Messages

Hey guys, just wondering if anyone could recommend a pub in the Lake District / Cumbria in the U.K. that will show Sunday's Mayo v Donegal match?

Agree this has been one of the best over the last 10 years or so ... personally I think 2005 was probably the best championship season I can remember (watching from say '92 onwards - pity Donegal haven't done as well since <sigh>)

2005 from the quarter-final onwards was a serious serious standard, and then the whole Tyrone story of 10 games, recovering after the loss of Cormac, etc. ... every All-Ireland win is really special, but I can't think of a more special team effort than Tyrone in '05, and the quality of the likes of Armagh, Kerry, and then Cork, Dublin, etc. that year was really good too

Thanks 5 Sams! ... I'm a "neutral" living very near Croke Park ... usually just get the tickets off ticketmaster, as Donegal are rarely involved in matches there 

What kind of crowd do you guys expect? Should I take the best tickets on offer on Ticketmaster (sec 701 at the minute), or wait to see if there's better ones on returns?

It'll hardly sell-out will it?

Talking of commentators ... anyone think that Martin Kiely on RTÉ radio is a bit of a legend? He certainly passes the passion test - really enjoy listening to him commentate on matches on the Saturday evening or Sunday morning

Anyone got any tips on getting from Dublin to Crossmaglen? Do any buses go there? Thanks

I think that Kerry's out and out results are clearly better than Tyrone's, and at their potential peak was possibly higher than Tyrone's too.

However you have to consider that at the start of the decade Tyrone never have won an All-Ireland, and in every county other than Kerry an All-Ireland is (rightly) celebrated wildly and cherished and the players are legends in their county for ever more.

Considering where Tyrone came from, the awful tragedies they've endured (RIP Cormac, John Device dad, Peter Canavan dad, etc.), the sensational big-game temperament they brought, the innovative taticts, breaking the weight of 100+ years of non-All-Ireland success, etc. ... I can't help but think that the Tyrone team of the last decade will be remembered more strongly than Kerry ... and over time I think they'll be considered as the team of the decade

What was the name of the flute music they played before the matches for the 2002 championship in Croke Park? (before they started using the Special Olympics tune)

p2/3 near top bud
I said at the start that I was in favour of the old style presentation but would have respect for a decision that Peter McKenna would make.

Yourself and Peter McKenna should respect the wishes of the GAA membership, not the other way around. If a GAA tradition is to be changed, someone should bring a motion to congress (that should be debated by all clubs, no sneaky deals thank you very much).

So you carry on something that is traditional yet maybe harmful to you or your friends, or maybe casuing thousands of euro in damage to the pitch two weeks before the AI Football final when it can be avoided.

<snigger> ... U2 ... pot ... kettle ... black ... too easy

Only in the GAA do you have people phoning radio programmes demanding to be able to rampage where they like, when they like

As a GAA member, Croke Park part belongs to me (and could only be built because of the efforts of the millions of volunteers down through the decades in our clubs), and surely someone should be allowed on their own land...




For the football final, we should abolise the orange fencing (who gave the Croke Park directors the mandate to do this anyways??), and simply open the gates to allow the fans safely run/walk/stroll onto the pitch. Simple.

"Plan B" should in fact be plan A. It's a GAA tradition to allow fans (the majority of whom are hard-working GAA members) on the pitch, and with the stewards trying to put up the orange fencing and also physically stop people (GAA members) getting out on the pitch, it creates a very unsafe situation. Instead if they allow the fans (GAA members) onto the pitch after the match without any of this aggro, the whole situation would be much safer.

If the Croke Park management (who don't seem to care whether it's soccer/rugby/singing/GAA being played on our stadium) want to stop players on the pitch, they first should get a mandate from the GAA membership as a whole. That would mean a motion at congress, which should be debated at all GAA clubs. Unto they do that (and it'd never ever pass if they tried) they should accept it's part of our great tradition to allow our members onto the pitch after these joyous occasions.

Anyone bought "football feast" tickets yet? I'm just wondering how high up section 308 in the Cusack the tickets are? Think I may buy the individual tickets for the games if the "feast" tickets are in low down row numbers (for fear of getting a good soaking!!)

We should go with Letterkenny ... Ballyshannon is almost 100 miles away for "home" supporters up in Inishowen ... Letterkenny is nice and central ... I can't understand why we have been using Ballyshannon so much over the years ... rant over!

RTÉ is very D4 focused, sometimes I get the feeling that they're a bit annoyed over the fact that they _have_ to show "bogball"  ... so as a paranoid nordie, I wonder did RTÉ conspire to show the GAA in a bad light, so more people will see the "light" of "the beautiful game" and rugger? 

It's good to to see a whole show dedicated to the GAA, but it could've been better.

The GAA is more than inter-county football, and there was a big emphasis on Dublin and Kerry in particular. I would've liked to have seen features on things like underage coaching, challenges in urban areas, growth of ladies games, handball, the role of the GAA in the community, scor, the Irish language and Gaeltacht championships, a brief history of the GAA from that Thurles initiation through to the civil war then to the 60's or 70's, etc.

Shefflin obviously does pretty well off the pitch too, the bugger!