PMI don't think they are given either...or maybe we just haven't been asking nicely enough...
Lookit, any team is down here for a reason. Fans can switch off for a year, work away if people don't fancy it.
 

Oh they are there because they deserve to be. Just doesnt interest me.

I don't think anyone is under the illusion that teams aren't where they deserve to be.
There seems to be an assumption that these counties believe that they are better than what they are or they there is some snobbery at play. That's not correct. The truth is that Antrim haven't a mission of winning the TC let alone anything above it.
Regardless of all that, it's not a competition that I have much interest in. And I'm not obliged to. There are other things to be interested in and I get to pick.

It was highlighted from the very beginning that the GAA would struggle to get people interested in it, as we saw the same idea (Tommy Murphy Cup) end up in the bin after a few years. I don't know what they do to breathe a bit of life into this one but it's heading the same way IMO.

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 23, 2025, 03:56:16 PMI don't think anyone is under the illusion that teams aren't where they deserve to be.
There seems to be an assumption that these counties believe that they are better than what they are or they there is some snobbery at play. That's not correct. The truth is that Antrim haven't a mission of winning the TC let alone anything above it.
Regardless of all that, it's not a competition that I have much interest in. And I'm not obliged to. There are other things to be interested in and I get to pick.

It was highlighted from the very beginning that the GAA would struggle to get people interested in it, as we saw the same idea (Tommy Murphy Cup) end up in the bin after a few years. I don't know what they do to breathe a bit of life into this one but it's heading the same way IMO.

Exactly - there just isn't the interest in it and there's too many flaws in the current system which determines who makes Sam Maguire and who enters the Tailteann

Down are really unfortunate - relegated from Division 2, yes, but they won 3 games and weren't miles away in some of the others.  Then they were competitive in this years championship yet they likely back in the Tailteann next year - what's the point?  Maybe the main AI competition should be extended to top 4 in Division 3.

The qualifier/backdoor system was introduced for both football and hurling just 25 years ago approx.
One regularly hears commentators bemoaning the lack of games (particularly hurling) for counties in the Summer months
- up to the start of this century that it was always straight knockout in All-Ireland Football and Hurling.

In the early days the qualifier/backdoor system was not universally liked but in time it proved itself and you had counties winning All-Irelands through the backdoor. You also had lower division teams upsetting the odds and having runs to All-Ireland Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals.

Now we have the Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cups as separate competitions. The interest in the Tailteann Cup is very obviously waning. The group of 16 matches in both Sam Maguire Cup and Tailteann Cup are soon forgotten. But what these two separate championships do achieve is to deny lower division teams a chance to compete against teams in the top divisions - this can only widen the gap in standards between Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cup teams.

Am I missing something here?

All teams in football play provincial championships, this earning them the right to play in the all Ireland series.

Who is being denied?

Either you go through as finalist or div2 team or better.

Counties have options, go through the leagues or be a provincial finalist

The the TC cup ain't for you then stick your reserve teams in or don't enter.

I'm not sure why an Antrim or a Waterford or London team would feel 'left out' if they have put the work in, then that's what ya get. I'd go back to the original set up in a heartbeat.

Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on June 23, 2025, 03:56:16 PMI don't think anyone is under the illusion that teams aren't where they deserve to be.
There seems to be an assumption that these counties believe that they are better than what they are or they there is some snobbery at play. That's not correct. The truth is that Antrim haven't a mission of winning the TC let alone anything above it.
Regardless of all that, it's not a competition that I have much interest in. And I'm not obliged to. There are other things to be interested in and I get to pick.

It was highlighted from the very beginning that the GAA would struggle to get people interested in it, as we saw the same idea (Tommy Murphy Cup) end up in the bin after a few years. I don't know what they do to breathe a bit of life into this one but it's heading the same way IMO.

Tommy Murphy cup lasted 5 years. The final 2 seasons only 9 teams took part and by all accounts lots of players opted out to focus on club action. In truth it lasted longer than it should and the Tailteann Cup has been a bigger interest for teams and players involved.

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 23, 2025, 05:44:31 PMAm I missing something here?

Yes indeed, you are missing a lot but I'm not sure that you will take it onboard.

I'll start with my reply to you back on Page 16
Ridiculous - you would deny a Division 3 counties like Kildare & Offaly a shot at Division 2 counties like Louth and Westmeath ? Kildare and Offaly had far more pedigree in Leinster Football than Louth & Westmeath.


There are 10-12 counties are in a middle ground - some years they can be Division 3, other years Division 2.

Most fair-minded posters on here would agree that the Provincial competitions provide an inequitable qualification route to the Sam Maguire Cup competition.

Quote from: The Boy Wonder on June 23, 2025, 05:57:29 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 23, 2025, 05:44:31 PMAm I missing something here?

Yes indeed, you are missing a lot but I'm not sure that you will take it onboard.

I'll start with my reply to you back on Page 16
Ridiculous - you would deny a Division 3 counties like Kildare & Offaly a shot at Division 2 counties like Louth and Westmeath ? Kildare and Offaly had far more pedigree in Leinster Football than Louth & Westmeath.


There are 10-12 counties are in a middle ground - some years they can be Division 3, other years Division 2.

Most fair-minded posters on here would agree that the Provincial competitions provide an inequitable qualification route to the Sam Maguire Cup competition.

But they are still in it, like everyone else.

If you can't muster enough effort to either reach div2 or reach a final of your province then you ain't good enough, end off.

The only other thing I'd be happy with is provincial championships stay as is.. winners get straight to quarter finals and the rest play a knockout competition

We had that system and we spent 4 or 5 years trying to find a system to replace it.
We voted in a new system but started giving out about it half way through the 2nd year and voted in another system for next year.

Wonder will we have yet another system in 2027.....?

Quote from: Rossfan on June 23, 2025, 08:18:17 PMWe had that system and we spent 4 or 5 years trying to find a system to replace it.
We voted in a new system but started giving out about it half way through the 2nd year and voted in another system for next year.

Wonder will we have yet another system in 2027.....?

This is what happens when you open the Pandora's box of format changes and rules changes. People love to convince themselves that what is wrong with the rules/format now can easily be rectified by changing to A,B and C. Nothing is perfect and then when A, B and C turns out to create as many problems as it solves we change to format D, E and F and so on. Administrators, rather than making small changes than can be observed and evaluated easily prefer broad, sweeping changes in search of a perfection that doesn't exist.

We got rid of the back door system which had it's flaws yet we're now onto our 3rd format incarnation, soon to be 4th next year because everything we try is as flawed as the previous.

My big worry is the GAA, encouraged by the media who make their money off box-office clashes are going down the road of shit-canning the small counties so as to keep them out of the public eye. The GAA seem to be happier to let football die in small counties than to let anyone seem them take a trimming. As a Tyrone man I shouldn't even care, we're now firmly ensconced in the footballing elite, our football infrastructure advantage is such that it's extremely unlikely we'll ever be threatened by the mid-level counties for a long, long time.

But the elitism that now pervades is not the Gaelic football I fell in love with. Louth taking the reigning AI champs to replay in 06, Laois dumping out the AI champs the same year, Meath beating us in 07, Westmeath pushing us to the pin of our collars in 08 before we won the AI, Kildare beating Mayo in the driving rain, Fermanagh beating Armagh in '04 when they were heavily tipped to win the AI, Fermanagh beating Derry in Omagh to make it to an Ulster semi-final with Barry Owens at FF, Sligo nearly knocking out Kerry in '09, Antrim doing the same that year, Sligo winning Connacht with Eammon O'Hara's goal, Tipp beating Cork in a Munster final, Down reaching the 2010 AI final. Wexford beating Armagh in 08. This was the chaos, unpredictability and equality of which I fell in love with. Each of those days encapsulated colour, passion and community, often without any medals given out or any trophies hoisted to sky. But to those present that victory was special and it meant something.

To discard all that so that the top 7-8 can play each other and the accountants can sell more GAAgo tickets strikes me a betrayal of the GAA ethos.

Hurling - graded Championships and Leagues- Club and County
LGFA - graded Championships and Leagues - Club and County
Camogie - graded Championships and Leagues - Club and County
Men's football - Graded Championships and Leagues- Club and *County.

*The last to come to the table.
A bit like the clock/hooter.
Just catching up.

All those games mentioned could still happen if the county wins their games from the start of the year.

Fermanagh could still get to an Ulster Final if they won their games, but they lost on their first day out in 2025. That Barry Owens moment only happened because they had a team capable of competing at the top level.

Sligo could have won Connacht this year, but again, they are not good enough and lost the first day out v Mayo.

My own club still has lore about winning SFC titles. But we did drop to Intermediate for years, but memories are no use if you lose Intermediate games.
 

Quote from: ONARAGGATIP on June 23, 2025, 10:32:45 AMDown won 3 games and got cheated out of a draw by a blind umpire. Now it's back to square 1. How do you keep players interested. I'd much rather the chances in a back door system. We managed to reach an all Ireland final 15 years ago through it. The T Cup only creates elitism. Needs gone. Believe me no one here cared that much about the actual competition. The goal was purely getting to the sam maguire series. Give me 14k in newry any day than playing warm up to the proper stuff in croker.

I was too young for 1994 so have only ever seen Down lose finals (11 in a row! Good lord), so I can tell you I absolutely wanted to win the Tailteann Cup! And there's no doubt that even though we've been relegated that we've absolutely kicked on in the last year. It's a shame we're probably back down there again next year, but the way to not be there in the future is pretty clear - get promoted and stay up.

Also in 2010 we were in division 2 so would have been in this version of the All Ireland anyway.

Quote from: Dayman on June 24, 2025, 11:34:22 AM

Quote from: ONARAGGATIP on June 23, 2025, 10:32:45 AMDown won 3 games and got cheated out of a draw by a blind umpire. Now it's back to square 1. How do you keep players interested. I'd much rather the chances in a back door system. We managed to reach an all Ireland final 15 years ago through it. The T Cup only creates elitism. Needs gone. Believe me no one here cared that much about the actual competition. The goal was purely getting to the sam maguire series. Give me 14k in newry any day than playing warm up to the proper stuff in croker.

I was too young for 1994 so have only ever seen Down lose finals (11 in a row! Good lord), so I can tell you I absolutely wanted to win the Tailteann Cup! And there's no doubt that even though we've been relegated that we've absolutely kicked on in the last year. It's a shame we're probably back down there again next year, but the way to not be there in the future is pretty clear - get promoted and stay up.

Also in 2010 we were in division 2 so would have been in this version of the All Ireland anyway.

1991 and 1994, mind those years well. You could have named the starting 15 for Down, what a squad of players

Down have seen this year that they can compete and that'll spur them on. Sights set on promotion and a Clones final has to be the target. There's a hell of a lot of other counties not as well set for serious stab at a provincial title, apart from Fermanagh of course

Quote from: JoG2 on June 24, 2025, 12:36:30 PM

Quote from: Dayman on June 24, 2025, 11:34:22 AM

Quote from: ONARAGGATIP on June 23, 2025, 10:32:45 AMDown won 3 games and got cheated out of a draw by a blind umpire. Now it's back to square 1. How do you keep players interested. I'd much rather the chances in a back door system. We managed to reach an all Ireland final 15 years ago through it. The T Cup only creates elitism. Needs gone. Believe me no one here cared that much about the actual competition. The goal was purely getting to the sam maguire series. Give me 14k in newry any day than playing warm up to the proper stuff in croker.

I was too young for 1994 so have only ever seen Down lose finals (11 in a row! Good lord), so I can tell you I absolutely wanted to win the Tailteann Cup! And there's no doubt that even though we've been relegated that we've absolutely kicked on in the last year. It's a shame we're probably back down there again next year, but the way to not be there in the future is pretty clear - get promoted and stay up.

Also in 2010 we were in division 2 so would have been in this version of the All Ireland anyway.

1991 and 1994, mind those years well. You could have named the starting 15 for Down, what a squad of players

Down have seen this year that they can compete and that'll spur them on. Sights set on promotion and a Clones final has to be the target. There's a hell of a lot of other counties not as well set for serious stab at a provincial title, apart from Fermanagh of course

The problem is promotion doesn't  guarantee a Sam Maguire spot..Down got promoted in 2024, finishing top of D3, and were still in the TC (partially because they lost the league final (which shouldn't exist imo), and because Clare took the last spot by being provincial finalists.

If promotion guaranteed a spot, or a spot in a play off to get a spot in SM..then things would be fairer..but due to provincial finalists taking priority over league finishes, its tough for ulster and Leinster teams..and the TC widens the gaps.


If we insists on a 2nd tier, we need a 3rd tier..so at least the 2nd tier teams are playing someone around their level, not a division 2 team playing a division 4 team!

The

Quote from: Lazer on June 24, 2025, 01:51:41 PM

Quote from: JoG2 on June 24, 2025, 12:36:30 PM

Quote from: Dayman on June 24, 2025, 11:34:22 AM

Quote from: ONARAGGATIP on June 23, 2025, 10:32:45 AMDown won 3 games and got cheated out of a draw by a blind umpire. Now it's back to square 1. How do you keep players interested. I'd much rather the chances in a back door system. We managed to reach an all Ireland final 15 years ago through it. The T Cup only creates elitism. Needs gone. Believe me no one here cared that much about the actual competition. The goal was purely getting to the sam maguire series. Give me 14k in newry any day than playing warm up to the proper stuff in croker.

I was too young for 1994 so have only ever seen Down lose finals (11 in a row! Good lord), so I can tell you I absolutely wanted to win the Tailteann Cup! And there's no doubt that even though we've been relegated that we've absolutely kicked on in the last year. It's a shame we're probably back down there again next year, but the way to not be there in the future is pretty clear - get promoted and stay up.

Also in 2010 we were in division 2 so would have been in this version of the All Ireland anyway.

1991 and 1994, mind those years well. You could have named the starting 15 for Down, what a squad of players

Down have seen this year that they can compete and that'll spur them on. Sights set on promotion and a Clones final has to be the target. There's a hell of a lot of other counties not as well set for serious stab at a provincial title, apart from Fermanagh of course

The problem is promotion doesn't  guarantee a Sam Maguire spot..Down got promoted in 2024, finishing top of D3, and were still in the TC (partially because they lost the league final (which shouldn't exist imo), and because Clare took the last spot by being provincial finalists.

If promotion guaranteed a spot, or a spot in a play off to get a spot in SM..then things would be fairer..but due to provincial finalists taking priority over league finishes, its tough for ulster and Leinster teams..and the TC widens the gaps.


If we insists on a 2nd tier, we need a 3rd tier..so at least the 2nd tier teams are playing someone around their level, not a division 2 team playing a division 4 team!

The

Except a division 4 team is in the final, and another division 4 team got to the semi there after beating a team that was division 2 this year and most peoples favourites for the whole thing!

Quote from: Armagh18 on June 24, 2025, 03:55:44 PM

Quote from: Lazer on June 24, 2025, 01:51:41 PM

Quote from: JoG2 on June 24, 2025, 12:36:30 PM

Quote from: Dayman on June 24, 2025, 11:34:22 AM

Quote from: ONARAGGATIP on June 23, 2025, 10:32:45 AMDown won 3 games and got cheated out of a draw by a blind umpire. Now it's back to square 1. How do you keep players interested. I'd much rather the chances in a back door system. We managed to reach an all Ireland final 15 years ago through it. The T Cup only creates elitism. Needs gone. Believe me no one here cared that much about the actual competition. The goal was purely getting to the sam maguire series. Give me 14k in newry any day than playing warm up to the proper stuff in croker.

I was too young for 1994 so have only ever seen Down lose finals (11 in a row! Good lord), so I can tell you I absolutely wanted to win the Tailteann Cup! And there's no doubt that even though we've been relegated that we've absolutely kicked on in the last year. It's a shame we're probably back down there again next year, but the way to not be there in the future is pretty clear - get promoted and stay up.

Also in 2010 we were in division 2 so would have been in this version of the All Ireland anyway.

1991 and 1994, mind those years well. You could have named the starting 15 for Down, what a squad of players

Down have seen this year that they can compete and that'll spur them on. Sights set on promotion and a Clones final has to be the target. There's a hell of a lot of other counties not as well set for serious stab at a provincial title, apart from Fermanagh of course

The problem is promotion doesn't  guarantee a Sam Maguire spot..Down got promoted in 2024, finishing top of D3, and were still in the TC (partially because they lost the league final (which shouldn't exist imo), and because Clare took the last spot by being provincial finalists.

If promotion guaranteed a spot, or a spot in a play off to get a spot in SM..then things would be fairer..but due to provincial finalists taking priority over league finishes, its tough for ulster and Leinster teams..and the TC widens the gaps.


If we insists on a 2nd tier, we need a 3rd tier..so at least the 2nd tier teams are playing someone around their level, not a division 2 team playing a division 4 team!

The

Except a division 4 team is in the final, and another division 4 team got to the semi there after beating a team that was division 2 this year and most peoples favourites for the whole thing!

Which is wonderful..however doesn't change the fact that the TC is widening the gap between those in the All Ireland and those in the TC..

It is potentially reducing the gap between  division 4 and division 3/2 teams, by giving them more challenging games..but for the borderline division 2/3 teams it's widening the gap between them and the "elite"..

My proposal is top 12 based on league positions go into All Ireland

Have a gap between provincials and All Ireland..and have play offs between bottom 4 division 2, top 4 division 3, and any provincial finalists not in the top 12 to select the 4 to go through to the AI, the remainder going into Tailteann Cup.

This gives these teams the games play they need against similar level opponents, thus helping reduce the widening gap, and giving all similar level teams a chance to play in the
All Ireland regardless of the size and difficulty of their province

Quote from: Lazer on June 25, 2025, 01:52:58 PM

Quote from: Armagh18 on June 24, 2025, 03:55:44 PM

Quote from: Lazer on June 24, 2025, 01:51:41 PM

Quote from: JoG2 on June 24, 2025, 12:36:30 PM

Quote from: Dayman on June 24, 2025, 11:34:22 AM

Quote from: ONARAGGATIP on June 23, 2025, 10:32:45 AMDown won 3 games and got cheated out of a draw by a blind umpire. Now it's back to square 1. How do you keep players interested. I'd much rather the chances in a back door system. We managed to reach an all Ireland final 15 years ago through it. The T Cup only creates elitism. Needs gone. Believe me no one here cared that much about the actual competition. The goal was purely getting to the sam maguire series. Give me 14k in newry any day than playing warm up to the proper stuff in croker.

I was too young for 1994 so have only ever seen Down lose finals (11 in a row! Good lord), so I can tell you I absolutely wanted to win the Tailteann Cup! And there's no doubt that even though we've been relegated that we've absolutely kicked on in the last year. It's a shame we're probably back down there again next year, but the way to not be there in the future is pretty clear - get promoted and stay up.

Also in 2010 we were in division 2 so would have been in this version of the All Ireland anyway.

1991 and 1994, mind those years well. You could have named the starting 15 for Down, what a squad of players

Down have seen this year that they can compete and that'll spur them on. Sights set on promotion and a Clones final has to be the target. There's a hell of a lot of other counties not as well set for serious stab at a provincial title, apart from Fermanagh of course

The problem is promotion doesn't  guarantee a Sam Maguire spot..Down got promoted in 2024, finishing top of D3, and were still in the TC (partially because they lost the league final (which shouldn't exist imo), and because Clare took the last spot by being provincial finalists.

If promotion guaranteed a spot, or a spot in a play off to get a spot in SM..then things would be fairer..but due to provincial finalists taking priority over league finishes, its tough for ulster and Leinster teams..and the TC widens the gaps.


If we insists on a 2nd tier, we need a 3rd tier..so at least the 2nd tier teams are playing someone around their level, not a division 2 team playing a division 4 team!

The

Except a division 4 team is in the final, and another division 4 team got to the semi there after beating a team that was division 2 this year and most peoples favourites for the whole thing!

Which is wonderful..however doesn't change the fact that the TC is widening the gap between those in the All Ireland and those in the TC..

It is potentially reducing the gap between  division 4 and division 3/2 teams, by giving them more challenging games..but for the borderline division 2/3 teams it's widening the gap between them and the "elite"..

My proposal is top 12 based on league positions go into All Ireland

Have a gap between provincials and All Ireland..and have play offs between bottom 4 division 2, top 4 division 3, and any provincial finalists not in the top 12 to select the 4 to go through to the AI, the remainder going into Tailteann Cup.

This gives these teams the games play they need against similar level opponents, thus helping reduce the widening gap, and giving all similar level teams a chance to play in the
All Ireland regardless of the size and difficulty of their province

Thats a good idea

Quote from: SouthOfThe Bann on June 25, 2025, 02:35:34 PM

Quote from: Lazer on June 25, 2025, 01:52:58 PM

Quote from: Armagh18 on June 24, 2025, 03:55:44 PM

Quote from: Lazer on June 24, 2025, 01:51:41 PM

Quote from: JoG2 on June 24, 2025, 12:36:30 PM

Quote from: Dayman on June 24, 2025, 11:34:22 AM

Quote from: ONARAGGATIP on June 23, 2025, 10:32:45 AMDown won 3 games and got cheated out of a draw by a blind umpire. Now it's back to square 1. How do you keep players interested. I'd much rather the chances in a back door system. We managed to reach an all Ireland final 15 years ago through it. The T Cup only creates elitism. Needs gone. Believe me no one here cared that much about the actual competition. The goal was purely getting to the sam maguire series. Give me 14k in newry any day than playing warm up to the proper stuff in croker.

I was too young for 1994 so have only ever seen Down lose finals (11 in a row! Good lord), so I can tell you I absolutely wanted to win the Tailteann Cup! And there's no doubt that even though we've been relegated that we've absolutely kicked on in the last year. It's a shame we're probably back down there again next year, but the way to not be there in the future is pretty clear - get promoted and stay up.

Also in 2010 we were in division 2 so would have been in this version of the All Ireland anyway.

1991 and 1994, mind those years well. You could have named the starting 15 for Down, what a squad of players

Down have seen this year that they can compete and that'll spur them on. Sights set on promotion and a Clones final has to be the target. There's a hell of a lot of other counties not as well set for serious stab at a provincial title, apart from Fermanagh of course

The problem is promotion doesn't  guarantee a Sam Maguire spot..Down got promoted in 2024, finishing top of D3, and were still in the TC (partially because they lost the league final (which shouldn't exist imo), and because Clare took the last spot by being provincial finalists.

If promotion guaranteed a spot, or a spot in a play off to get a spot in SM..then things would be fairer..but due to provincial finalists taking priority over league finishes, its tough for ulster and Leinster teams..and the TC widens the gaps.


If we insists on a 2nd tier, we need a 3rd tier..so at least the 2nd tier teams are playing someone around their level, not a division 2 team playing a division 4 team!

The

Except a division 4 team is in the final, and another division 4 team got to the semi there after beating a team that was division 2 this year and most peoples favourites for the whole thing!

Which is wonderful..however doesn't change the fact that the TC is widening the gap between those in the All Ireland and those in the TC..

It is potentially reducing the gap between  division 4 and division 3/2 teams, by giving them more challenging games..but for the borderline division 2/3 teams it's widening the gap between them and the "elite"..

My proposal is top 12 based on league positions go into All Ireland

Have a gap between provincials and All Ireland..and have play offs between bottom 4 division 2, top 4 division 3, and any provincial finalists not in the top 12 to select the 4 to go through to the AI, the remainder going into Tailteann Cup.

This gives these teams the games play they need against similar level opponents, thus helping reduce the widening gap, and giving all similar level teams a chance to play in the
All Ireland regardless of the size and difficulty of their province

Thats a good idea

Except last years TC winners Down had an excellent Sam Maguire campaign, running one of the genuine all ireland contenders close, previous winners Meath are in the quarter finals and Westmeath managed to have 2 good years in the toughest possible Sam Maguire group they certainly didn't embarrass themselves.

Or, whatabout the teams that are not good enough, putting a little more effort into their juvenile structures, create sustainability and hopefully see the fruits of their labour when the lads come through to senior?

Teams in div 3/4 have put themselves there, its up to them to bring it up the levels required to get to the top table, most have done it before in the past, some the recent past and others a distant past.

There will always be strong counties, there are your traditional counties that very rarely seem to drop down. Their structures are maintaining the highest level, but the likes of Antrim have not been a force for 70 years, they need to work it out, getting hammered in the Ulster championship most years isn't going to make it better because they are in the All Ireland..

Has to be a bottom up approach rather than the top down approach. Playing at a level that our senior (not this year) can be competitive with. I'm not sure training all year for that one game or two is actually going to bring you on..

For me, I'm a play your level type of guy, get out of that level and you're improving and moving up, taking that improvement and bring on players as you go, introducing lads at different times to be mainstays on the team..

If you were a player looking at just playing in the All Ireland series and you are nowhere near good enough then that is demoralising.

The door into the Sam Maguire Cup is narrow for Division 3 and 4 counties. At best the top two in Division 3 qualify but this year neither Kildare nor Offaly got through – their places taken by Down (Tailteann Cup winners 2024) and Clare (Munster Finalists 2025).
 
It is plainly unfair that some Division 3 and 4 counties could qualify for Sam Maguire Cup by winning one game where others would need to win three, e.g. Clare and Longford this year.

In 2022 a line was drawn between Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cups – counties finding themselves in Division 3 and 4 at that point in time were ineligible for Sam Maguire. If one looks back you will find that quite a number of current Sam Maguire counties have spent time in Division 3 and indeed some in Division 4 over the past 20 years.

Some posters here will preach that counties just need to get their act together whilst ignoring the fact that the gap between Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cup teams is widening because of inbuilt inequalities in the formats. The fact that Kildare and Offaly were excluded from the Sam Maguire this year is proof of that.

My own county (Laois) spent most of the last 25 years in Division 2. In that time their records against similar middle-tier counties was decent. Indeed their record against the current All-Ireland Champions was excellent – NFL P12 W9 L3,  Championship P4 W2 L2.

The best way forward in my humble opinion would be
1)   Provincial Championships as standalone competitions
2)   Open-draw knockout Sam Maguire Cup – format below
3)   Scrap Tailteann Cup

Sam Maguire Cup
Round 1: Open draw for the 16 Division 3 and Division 4 teams
Round 2: Open draw for 8 Round 1 winners and 8 Division 2 teams
Round 3 (last 16): Open draw for 8 Round 2 winners and 8 Division 1 teams
Round 4 (quarter-finals) : Open draw for Round 3 winners
All-Ireland Semi-Finals : Open draw for Round 4 winners

I'm not sure the argument stands up that TC winners have become yoyo teams and. Ant bridge the gap.

Down finished second in their group this year and ran an All Ireland challenger very close. Meath have topped their group and will be formidable opposition in the quarter finals this weekend.

Westmeath returned to TC this year but were very competitive in Sam Maguire and division two and very unlucky to be relegated. Ultimately there is only room for 16 and teams have to lose out in any competitive environment.

The TC winners have had a very good opportunity then to push on - it is up to themselves to take it.

Quote from: The Boy Wonder on June 25, 2025, 05:03:14 PMThe door into the Sam Maguire Cup is narrow for Division 3 and 4 counties. At best the top two in Division 3 qualify but this year neither Kildare nor Offaly got through – their places taken by Down (Tailteann Cup winners 2024) and Clare (Munster Finalists 2025).
 
It is plainly unfair that some Division 3 and 4 counties could qualify for Sam Maguire Cup by winning one game where others would need to win three, e.g. Clare and Longford this year.

In 2022 a line was drawn between Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cups – counties finding themselves in Division 3 and 4 at that point in time were ineligible for Sam Maguire. If one looks back you will find that quite a number of current Sam Maguire counties have spent time in Division 3 and indeed some in Division 4 over the past 20 years.

Some posters here will preach that counties just need to get their act together whilst ignoring the fact that the gap between Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cup teams is widening because of inbuilt inequalities in the formats. The fact that Kildare and Offaly were excluded from the Sam Maguire this year is proof of that.

My own county (Laois) spent most of the last 25 years in Division 2. In that time their records against similar middle-tier counties was decent. Indeed their record against the current All-Ireland Champions was excellent – NFL P12 W9 L3,  Championship P4 W2 L2.

The best way forward in my humble opinion would be
1)   Provincial Championships as standalone competitions
2)   Open-draw knockout Sam Maguire Cup – format below
3)   Scrap Tailteann Cup

Sam Maguire Cup
Round 1: Open draw for the 16 Division 3 and Division 4 teams
Round 2: Open draw for 8 Round 1 winners and 8 Division 2 teams
Round 3 (last 16): Open draw for 8 Round 2 winners and 8 Division 1 teams
Round 4 (quarter-finals) : Open draw for Round 3 winners
All-Ireland Semi-Finals : Open draw for Round 4 winners

Kildare had an utterly pathetic year last year, they can have no complaints.

I'd say theres not a person in the country that would say that Clare deserved to be in Sam this year though, the inequality in the provincials needs looked at

Both Kildare and Offaly have every reason to be aggrieved that they were denied Sam Maguire Cup football this year.
They were 1st and 2nd in NFL Division 3.

I reckon Kildare would have given a very good account of themselves in Sam Maguire and would have qualified for preliminary quarter-finals at least.

Offaly are a young developing team and they were denied an opportunity of playing against Division 1 and 2 counties.
Again I reckon they could have performed well and would certainly have benefited from the experience.

There may well have been a quite different look to the quarter-finals this weekend.
We might have seen a repeat of that epic 2011 quarter-final where Donegal's Kevin Cassidy's long range point denied Kildare.

Are they in Sam next year due to being div 2 teams then?

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 25, 2025, 11:01:23 PMAre they in Sam next year due to being div 2 teams then?

Must you be vexatious asking a question that you know the answer to or are you just being a smartass ?
I respect people have different views - you don't seem to be able to take that on board.

Both Kildare and Offaly have lost out this year.
They should have been entitled to compete in the Sam Maguire Cup and whatever the outcome both would have benefited.

Quote from: The Boy Wonder on June 25, 2025, 11:11:46 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 25, 2025, 11:01:23 PMAre they in Sam next year due to being div 2 teams then?

Must you be vexatious asking a question that you know the answer to or are you just being a smartass ?
I respect people have different views - you don't seem to be able to take that on board.

Both Kildare and Offaly have lost out this year.
They should have been entitled to compete in the Sam Maguire Cup and whatever the outcome both would have benefited.

The counties voted this in, your opinion is they should be in because they were 1st and 2nd of division 3 this year, when it was voted that they be in Sam Maguire when they are div2 teams. Pointless argument ffs!

They lost out purely because they were in a different league and didn't reach their provincial final. Simply not good enough.

The moaning over something voted in by your county delegates at congress is as bad as the moaning by Jimmy McGuinness and those moaning about Jimmy

Offaly and Kildare can hopefully put up a good show next year when they are rightly in Sam because of their efforts in the league.

They'll have a season in a higher grade and that'll give them better preparation come championship

Down and Westmeath were relegated from Division 2 this year.

Down remained in the Sam Maguire Cup by virtue of the fact that they won the Tailteann Cup last year.
Thus Kildare as beaten Division 3 finalists were denied a place in the Sam Maguire Cup.

Westmeath finishing last in NFL Division 2 were demoted from the Sam Maguire Cup to the Tailteann Cup.

Clare's gained a place in the Sam Maguire Cup by winning one game in the Munster SFC (semi-final v Tipperary).
This denied Offaly, Division 3 Champions, a place in the Sam Maguire Cup.

"Thems the Rules" and it's the same qualification criteria for next year's system.

Would a fairer system be only provincial winners get automatic entry? Avoids farces like Clare beating Tipp and Waterford to get into Sam or Sligo beating London and Leitrim. 

Then give the last 2 TC winners automatic entry, to avoid a situation like Down who may not qualify next year for Sam, gives TC winners 2 years at Sam Maguire football.

So Sam Maguire is made up of 4 provincial winners, 2 previous TC winners and then the top 10 league teams outside this?

So is the issue just the provincials being included in it? I know in Ulster, the provincial championship still holds some weight but I get the point regarding Clare. Munster are looking to seed their championship so ultimately, unless Clare beat Cork or Kerry they won't be in Sam Maguire unless they do so via the league? Does that sort the issue or are other things at play?

Quote from: Rossfan on June 26, 2025, 08:49:26 AM"Thems the Rules" and it's the same qualification criteria for next year's system.

Maybe you might explain the rules to Milltown Row2 - he seems to think that Kildare & Offaly will be in Sam next year.
Not necessarily so - if the are both relegated from NFL Div2 then then will play in Tailteann Cup (of course Kildare may qualify for Sam by winning this year's Tailteann Cup.

Take a scenario where Antrim & Laois top Division 3 next year. They too could well be denied a place in 2026 Sam Maguire and then be relegated the following year meaning never getting opportunity to play in Sam Maguire.

The door from TC Cup to Sam Maguire is narrow and the gap in standards is widening all the time.

Meath and Down have fairly closed some gaps this year.

As for Munster I suspect the 4 others will likely out vote Cork/Kerry on that seeding proposal.

Back to the TC - €60 to see your team in the Final!!!

Quote from: The Boy Wonder on June 26, 2025, 09:26:36 AM

Quote from: Rossfan on June 26, 2025, 08:49:26 AM"Thems the Rules" and it's the same qualification criteria for next year's system.

Maybe you might explain the rules to Milltown Row2 - he seems to think that Kildare & Offaly will be in Sam next year.
Not necessarily so - if the are both relegated from NFL Div2 then then will play in Tailteann Cup (of course Kildare may qualify for Sam by winning this year's Tailteann Cup.

Take a scenario where Antrim & Laois top Division 3 next year. They too could well be denied a place in 2026 Sam Maguire and then be relegated the following year meaning never getting opportunity to play in Sam Maguire.

The door from TC Cup to Sam Maguire is narrow and the gap in standards is widening all the time.

If only antrim could win division 3 next year...

Do you think the TC is widening it though? Funny I think Down and now Kildare have basically had the boot up the arse they needed because they should be better than they are. Westmeath are a funny one - they seem to have lost a few and are about yo yo level. I thought they were unlucky in the league but then if you want to be in the sam maguire you would need to be beating wicklow.

Clare were whipping boys this year. You have the likes of derry having to play dublin galway and armagh and then teams in clare's group just needed to beat clare to go through. Something has got to give there.

Quote from: imtommygunn on June 26, 2025, 10:52:46 AM

Quote from: The Boy Wonder on June 26, 2025, 09:26:36 AM

Quote from: Rossfan on June 26, 2025, 08:49:26 AM"Thems the Rules" and it's the same qualification criteria for next year's system.

Maybe you might explain the rules to Milltown Row2 - he seems to think that Kildare & Offaly will be in Sam next year.
Not necessarily so - if the are both relegated from NFL Div2 then then will play in Tailteann Cup (of course Kildare may qualify for Sam by winning this year's Tailteann Cup.

Take a scenario where Antrim & Laois top Division 3 next year. They too could well be denied a place in 2026 Sam Maguire and then be relegated the following year meaning never getting opportunity to play in Sam Maguire.

The door from TC Cup to Sam Maguire is narrow and the gap in standards is widening all the time.

If only antrim could win division 3 next year...

Do you think the TC is widening it though? Funny I think Down and now Kildare have basically had the boot up the arse they needed because they should be better than they are. Westmeath are a funny one - they seem to have lost a few and are about yo yo level. I thought they were unlucky in the league but then if you want to be in the sam maguire you would need to be beating wicklow.

Clare were whipping boys this year. You have the likes of derry having to play dublin galway and armagh and then teams in clare's group just needed to beat clare to go through. Something has got to give there.

Here there will be people on here criticising Antrim for not winning Division 3. Even if Geezer left Armagh and went to Antrim he'd do well to win Division 3 from Division 4.

NFL Division 3 Champions and Runners-up

2022       
Louth         Sam Maguire   
Limerick     Sam Maguire

2023
Cavan           Tailteann    Munster Finalist Clare take Sam Maguire place
Fermanagh    Tailteann    Connacht Finalist Sligo take Sam Maguire place

2024
Westmeath    Sam Maguire
Down            Tailteann    Munster Finalist Clare take Sam Maguire place

2025
Offaly        Tailteann    Munster Finalist Clare take Sam Maguire place
Kildare       Tailteann    2024 Tailteann Champions Down take Sam Maguire place


In 2024 Cavan qualified for Sam Maguire and retained their Sam Maguire status in 2025.

In 2024 Fermanagh were relegated from Division 2 and remained in Tailteann Cup since.

In last 3 years only one of six counties, Westmeath in 2024, advanced to the Sam Maguire Cup based on NFL position.

There is no fairness in a system that allows Division 3 and 4 counties that reach Connacht or Munster Finals take the place of the NFL Division 3 winners or runners-up.

The 2 teams promoted from Division 3 should automatically qualify for that year's Sam Maguire Cup.

Quote from: The Boy Wonder on June 26, 2025, 11:28:45 AMNFL Division 3 Champions and Runners-up

2022       
Louth         Sam Maguire   
Limerick     Sam Maguire

2023
Cavan           Tailteann    Munster Finalist Clare take Sam Maguire place
Fermanagh    Tailteann    Connacht Finalist Sligo take Sam Maguire place

2024
Westmeath    Sam Maguire
Down            Tailteann    Munster Finalist Clare take Sam Maguire place

2025
Offaly        Tailteann    Munster Finalist Clare take Sam Maguire place
Kildare       Tailteann    2024 Tailteann Champions Down take Sam Maguire place


In 2024 Cavan qualified for Sam Maguire and retained their Sam Maguire status in 2025.

In 2024 Fermanagh were relegated from Division 2 and remained in Tailteann Cup since.

In last 3 years only one of six counties, Westmeath in 2024, advanced to the Sam Maguire Cup based on NFL position.

There is no fairness in a system that allows Division 3 and 4 counties that reach Connacht or Munster Finals take the place of the NFL Division 3 winners or runners-up.

The 2 teams promoted from Division 3 should automatically qualify for that year's Sam Maguire Cup.

Biggest takeaway from all of that is Clare have some record in Munster, until they play Kerry obviously.

Quote from: The Boy Wonder on June 26, 2025, 09:26:36 AM

Quote from: Rossfan on June 26, 2025, 08:49:26 AM"Thems the Rules" and it's the same qualification criteria for next year's system.

Maybe you might explain the rules to Milltown Row2 - he seems to think that Kildare & Offaly will be in Sam next year.
Not necessarily so - if the are both relegated from NFL Div2 then then will play in Tailteann Cup (of course Kildare may qualify for Sam by winning this year's Tailteann Cup.

Take a scenario where Antrim & Laois top Division 3 next year. They too could well be denied a place in 2026 Sam Maguire and then be relegated the following year meaning never getting opportunity to play in Sam Maguire.

The door from TC Cup to Sam Maguire is narrow and the gap in standards is widening all the time.

If Offaly and Kildare stay in Div 2 they are, and if they reach a provincial final they will also, everything is within their own making. I'm not sure the reasoning of why Clare are getting hammered in all this, this was voted in by the counties at congress, if you aint happy put a detailed motion through your club delegates to bring to the county convention for it to be put to congress via the county delegates

 

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 26, 2025, 01:36:04 PMIf Offaly and Kildare stay in Div 2 they are, and if they reach a provincial final they will also, everything is within their own making. I'm not sure the reasoning of why Clare are getting hammered in all this, this was voted in by the counties at congress, if you aint happy put a detailed motion through your club delegates to bring to the county convention for it to be put to congress via the county delegates
 

I'm getting a bit fed up with the replies from Milltown Row2 - he seems unable to take on board others' views.
Nobody is hammering Clare - they have benefited from an unfair system but cannot be blamed.

I'll repeat my point:
In last 3 years only one of six counties, Westmeath in 2024, advanced to the Sam Maguire Cup after gaining promotion from Division 3.
There is no fairness in a system that allows Division 3 and 4 counties that reach Connacht or Munster Finals take the place of the NFL Division 3 winners or runners-up who finished above them in NFL.
The 2 teams promoted from Division 3 should automatically qualify for that year's Sam Maguire Cup.

Are we giving Tailteann Cup success any credit for the journey Meath are on, or Down for that matter?  Did it give them the opportunity to build, win something, and kick on?

Meath finished 7th in NFL Division 2 in 2023 but their place in Sam Maguire was taken by Westmeath, winners of Tailteann Cup in 2022.

You might say that Meath were robbed of their place in Sam Maguire in 2023 but of course rules are rules.

In Down's case they have probably underachieved in recent years with the talent at their disposal.

Quote from: Sportacus on June 30, 2025, 11:24:31 AMAre we giving Tailteann Cup success any credit for the journey Meath are on, or Down for that matter?  Did it give them the opportunity to build, win something, and kick on?

Shhhhhh
You can't be saying positive things about the TC.

Being in it was probably a wake up call initially, then getting 6 or 7 games and momentum of a winning run helped as well.
And of course an oul silver Cup is never any harm.

Quote from: The Boy Wonder on June 26, 2025, 02:03:31 PMI'm getting a bit fed up with the replies from Milltown Row2 - he seems unable to take on board others' views.
Nobody is hammering Clare - they have benefited from an unfair system but cannot be blamed.

I'll repeat my point:
In last 3 years only one of six counties, Westmeath in 2024, advanced to the Sam Maguire Cup after gaining promotion from Division 3.
There is no fairness in a system that allows Division 3 and 4 counties that reach Connacht or Munster Finals take the place of the NFL Division 3 winners or runners-up who finished above them in NFL.
The 2 teams promoted from Division 3 should automatically qualify for that year's Sam Maguire Cup.

The thing is I can't see any of the provincial councils being willing to "discredit" the provincial championships by "giving up" more places to the league. League position is obviously fairer compared to the luck of getting a handy provincial draw - if you look back over the various provincial championships over the years a lot of teams ended up getting to the provincial finals by turning in one or two decent performances and there was some years that teams ended up in some of the provincial finals by basically being the least shit of the sides on their side of the draw as opposed to being anywhere close to the being in the top 8 teams in the country.
The harsh reality is that because the provincial councils control such a big chunk of the votes at Congress  that the chances to any switch to favour the national league is remote.

Quote from: twohands!!! on June 30, 2025, 05:20:35 PMThe thing is I can't see any of the provincial councils being willing to "discredit" the provincial championships by "giving up" more places to the league. League position is obviously fairer compared to the luck of getting a handy provincial draw - if you look back over the various provincial championships over the years a lot of teams ended up getting to the provincial finals by turning in one or two decent performances and there was some years that teams ended up in some of the provincial finals by basically being the least shit of the sides on their side of the draw as opposed to being anywhere close to the being in the top 8 teams in the country.
The harsh reality is that because the provincial councils control such a big chunk of the votes at Congress  that the chances to any switch to favour the national league is remote.

Very true - and you won't find Connacht or Munster posters on this board arguing against a system that can reward them with a place in Sam Maguire Cup for winning one (sometimes easy) game in their province.

And of course Meath should have been in Sam Maguire Cup in 2023 as a top-14 team. Instead the 2022 Tailteann Cup winners Westmeath too their place in Sam Maguire Cup in 2023. Through no fault of their own Meath prevented a Division 3 or 4 team winning that's year's Tailteann Cup.

Quote from: The Boy Wonder on July 01, 2025, 08:06:48 AM

Quote from: twohands!!! on June 30, 2025, 05:20:35 PMThe thing is I can't see any of the provincial councils being willing to "discredit" the provincial championships by "giving up" more places to the league. League position is obviously fairer compared to the luck of getting a handy provincial draw - if you look back over the various provincial championships over the years a lot of teams ended up getting to the provincial finals by turning in one or two decent performances and there was some years that teams ended up in some of the provincial finals by basically being the least shit of the sides on their side of the draw as opposed to being anywhere close to the being in the top 8 teams in the country.
The harsh reality is that because the provincial councils control such a big chunk of the votes at Congress  that the chances to any switch to favour the national league is remote.

Very true - and you won't find Connacht or Munster posters on this board arguing against a system that can reward them with a place in Sam Maguire Cup for winning one (sometimes easy) game in their province.

And of course Meath should have been in Sam Maguire Cup in 2023 as a top-14 team. Instead the 2022 Tailteann Cup winners Westmeath too their place in Sam Maguire Cup in 2023. Through no fault of their own Meath prevented a Division 3 or 4 team winning that's year's Tailteann Cup.

I'd broadly agree with that. When you see where Meath are now it is a bit of a kick in the face to 23 tc when really someone else would have benefited more from winning it.

Getting rid of a dinosaur like Colm O'Rourke is worth 10 Tailteann Cups for Meath.

Bringing this back to the top - where it belongs!

Kildare were atricious v Fermanagh but they are always bad against a team that really sit back. Still, there were so many individual 'meh' performances that I think there will be a reaction.
Limerick will surely just go for it as I don't think they are able to lock things down as well as other teams, so that should suit Kildare too.

Hoping for a win and finishing the year with promotion and a place in Sam. Kildare, Meath and Louth are all getting their acts together and the Dubs in transition should make the province better.
That being said there were some cracking games this year - Dublin v Meath, Kildare v Westmeath and Louth, plus the Final.

Any Limerick fold on here?

Quote from: Captain Scarlet on July 09, 2025, 10:22:00 AMBringing this back to the top - where it belongs!

Kildare were atricious v Fermanagh but they are always bad against a team that really sit back. Still, there were so many individual 'meh' performances that I think there will be a reaction.
Limerick will surely just go for it as I don't think they are able to lock things down as well as other teams, so that should suit Kildare too.

Hoping for a win and finishing the year with promotion and a place in Sam. Kildare, Meath and Louth are all getting their acts together and the Dubs in transition should make the province better.
That being said there were some cracking games this year - Dublin v Meath, Kildare v Westmeath and Louth, plus the Final.

Any Limerick fold on here?

I can't see either of these teams having any impact in Sam next year. Kildare probably have more potential.

There is a huge need for a third tier with a reduction of teams in Sam and the Tailteann and letting Scottish, English and USA based regions into it (the 3rd tier). A reduction to 12-12-8 (8 + others) would provide three competitive competitions.

Quote from: From the Bunker on July 09, 2025, 11:44:21 AMI can't see either of these teams having any impact in Sam next year. Kildare probably have more potential.

There is a huge need for a third tier with a reduction of teams in Sam and the Tailteann and letting Scottish, English and USA based regions into it (the 3rd tier). A reduction to 12-12-8 (8 + others) would provide three competitive competitions.

I think it's going to take a few years of the current setup before the bottom teams in the Tailteann start looking for a third tier.

I don't know how much demand there would be for letting Scottish, English and (especially USA) based regions into a 3rd tier though given the cost and logistics they would bring with them. I'd say the current Junior and Ny in the Tailteann suits them fairly fine for the time being.

Also I think the bottom Sam/Upper Tailteann teams are not going to be in any huge rush to change things any time soon. I could see a lot of those county boards thinking there wouldn't be a whole lot of upside and would be a lot of downsides in changing from the current system e.g. no glamour ties (with crowds) against the top team.

The GAA said last year there was "no appetite among the Counties" for a 3rd tier.
3 (or more) Tiers work at Club Football, Hurling,  LGFA and Camogie.
Also work at Inter County Hurling,  LGFA and Camogie.
But inter County men's football it's a big NO!
Took years to get the TC established as a kind of halfway house.

Quote from: Rossfan on July 09, 2025, 12:18:13 PMThe GAA said last year there was "no appetite among the Counties" for a 3rd tier.
3 (or more) Tiers work at Club Football, Hurling,  LGFA and Camogie.
Also work at Inter County Hurling,  LGFA and Camogie.
But inter County men's football it's a big NO!
Took years to get the TC established as a kind of halfway house.

Yeah, there is no rush. I'm just looking at the bottom of the pile Gaelic counties and the Diaspora abroad having something to aim for and the chance of a Big(ish) day out.

Not against your suggestion at all.
There have been 8 TC finalists with 4 of them having around 20 Senior AIs between them.

What about the Carlows, Longford, Fermanaghs etc getting a day out at a National Championship Final?

Quote from: Rossfan on July 09, 2025, 01:17:28 PMNot against your suggestion at all.
There have been 8 TC finalists with 4 of them having around 20 Senior AIs between them.

What about the Carlows, Longford, Fermanaghs etc getting a day out at a National Championship Final?

Gone Fishing.

Quote from: Rossfan on July 09, 2025, 12:18:13 PMThe GAA said last year there was "no appetite among the Counties" for a 3rd tier.
3 (or more) Tiers work at Club Football, Hurling,  LGFA and Camogie.
Also work at Inter County Hurling,  LGFA and Camogie.
But inter County men's football it's a big NO!
Took years to get the TC established as a kind of halfway house.

And can see why,  Limerick are the 3rd team in the 4 years of the Tailteann who have reached the final off the back of playing Div 4 league football. Of course if they receive heavy loss against Kildare (possible) then calls for a 3rd tier will be made by the usual pundits and journalists.

I find it bewildering that posters should advocate a 3rd tier rather than focusing on the inequalities of the present 2-tier system.

I pointed out in previous posts that In last 3 years only one of six counties, Westmeath in 2024, advanced to the Sam Maguire Cup based on NFL position. This year both Offaly and Klldare were denied a place in Sam Maguire by Clare (Munster Finalists) and Down (2024 Tailteann Champions).

Should Kildare overcome Limerick tomorrow I hope  they don't find themselves relegated from Division 2 next year thus denying one of next year's Division 3 finalists a place in 2026 Sam Maguire Cup. Kildare would still qualify for Sam Maguire Cup as Tailteann Cup Champions.

Should Limerick win tomorrow and not qualify for NFL Division 3 Final next year then they could still deny a Division 3 finalist a place in 2026 Sam Maguire by qualifying for 2026 Munster Final.

So Sligo and Fermanagh (for example) could top Division 3 next year and gain promotion to Division 2. Yet one or both could be denied a place in Sam Maguire depending on the fortunes of Kildare and Limerick.

Rather than a 3rd Tier what is needed is fair play for current 2nd Tier teams. This year both Kildare and Offaly should have had the opportunity to play in Sam Maguire Cuo and benefitted from exposure to football at that level. Next year Down and Westmeath will play in Division 3 and, given their Sam Maguire experience, will have a marked advantage on the other Division 3 teams.

There are those who will just say that these other teams need to get their act together and others who lazily propose a 3rd tier. What is needed is an equitable system that guarantees Division 3 finalists a place in Sam Maguire Cup. The Provincial Championship route into Sam Maguire is the barrier to fairness.

Anyway good luck to Kildare and Limerick tomorrow – hopefully it will be onwards and upwards for the winners.

Too many teams playing for a competition well beyond their standard.

Raise your standards and you'll belong..

You've two options maintain div 2 status or reach a county final..

Promotion from div3 doesn't guarantee but it's the other option.

No div 3 team regardless of their tradition or upsets will win Sam

The season at championship level has way too many games for no reason

Limerick have probaly the best forward in the Tailtean in James Naughton. Danny Neville is a solid player and the keeper Josh Ryan. Kildare were poor and wasteful against Fermanagh. It will be different conditions today with the heat, but kildare should be winning. They cant afford to lose a Division 3 League final and Tailtean Cup final and expect to compete next year.

Quote from: rodney trotter on July 12, 2025, 12:53:24 PMLimerick have probaly the best forward in the Tailtean in James Naughton. Danny Neville is a solid player and the keeper Josh Ryan. Kildare were poor and wasteful against Fermanagh. It will be different conditions today with the heat, but kildare should be winning. They cant afford to lose a Division 3 League final and Tailtean Cup final and expect to compete next year.

I'd say Luke Loughlin of Westmeath was the best forward in the Tailtean Cup this year.

Kildare have Alex Beirne who scored more than James Naughton in this campaign. The weather conditions should suit athletic team like Kildare and Limerick are unlikely to set up defensively like Fermanagh. 

One thing losing a league final to inspired Mickey Harte Offaly team who will play in division two alongside them next year however another thing altogether to somehow mess up today in a final they should be winning by at least 5 or 6 points.

Two teams start as selected.



Kildare: Cian Burke; Harry O'Neill, Ryan Burke, Brian Byrne; Tommy Gill, David Hyland, James McGrath; Kevin Feely, Brendan Gibbons; Colm Dalton, Alex Beirne, Callum Bolton; Ryan Sinkey, Darragh Kirwan, Daniel Flynn.

Subs: Didier Cordonnier, Jack McKevitt, Mark Dempsey, Mick O'Grady, Kevin Flynn, Aaron Masterson, Rian Teahan, Darragh Swords, Brian McLoughlin, Niall Kelly, Eoin Cully.



Limerick: Josh Ryan; Jason Hassett, Darren O'Doherty, Mark McCarthy; Killian Ryan, Iain Corbett, Tony McCarthy; Tommie Childs, Darragh O'Hagan; Paul Maher, Cillian Fahy, Danny Neville; Emmet Rigter, James Naughton, Peter Nash.

Subs: Jeffrey Alfred, Cormac Woulfe, Tadgh O Siochru, Conall O Duinn, Barry Coleman, Sean Clancy, Diarmuid Buckley, Darragh Murray, Rory O'Brien, Andrew Meade, Rob Childs


Goal for Limerick after 6 minutes they lead 1-2 to 0-3.

Goal for Kildare, good finish by Alex Beirne.  1-7 to 1-3 they lead after 15 minutes.


Half time Kildare 1-13 Limerick 1-9.  Good recovery by Limerick after they found themselves 7 points behind mid way through that half..

I don't know what the Kildare supporters are jeering Limerick for - they're own team are braindead.

That dancing around the 40 Arc is a curse

Limerick have had ample opportunities to take scores and lose possession in the process

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on July 12, 2025, 03:02:12 PMThat dancing around the 40 Arc is a curse

Limerick have had ample opportunities to take scores and lose possession in the process

Yes, they're very bad for that. And the thing is there's loads of space inside when they go for it.

Shocking wide

Criminal

Quote from: Tubberman on July 12, 2025, 03:00:58 PMI don't know what the Kildare supporters are jeering Limerick for - they're own team are braindead.

Must a lot of Kildare supporters first time in Croke Park since 98. Haven't seen bandwagon crowd like that in long time.

Kildare the more athletic team. A lot of their footballers lack basic kicking skills. With their fitness will win by 10 plus.

Goal for Limerick. Limerick 2-15 Kildare 1-16.  49 minutes played.

Level game with 15 minutes to play.

Marty not realising the rules of the game again

60 minutes played. Kildare 1-21 Limerick 2-17.

FT Kildare 1-24 Limerick 2-19.  Limerick goal chance to level goes over the bar than under with the last play of the game. 

Limerick have kicked this away.

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on July 12, 2025, 03:52:17 PMMarty not realising the rules of the game again

Really epitomises the culture in the RTE GAA department.

Quote from: twohands!!! on July 12, 2025, 03:59:48 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on July 12, 2025, 03:52:17 PMMarty not realising the rules of the game again

Really epitomises the culture in the RTE GAA department.

As Roy Keane would say

It's his job! And he can't get that right

That summed Limerick up

Limerick just lacking the finesse. Good curtain opener , super finish.

Quote from: Dun Eile on July 12, 2025, 03:58:35 PMLimerick have kicked this away.

Need to take your chances in a final.

Overall a great game of football, serious effort by both sides given the conditions.

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on July 12, 2025, 04:01:30 PM

Quote from: twohands!!! on July 12, 2025, 03:59:48 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on July 12, 2025, 03:52:17 PMMarty not realising the rules of the game again

Really epitomises the culture in the RTE GAA department.

As Roy Keane would say

It's his job! And he can't get that right

Totally agree - in a private enterprise he#d be shown the door but no chance of that happening in RTE

Thats a really poor Kildare team. The win papers over the huge cracks.

Looking at the slow-mo replay of that shot ,  it was going over the bar anyway .

Would it have went to ET  or  a replay had it gone in?

Decent competitive contest credit to both sides in that heat.  Limerick more than held their own against hot favourites Kildare.

Quote from: AustinPowers on July 12, 2025, 04:10:38 PMLooking at the slow-mo replay of that shot ,  it was going over the bar anyway .

Would it have went to ET  or  a replay had it gone in?

Extra time

Quote from: twohands!!! on July 12, 2025, 03:59:48 PM

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on July 12, 2025, 03:52:17 PMMarty not realising the rules of the game again

Really epitomises the culture in the RTE GAA department.

Himself and Canning are symbol of this. Brian Carty was way above them before shafted.

Excellent game well done Kildare and hard luck to Limerick who fought right to the end. Kildare 4 up and get a scoreable free and take it short trying keep the ball again showing the disadvantage of the hooter in tight games.

Seeing how beatable Kildare were in the end, Wicklow have missed a great chance to get themselves up to the top tier.

No lap of honour for Kildare with the cup yesterday?
A bit demeaning I think

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GvsFBxDWYAAf2f_?format=jpg&name=medium)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GvsFCAsXMAAj1Mv?format=jpg&name=medium)

2025 Tailteann Cup team of the year
Josh Ryan (Limerick); Harry O'Neill (Kildare), Lee Cullen (Fermanagh), Malachy Stone (Wicklow); James McGrath (Kildare), Iain Corbett (Limerick), Sam McCartan (Westmeath); Dean Healy (Wicklow), Kevin Feely (Kildare); James Naughton (Limerick), Alex Beirne (Kildare), Danny Neville (Limerick); Luke Loughlin (Westmeath), Darragh Kirwan (Kildare), Sean Nolan (Wexford)

Load of rubbish!  :o

Eh?