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sometimes teams benefit from ref's decisions, sometimes they don't! Kerry got the rub of the green from decisions in 2014 v Mayo in Limerick and yesterday  they didn't! What comes around goes around I guess! Well done both teams for a terrific match and Mayo have it all to all but I believe they will!

One decent display this year and we're in the final. That display should keep expectations in check.

If you're coming home for it, we must meet up ?? Maybe a certain Donegal man could take a trip south as well??

Well done Mayo, the good news is we won't have to listen to Tom Carr in the final.......the bad news is, we might have to listen to Martin Carney now . Go on and win the bloody thing now .

Tom Carr is nauseating to listen to, I hope Mayo hammer them here. Mayo have just taken the foot off the gas in the second half here. I expect them to refocus though.

Brilliant win for our lads. They're a long way from competing at the top table but that's a serious confidence boost . Mayo were poor but they had to be for Galway to win. All is not lost for Mayo but I feel sorry for those players, they could get a hammering now.

Very poor fare and Mayo would want to improve on this display if they're to challenge for all Ireland honours . They'll probably step it up in the second half but shocking shooting from them .

Cavan deserved favorites for this match, and home advantage as well. Strangely Galway have picked up 5 points away while only getting 2 at home so the trip won't faze them. They have to win and it's  a tall order but achievable . You'd have to worry that they couldn't beat Fermanagh at home, with the wind and an extra player but we will see what they're made of now. Too bloody long spent in div 2.

That result  against Tipp really hurt our lads as they now face a nail biting relegation match against cork. I believe Galway are a better team these days than cork and would expect them to win but Cork are due a win and any things possible in a one off match especially if it's played on sat week night, if Cork win the toss for venue. From what I've seen of Galway so far, there's a bit of spirit there . I mean there's 7 out through injury and/ or absence, they are Callinan, Coen, Mannion, Daithi Burke, Glynn, Donnellan and Conor  Cooney. You put those lads back in the mix along with the catching up in training they need, they'll be all right . I just hope they're switched on in the Cork match. Div 1b is not a place to be, just ask Limerick!

If Van gaal is gone as a result, then how bad? Mother of god they had nothing to offer tonight . Only for de gea? You could see them being better but can anyone name anything remotely close to a team for the return match?

Is it wrong to hope that fellaini gets sent off. In the circumstances 2-0 is not too bad. Pool shucks have won 3 or 4 nil. All to do now!

I'm a native speaker and speak in it exclusively to my three boys . Herself hasn't a clue about Irish but thankfully is positively minded towards the language . They don't speak back to me in Irish but that'll happen down the road, I suppose. There's a few lads in the faaib that I speak to as gaeilge  and my siblings and mother but that's about it. Of all the parents of the children in the Gaelscoil where my boys attend I would say that there are only 4 or 5 parents they would speak it fluently, out of 80 or 80 sets of parents . It's great to see the Unionists of east Belfast learning the language as well btw. It helps destigmatise the language in my opinion. Oiche mhaith folks !

Decent win for Galway but remember it's cork they were playing. A very open match as well which won't be the case again you would feel. A few new lads blooded for Galway and Niall Burke was very impressive . As for Cork I would contend that along with Kilkennys dominance, it's the strikes that did big damage to them . I know an awful lot of lads  ( good GAA lads ) that are not involved with GAA anymore with GAA matters. Hard to know what impact they'll have this year.

Only noticed this thread now. I lived in Florida from 1994 to 2006. I met herself ( from Cork ) there, got married and had three Yankee boys before we moved back to Ireland ( Cork). I always had a curiosity in moving home which was increased to a strong desire when the boys were born. It was hard going there when they were young, admittedly they were all close in age when we moved back....6 months, 2 & 3. It was bloody expensive in terms of childcare with the boys and education would have been a huge issue then had we stayed there. The choice would have been fairly poor and if we went private would have been seriously expensive. I worked in an Irish pub( by night) and in an engineering company by day when I lived there . With the engineering firm, I had no holidays for the first year and was then going to receive a weeks ( yes 1 week!) holidays in the second year. Had I stayed with them I would have had to wait for 5 years to receive 2 weeks holidays a year and that would be it then. I hated that aspect of American life to be honest. Also we did miss the family network with the boys when raising them there. The heat was savage also but we had a lovely pool, hot tub and the beach was only 15 mins drive away. A hurricane hit us in October 2005 and a month later, herself was offered a transfer back to Ireland with the company so we were really  lucky. They paid for everything and we also were able to sell the house in Florida at the last possible minute in May 2006. We went back there for a holiday last March (for the first time since) and I did wonder how I would feel in terms of regrets etc. I can't say I felt anything much, sure my friends have a lovely lifestyle but I have no hole in my life like I had when I lived there. Materially we could have been better off but I don't regret moving back, we have a holiday home in Kerry and the boys are deeply involved in sport as am I. My wife has  a good job as well myself so again we're lucky. We are all healthy so that's something to be thankful for and I can't complain about life. I did wonder last year what I would have ended up doing had I stayed but hey I'll have enough time in later years to wonder about  that further. At least the boys and myself have our American passports so there's a lot to be said for that. I do hate a lot of aspects of Irish life, politicians, taxes, begrudgery etc but there are so many positive aspects too. All in all I'm happy here.......hey Fl/Mayo when are you coming back for good??😉😉

I understand it to be a holiday for the two teams with an exhibition match thrown in. Changing the rules made sense given the size of the pitch and the impracticality of point scoring, cuts, 65s etc. I quite liked the short corners and the shot clock. There was also a short video shown of the American army regimental hurling team based in Concorde, Mass shown before the match on the NESN channel which televised it. If it gets people curious abs directs them to examples and/or teams that play it in the States then all the better.
The only problem with the scrap was skehill sprinting that distance to get involved but he has previous form for not engaging brain before. I don't know if players got paid or not and I'd quite understand why the Galway lads got carried away with their celebrations. They've won fûck all and the stress has been huge on them recently. Can you imagine the abuse they're liable to get locally over the Cunningham heave?
Some of the criticism that the fight has received here has been way over the top, imho. Eddie Brennan for example and Dick Clerkin. I'm sure I could easily find examples of them being involved in unsavoury incidents if I wanted to.

"Ach freisin caithfimid cuimhneamh ar dhaoine i Sasana, i Meiriceá, ar fuaid na tíre. Agus tá said, b'fhéidir, ag caoineadh anois i láthair."

"Ag caoineadh ag gáire" ....that's what people are doing now!