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A true legend, truely shocked when I heard this last night.

With family connections from the Curry area I remember seeing him play when I was a young fella and he stood out, his big catches, that throaty roar and of course the moustache and long hair. Even as a kid you knew there was devillment in him
I was there too when he and Mick Laffey took over the co panel in 92, like Paddy(don't have an idea who Paddy above is) and you knew that Johnny wanted to be having the craic with the lads but saw it as his duty to his county to do the job.
Even though I was cut from the panel, my respect for the man only grew, he always kept in contact, never avoided me afterwards, and to be honest I think it was harder for him to do it, than on me.
We have had a few good tussles in the last few years with Johns and you would hear the throaty laugh a mile away and no matter the result he was always looking to have a chat about the game, or any GAA game afterwards.

A true GAA legend. Ar Dheis Dé go raibh a anam

No sign of O'Hara. McGowna not playing either but we were missing 2 big men in Tuffy at midfield and P.Naughton.  That game this Sat is the round 12 game but they still have not played their rd 5 game (Tub v Gee).

Bad alright yesterday. Put at least 7 into the keepers hand.  Too many lads doing leaving but we should have got a few scores, but onwards and upwards

Seanie  -ye are safe in my opinion anyway.  We are sick. Went a point up on Tourlestrane at homewith 4 mins to go on Sat evening and deserved the victory and they scored 2-1 in that time plus injury time.  Same happened at Tubber in the league earlier this year.  Them 4 points would have us safe now. Still it is in our own hands. Does anyone know how the 5th round game between Tubber and Geevagh is still not played, that seems very strange indeed.
Juniors after their great victory in the last round got a hiding from Tubber.
I am shocked to see Calry where they are. They lost out on scoring difference to us last year and I was sure they would be close this year but where has it gone wrong. Farnans badly hit by emigration so not too suprised on that one. Johns at last about to go up where they should have been for the last 10 years

Seanie, I agree totally with you.  The bedrock of the GAA is the club - - I know that the argument took place on one of these forums before about club v county.  I have always told lads to go in for trials, to make themselves available for the county but it is inccreasingly difficult to do that with the demands that once you are on the panel from minor up to senior, you are not available to the clubs.  I totally agree that they should not play with their clubs the week before championship, but other weekends for bonding and challenge matches is ridiculous.... and we are not so badly hit, so I can only imagine the bigger clubs.....  but then again it is not so long ago that a player was thrown off the county team(Sligo) for playing a league match for his club that was a vital relegation/promotion game

Seanie, you probably know who I am, but everytime I have brought up issues on scheduling it is like you are insulting someone when all you want to do is give a possible solution. 
Also when you don't have the numbers, amalgamate is the solution.  I and our club will never agree to this.  We tried it and all we did was lose the lads that would not get on an amalgamated team. I would rather put out a 9 a side team then have 5 lads on a successful amalgamted team. We have too few teams in the county as it is.
This 4 month gap for the minors is ridiculous - we will be playing them all on our second team, just to keep them involved.
Not allowing lads to play for their clubs for months - when did we become professional.  I would never stop a lad playing for his county, in fact I would push them to do it but it is getting harder and harder with these outlandish requests.

Sligonian - I never answered your questions a few weeks back as I was working out of the country.  The good news is that we have 2 lads from the Mayo side of the parish playing with us  on our Feile team as both have Sligo parents.  However I have learned that the Mayo champs Ballina have I believe(not certain yet) their captain from our domain!

We had a great game with Tubber and I think they will even agree we were unlucky. They equalised in the 60 th min and from the next 3 kickouts scored each time with the goal in the last kick of the game.  We had 5 lads 19 or younger on the team so that is one advantage of lads gone abroad, more fellas getting senior game time, especially if the others come back. It is a massive learning process.
That Johns result stood out for me also, that does happen in Easkey territory too often.

The ladies game - we got a call about that last week to see if we would host it.  We were shocked as you Sligonian, could see Mayo but Wexford, talk about putting in the miles. We were away on Sunday and the minors were off so I would say ours was one of the few pitches that had no game planned for the weekend. Sligo looked good but there was no opposition it has to be said.
Though the weather has not been bad, pitches around the county are really taking a hammering at the moment.  Could be a lot of rutting in them when the drying comes around.

What's up with the sligogaa website only showing the Div 1 table

Thanks Seanie - didn't want to come on blowing our own trumpet(but here I go). The final was what you would hope for in a final, a brillant match from both teams.  We are very lucky with that group coming through and we had as you know a few classics with yourselvesr 2-3 years back where it took a lot of extra time and replays to get a result(in yer favour).
They are a good bunch who all seem to love the game.  If they keep it up definitely 2 class forwards there for the future and at least 1 defender.
Sligonian will be happy to hear we had 2 players from the Mayo part of the parish who only want to play for us and Sligo, so things are beginning to look up on that front.
Numbers is a problem with our subs all aged 10, but one day out like that every few years is very rewarding.

Senior - the less said the better but the lads who have gone are a massive loss.  The lads replacing them are good but are too young and light at the moment but their time will come.

Division 2 this year is where all the interesting battles will be, you could not pick who would go up or down.

Well that convention is now a joke.  Everything ruled out of order.  How can there be change.  The SGaels delgate was only proposing some minute changes to the scheduling of the underage and the Minor board chairman goes ballistic and super defensive.  The proposed calendar for next years adult, means that approx 90 % of the league is over by mid May , so much for playing football in the Summer and as the Ballymote delegate pointed out the first 8-9 rounds are on alternate weekends to the NFL - will we have county players!
Then we find out that a ruling by the transfers sub committee that was voted on at a cb meeting earlier in the year was never sent for ratification to Central council - buried cos it won't be ratified but that is ok because Marys and Tubber got their boys !!  Dictatorship   --- -- -- --  And no club getting the reports or info on the meeting till the day before -  is it from Stalin they learned their style from

Not sure Sligonian - remember reading about it in the Sunday papers last year when they were involved in the Connacht club.

I assume it would mean looking after the schools (your lucky, we have 2 schools with 5 teachers in total), being part of the underage coaching and management in the club.

Paid for by the club I believe with FAS or RSS assistance I think.  Dromard in Longford do something not the same but similiar but they have a creche run by the club also. The GAA units always amaze me what they end up doing for their parish

Seanie and Baoithe , ye are so right.
The U12 is a revelation as far as I am concerned. We have replicated it all the way down to u8 where we play blitzes with clubs from North Mayo and West, South Sligo. As a club we have decided we do not care if we win as long as all players get a game and improve. Admittedly we have been spoiled the last 3 years with our team losing and winning an A final and losing the semi this year.

But Seanie I understand your point, it was noticable this year that some so called big clubs played us this year and had only 1 sub with them. We took it on the chin and let it fly believing that we were better served by playing 20 players in the game rather than winning with 12. I believe we will have the numbers in a few years and the player will be better.

This year we played one 15-a-side u8 game and it was a disaster, about 4 players got a touch of the ball. The 11 or 9 a side is the only way and in Mayo each player is only allowed one hop and solo, right away brining more players into the game.

And winter leagues, don't agree with these at all. They give fellas a negative view. Winter is for schools football (though Batt O is doing his best to get rid of that also). Very easy for lads to fall off the radar during this time when they miss a few training sessions, next thing they are out of the loop.  To be avoided.

I do think that the county would be better server by DS and PT putting their efforts for the next few years into the development squads. Very worried about the closeness of the selectors to the current players.

Is it getting to  a stage where each club should have their own paid club coach. I read that Brigids in Roscommon do this. A job I would jump at I have to say.

Was at the Tubber game and also the Geevagh- Marys game. Sligonian, I thought Quinn was the pick of midfield by a long stroke.  Won vital kickouts and never wasted a ball, where as Gilmartin tried to bully him early on though he got a good point at the start of the 2nd half but where was he in the last 15mins. It was my first time seeing Gilmartin at senior level and he looked one paced to me.  Once McGee stopped getting the ball Tubber looked in trouble and I think they are vulnerable in the backs.  McPartland is only coming back after injury and did not play against us the last day, the game will do him good.  I agree with you that Tubber seem to have better footballers but their defence was too easily pushed off the ball. Both McPartland and Kelly missed 2 very easy fisted efforts in the game. Draw was a fair result and look forward to the replay.
The scoreline does not do justice to Geevagh in their game. Was anyones game with 10 mins to go and from a kickout soehow freakishly there was 3 Marys forwards inside the whole defence when the ball went in from the break and that was that.  Very disappointed with Beirne and Sweeney. Neither tracked back and did the hard work when needed. Didn't play like their life depended on it. The Geevagh no. 5 and 3(when moved to centre back) sweated blood for their team. Jonny Davey is as honest as they come and worked hard all day but lfouls a good bit.  Coen got good scroes from play but Mark was absent till the goal was scored and another man who would not cover back.  McDonagh was a handful for Johnny Martyn who was lucky not to score an own goal though the game was over at that stage.

Well we topped the group with a very lack lustre and disappointing performance. Where as Magpie Seanie was bemoaning their injuries earlier in the year we are now like that. Since the Johns game the spine on that game have not all played together. Langan, Naughton and the Tuffys played bits of games since and it certainly showed. 
How Eamon Cawley did not make the Sligo team this year baffles me.  His freetaking is sublime and his ability to find a pass also. I'm afraid both teams will struggle in the quarters but one thing is they will fight to the end and neither will be afraid of the bigger names.
Sligonian , I am delighted that ye are going well. Half my football life ended with finals or semis against Grange but for the greater good of Sligo football I think it is wrong that there is only two teams north of Sligo town. I have played against Northern Gaels (Cliffoney) Maugherow and Grange in my career and I think for the betterment of the county they should all still be that way( as I do for a few other clubs, Harps anyone!).  The more clubs, the more footballers around and I don't buy into the story that an exclusive club junior/intermediate player can't make the step up, if you're good enough you will make it.. It happens in Mayo all the time

Relegations playoffs will be tough and I would not be brave enough to pick the 1 from 4 to survive

3 weeks to wait for the quarters but at least we don't have that reserve championship tripe this year for a change.

Beat Marys in the league on Saturday evening. Our lads were back on track after a few dodgy weeks.  Sligonian was saying that Brehony had added a physical edge to his game, he has but still an awful cry baby. At least Johnny Davey never stopped going or didn't hide when the chips were down (and after a bad collision with his own man) unlike Mark.  Promotion is in our own hands. Does anyone know how it is decided if ourselves and Calry are on the same points.
Farnans travel to us on Saturday.  Big loss for them on Saturday. Drumcliffe seemed to have taken the finger out in the last few weeks.
The Bunnies seem to be gone from the top as well. Harps are really sickening them this year.

Well us boys in the West were abysmal on Sunday. We were level at half time and I don't know how. Nobody seems to want to get promoted with us Calry and Marys losing. We have Marys next weekend. Hard to see us doing anything after Sunday.
The last relegation spot in Div 1 and 2 is fierce competitve.  As a regular in that position, it was obvious in our game that Drumcliffe paid more heed to the game then we did. If the Gaels showed the same fight the previous week we were there for the taking. Farnans having been there before have the advantage at this stage I believe
The Bunnies pulled back Curry into the fight in 1.  Both have to play Harps so that will be interesting

Looking forward to TM, anyone?? doubt there will bemuch love for it.

Stevo - It looks like there is a good chance of 4 teams from both div 1 and 2 in the quarters.  Barring Farnans all those teams are in the top half of their division.  They get a winning mentality. And in fairness to Farnans they had turned it around a good bit in the 2-3 games prior to championship.
I know from our experience we were always under severe pressure to try and stay up and with a small panel we seemed to peak aqt the wrong time as all games were championship.  In the last few years some team from div 2 always makes a good run of it, Bunnies and Coolera.
Sligoper - I know I will see him through biased vision and from what I heard he was going badly in training but since he pulled out he has been unbelieveable for us, 7 points at the weekend , 4 from play and responsible for getting 3 of our scored frees is a great return.