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[and put evidence in front of the jury]

"She chose to use that time to try and put evidence in front of the jury that was not considered by all the experts, legal and scientific, to be relevant to the case"

From my knowledge of the case the mother asked questions (very relevant and legitimate questions which the DPP seemed to have skipped over), she did not put evedence in front of the jury as the jury deliberations had concluded and this was just a sentencing hearing.

I heard what Judge Carney said and he seemed tio refer to the mother in quite outlandish terms - she might just look at a defamation action herself! Why did he remove her name in the a ctual lecture when he had already left it in the pre-event press release which he sent to the papers.

In general I get the impression that the judiciary in Ireland are far removed from reality when it comes to sentencing. Couple this with a DPP thatseems too ready to plea bargain (the Gerry Mc Cabe case being an obvious example) and victims rarely see justice done.

This is 2008. £10 for any county final (nearly all of which have 2 games on) is CHEAP! Compare with any other sports event, even the local nightclub or cinema.
An extra £2 for the stand at Newry is ridiculously cheap for one of the best grandstand seats in the country.
Incidentally would someone talk to the Newry Reporter GAA correspondent who failed to even mention the official opening in this week's paper never mind have a pic of Nicky Brennan etc. No mention also of the special needs exhibition which was a treat and a credit to the mentors involved.

For those of you who are concerned about the state of your balls I recommend the essential online guide "How to handle your balls" . On your computer, just Goolie "flattenednuts" and it will send you to the website "www.loadaballs.com".

Sad to say as a Down fan but no justification for selecting Benny Coulter on form in the season just passed. Dan Gordon maybe. Time to realise just how low our stock has sunk.

I gave my final ticket to a Cork pal (if he is still a pal after that shambles).
Glad i didnt waste day travelling to Croker.
Worst All-Ireland I have ever seen.
Kerry a class apart but VERY physical.
Cork still stranded in Fermoy I think.
I know B Morgan would have prepared this team very well and he is very passionate but today's players show real lack of hunger and bottle.
Joke refereeing.
This was the pukest yet.
Gaelic football will die if we do not address basic problems such as third man tackles, no advantage rule, do ANY refreees know what theyt are doing, etc.

As a football rather than a hurling followe I still can only admire the competitiveness of the Munster Chamionship. Overall our provinical set up is grossly lopsided and outdated and nor more reflects the demographics of this country but the Munster hurling scene is as it is and should be respected for that. So I would give the Muster champions straight passage to the AI semis.
Kilkenny are the daddys but in aa weaker and inferior province, so I would give the Leinster champs straight passage to a quarter final section made up iof 3 groups:
A

Following James's collapse and removal from the field his brother and father were subjected to totally unacceptable vicious verbal abuse from a sizeable section of Longstone "supporters". These morons besmirch the GAA. How quickly we forget our All-Ireland winning heroes in Down!

Have heard them all so here are my marks out of 10:
Donnelly 7
Tierney 5
Burns 4 (a bit dull)
Lysrter 4 (ultra dull)
O'Muircheartaigh 8 (not everyone's cup of tea but his honest folksy style suits me)
Logie 0 (what is with this guy? just because your a tv reporter? ugh!)
Brolly 5 (could be better but for the ego)
Des Cahill MINUS 5 (the worst I have ever heard - what is this guy all about?)
Nicky English 9 (witty, genuine, loves the craic)
Keavney 9 (once you get around that Dowblin accent, a natural)
Carty Zero (just like his commentaries)
Jerome, Mitchell, etc. (ie anyone from BBC or UTV) 2 (competent but dreaily uninteresting) - except -
Sidebottom 5 (genuine guy)
Boylan, Griffin, Kernan, Cyril Farrell 6 (will do the job but dont expect fireworks)
As for money, it amazes me that clubs will praise ANYONE as long as he doesn't charge. How many customers get in to these gigs for free?
Finally, Island of Saints and Scholars, how come rugby produces hundreds of great speakers and I am struggling here to get a few with decent credentials from the GAA world?
I leave you with Down's Paddy Doherty - a true GAA legend, an ordinary working bloke, and really droll (and interesting) when interviewed (by anybody but Logie).

Giles, Cavanagh, Marsden, Oisin  or McHugh ahead of Blaney? - joke time.
Tohill ahead of McGilligan- yez are watching a different game lads.

The direction this discussion has taken explains precisely why Down GAA is a basket case - from persoanl attacks on Sean Og to questions about Eugene Grant's assistance to Bryansford (which presumably they asked for) shows we are more interested in personalities then practicalities. Grant played for Bryansford and now he turns up helping them secure the future of the club? Shock horror!
Get a grip ouyt there. The issues are HUGELY more important.

I think to be fair to Sean Og his involvement with the team would have been as an administartor only - correct me if I am wrong. His current job as I understand it is as paid administrator for the county and that means doing his masters bidding so it is unfair to demonise him - and in any event this is getting all a bit personal.

We all know that we have been badly served by county board as a whole these past few years but the Clubs have the power to change this and teher seems to me to be no effort on their part to do this. They should be getting their delegates together to come up with a plan for revitalising the way the county is run. Inevitably this might mean some senior officers losing their positions but anyone with the good of Down GAA at heart will accept that blood must be spilt.

That's not what Club Down were asked to do. They were given a remit and did it  - so it beats me why there is such negativity towards them in a county with failure written all over it in so many other areas.
The Bryansford money might not come good for a number of years if at all as there are so many ifs and buts. The county should now focus onon its priority needs and get the help of Club Down in financing it. To that extent I agree with you but dont blame Club Down for not doing something they werent asked to do.

["they never approached the clubs for one penny to do it"]

Sorry Leo....you have obviously misunderstood what I have said........so I stand by what I said....."they never approached the clubs for one penny to do it" = a load of shite.


My point was that Club Down never approached the clubs for one penny - that cannot be denied and is not a lod of shite. I happen to agree with the disgrace of the situatuion that the clubs have allowed to be foisted upon them of a debt that doesn't seem to have been reduced to any extent afetr all these years. It's up to the clubs to challenge this situation.The initail work that was done at Park Esler was clearly not properly budgeted for and the clubs are carrying the can for that. The Club Down notes in one of the recent match programmes I read acknowledged the contribution of the clubs  as well as the contribution of all others involved inth project.
The substantail annual levies you talk about - has anybody totted them up and looked at what impact they have made on the debt? Does anyone know what the debt is? Have the clubs had the full picture on this?
Club Down only came into exsitence long after the problem arose and at least seem to have budgeted properly for what has been done since.
Now that Newcastle is to be sold will the clubs THIS TIME make sure that similar control will be exercised over those funds?

they never approached the clubs for one penny to do it.

What a load of shite...every club in Down is still paying for the Marshes...dont get me wrong Club Down did a fantastic job but the clubs (well most of the them) continue to contribute handsomely to the costs......do your homework before you come out with statements like this...when I say most clubs ....some clubs have refused to contribute and it is a constant bugbear at Co Board meetings why these clubs arent being sanctioned.

Sorry 5Sams, what exactly did I say that is "a load of shite". Maybe you should read it again. If you know anything about Park Esler you will know that the costs to which SOME clubs are contributing relate to the debts run up by the county board long before CLlub Down was formed. Club Down was formed at the request of the countychairman of the day because the county could'nt afford to do anything more with the park and Club Down agreed to take on that task provided the county board took repsonsibility for their own debt.
I know from my own club that the county board have never issued a proper statement since then showiung exactly how much the clubs have paid and to what extent that debt has been reduced.That clubs are still saddled with old debt is a disgrace but the clubs dont seem to want to rock the county boad boat about this.
I read the Club Down statement of aims and it makes it clear that they volunteered to take on the job of finishing the park and again I know that they raised huge money for this without seeking any from the clubs. Credit wher it is due pal - they delivered on what they promised and more than that gave us a county ground to be proud of.
My point that this is not properly appreciated in the county is well demonstrated by your own misdirected abuse.
If we are ever going progress beyond reflecting on our "5 sams" we need a few better informed people to start with.

Ok we have had Club Down and we have a fine stadium. How about a similar fundraiser to help fund the county teams. Say 1000 people to give £100, £200, £500, £1000 or whatever way they want to contribute. I know they do something like this in Westmeath.
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Whern Club Down was started I heard more grumbles from club officers in the county than enough but they stuck tot heir task of finsihing Park Esler and they never approached the clubs for one penny to do it. I havent seen any clubs recognising this but no doubt they got their taickets and comfy seats for the recent games in Newry.
The county board would have been lost without them and what do they do? They set up another fund-raisng group ( for the team) and go off on solo runs with other attempts at raising money. I work for a Club Down sponsor and he was approached by four separate people this year looking for more money for the county for dufferent projects. When he related this to Club Down the committee member he was talking to didn'teven knoiw about the other schemes as they hadnt nbeen told. Pathetic - we have a group who have delivered on their word when all previous attempts failed and the county board and clubs dont even want them. This is Down GAA at its best.