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The draw is very lopsided this year. The real Ulster Final is the match between Slaughtneill and Kilcar. The extra weeks rest will help Slaughtneill after a gruelling period for duel players. They are a bit more streetwise and mechanical than Kilcar who probably have more individual talent and flair. Slaughtneill are dogs of war though with an excellent defensive system and they suit winter football. I don't expect a classic match by any means but I would still expect Slaughtneill to edge a tight match. The other match should be a bit more open and it could go either way but I'd marginally favour Cavan Gaels who have a lot of experienced players.

This has all the makings of a tight tactical game with both sides very tight defensively.

A lot of the focus on Kilcar is on the scoring exploits of Paddy McBrearty & the McHughs be they are also very tight at the back conceding an average of only 0-5 in the last four games. They are also very adept at closing games out just like Slaughtneil.

Whoever gets a bit of a lead in this game will most likely win it & I don't expect a high scoring affair.

1-08 to 0-08 should never be the expectation in a game that isn't Ulsterball.

My God Syferus you are a funny man!!  Ulsterball!!  Fantastic!!

[The reaction of his friends / teammates was pathetic, and childish]

I think it says more about the people of creegan and the gaa club to be honest (and i would knew players his age from school) which i drive through each day, lad 4 houses up the road from me joined the police, played underage fball with us, nobody local had a problem with it, but he is never about anymore encase outsiders track him from the house which is sad. The reaction of his friends / teammates was pathetic, and childish, and the intimidation from the activists (ie: Sinn fein) says alot about them. Sure is life not rosy now as sinn fein are on the police board, joining the police now is ok cause they say so but no back then.

This is bull.
The reaction of his teammates is entirely understandable. What is not understandable is the suggestion that anyone would support an attack or want to see the lad hurt.
The cold response to joining the PSNI was expected and justified. This does not make those people bad people or people capable of hurting anyone. It's ok to be annoyed.

Why on earth was a cold respone from his teammates "justified".

Nationalists spent decades trying to get rid of the RUC & have it replaced. The PSNI was the result of those efforts. Was it perfect? No. Is it perfect today? No.

But guess what? No police force is perfect & one way of ensuring same old same old was for nationalists to turn their backs on the new force. Brave men like Peadar paid the price for insular thinking & cowardice & I for one applaud him for it & I applaud Joe Brolly for highighting it.

This episode put to bed the lie that it is the big bad unionists who are responsible for everything that is wrong in the North.

Bigotry & hatefulness & sheer evil are alive & well on both sides despite talk about the "Peace Process".

Nothing much has changed & won't for generations as I see no real signs of engagement between both sides. Yes, the killing has, mostly, stopped but what you have now is two tribes occupying the same piece of ground but that is as far as it goes. They do their thing & we do ours.

Sad.

Excellent article by Brolly who, despite being a royal pain in the arse at times, really can hit the nail on the head when it comes to the things that really matter in this country.

Hopefully Slaughtneil game v kilcar is in Omagh
Other semi should be in Clones

It would want to stay dry if any game is going to be played in Omagh. I would favour Enniskillen for the Sat evening game.

Slaughtneil will eat them

Mystic Meg is in the house!!

Seriously though, Slaughtneil are a great team & will rightly be favourites against Kilcar, but as for eating them, I wouldn't put the house on it.

In their last four games Kilcar conceded 0-7 in the county S/F, 0-4 in the county final, 0-1 in their last league game which gave them a league & championship double & 1-6 today.

They are no mugs either in defence or attack & have 6 players in the Donegal senior panel. Like Slaughtneil they are a small club, the smallest population wise in Donegal, with only 900 people in the parish & like Slaughtneil they eat sleep & drink football & bring a big vocal support with them wherever they go.

The semi final between them promises to be a great occasion & which ever way it goes there won't be a lot in it. I see Boylesports have Slaughtneill @ 5/4 to win Ulster with Kilcar @ 11/8.

So, that's semis of...

Kilcar v Slaughtneil
Cavan Gaels v Derrygonnelly

slaughtneils to lose then. cant see any of the remaining teams beating them.

If you saw what I saw today in Clones you wouldn't say that.

Kilcar absolutely dismantled Scotstown, in their own backyard, who managed only 0-3 in the last 45 minutes. Slaughtneil will be favourites & rightly so but Kilcar are not to be lightly dismissed.

It's an ill wind...........

https://www.balls.ie/gaa/cavanman-takes-hurling-watching-ballyragget-celebrations-376400

When did WWN lose its humour?

It's a satirical news site not a comedy site although both frequently overlap.

I see Ballyragget are down to play Ardclough from Kildare in the Leinster Championship on Nov 4.

That should be interesting.

why? if Fifi a Kildare native

Fifi may well be a Kildare native but I was thinking more of the entertainmnent that will be on offer from the slagging Ballyragget will get from the crowd which I expect will be boosted by the controversy.

Like it or not these fellas are celebrities now especially the star of the show. Book offers, Late Late Show, its all in front of them.....

I see Ballyragget are down to play Ardclough from Kildare in the Leinster Championship on Nov 4.

That should be interesting.

I've heard of people being "stiff with pride" but I'm not convinced that what the Ballyragget Intermediate hurlers were up to is what they had in mind.

Canice Picklington would not be impressed.

Or Brian Cody

[No sympathy for anyone involved.]

No sympathy for anyone involved.

What the hell ever happened to the ages old GAA tradition taking the cup round pubs, getting it filled & enjoying the craic with the people from your club & community?

Bit odd that you have no sympathy for a young fella involved in something fairly harmless but you seem to have some level of sympathy for Tom Humphries 

I have no time for what Tom Humphries did, he misused the power he had over a vulnerable youg girl in a truly terrible way but I have to say that I find the sanctimony on display here hard to stomach.

I seem to remember some beardy fella saying something along the lines of "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"

Tom Humphries life is over, he is going to prison, he is estranged from his family & will never work again. Maybe we should look at this sad episode & wonder at all the other episodes of power being wielded over defenceless people in the world today & maybe even have a wee look at our own attitudes & actions before we stomp all over Tom Humphries.

If you read my post you will see that the first thing I say is "I have no time for what Tom Humphries did, he misused the power he had over a vulnerable youg girl in a truly terrible way"

If that isn't clear enough for you then I can't help you.

You're pretty clear in the first line but the remainder of the post seems fairly sympathetic to me.

What these lads were at might be disgusting and stupid but ultimately no big deal in the grand scheme of things. Plenty of others have done the same without being exposed in this way.

Lots of people get away with lots of things in their lives, myself included. Doesn't mean we deserve any sympathy when we get caught out.

Consequences I think they're called.