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I don't really pay much attention to the GPA side of things but I  read Christy O'Connor's
book on hurling goalkeepers. Donal Og was probably the least sympathetic character in it. I thought he came across as being very driven and fairly one dimensional. Great man for a save and the odd puckout but I wouldn't want to go fishing with him.    He's no J Pilnton.

Have to say, very disappointing from the Galway perspective. Joe Canning is obviously something special, the Roger Federer of Galway hurling but what really galls me is the fact that it is 20 years since the last All-Ireland.

In the bigger scheme of things of course it could be much worse. At least the footballers have been there recently and there's a regular enough stream of underage all-Irelands and nothing can presumably compare to the mental torment of being a Mayo football fan but the waste of the last 20 years worth of Galway senior county hurling efforts is still something of note.

I like that Paddy Casey song that goes "anyone can make a mess, take so much and make it less". These days I often think of the banks but after losing a great match to Cork I'm thinking of the people behind how Galway hurling is organised.

In 20 years you can achieve a lot. Kilkenny must have at least 7 all-Irelands.  Winning isn't always about having the best team. It's making the best use of what you have, being organised, thinking long term . On all counts the Galway county board are hopeless.  20 years says it all.  I mean, even Tipperary got their shit together eventually !     

FL/Mayo - I am in Bombay at the moment.

The Mayo story is heartbreaking. I saw a thing there recently where the last Kerry manager Jack O'Connor?  is supposed to have gone into the Mayo dressingroom after the 06 final to say Kerry were more deserving as they had suffered so much after losing to Tyrone the previous year. The arrogance ! Nobody suffers more than Mayo fans.


At least with the Galway hurlers you know the county board couldn't give a shite as long as the county championship is run on time before mid December.   


May the best team win. I reckon being in Ballina or Castlebar on the Monday after the all-Ireland, whenever it does come will be an unstoppable expression of emotion up there with the best of them.   

Clann na nGael of Ros and all-Ireland club fame are the standard by which all chokers must be measured.

I think Cloyne hurlers have been waiting ages for a county title and very close on more than one occasion.

Tom Humphries was on the ball with this : 

"If there was a gasp of barely suppressed disappointment in Leinster when Wexford reached another hurling decider wherein they would be swatted by Kilkenny, there is a limited appetite for investing emotionally again in Mayo among a footballing public who have had their hearts broken too many times."


So true. It's like watching a recovering alcoholic hit the bottle again. What a staggering work of hearbreaking heartbrokenness has been the story of Mayo football over the last 12 years.  4 all-Irelands lost - even Lehman Brothers investment banking had a few good years before it all went tits up.

I think another Mayo run this year is not on. Let's see who wins tomorow but I think galway are a better long term bet. What Mayo need as they say in India is a long period of deep introspection.  There is no reason why any county should lose 4 all-Irelands on the trot.  It is not possible for alll counties to achieve this so what exactly is wrong in Mayo ? 

 

such lovely words: 'defeated Kilkenny in an all Ireland final'.

For the real offaly deal it has to be the 94 final and the last 10 minutes. 98 was interesting but it wasn't a patch on that final overall.

Poor old Jimmy Cooney and his watch. There must be loads of 13 year olds who can't imagine what a decent offaly hurling team looks like. What an indictment of charlie mCreevy's infamous inflationary budgets from the turn of the millennium that is.     

2-24 KK to 0-12 for Offaly

That sort of score reminds me of Galway hurlers around 1983.
  RTE : "Kilkenny breezed through to the Leinster SHC final as they claimed their 20th win in 21 provincial outings since 1998"

KK seem to be about 2 years behind the business cycle.
Who is going to take up the reins in Leinster when they go the way of the Shanghai stock exchange ?

Long time no hear seaf... how's it goin? 

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Grand. I got work access cut off the last time Tyrone won the all Ireland .
How are Monivea Abbey shaping up this year ?
I was home for the club final and am looking forward to watching Joe Canning. 

It is good to see Tipp beating Cork  but at the end of the day they have to be good enough
to put it up to the Cats. Anything but another Cork or KK all-Ireland this year le cunamh De. 
Jesus, 1998 is 10 years ago. And it only felt like yesterday.
I wouldn't even begrudge an all-Ireland to Tipperary !   

That must be the end of the road for this Cork team.

Fair play to Tipp. I saw a picture of Eoin Kelly on the RTE website
and it reminded me of something Babs said last year about the Tipperary jersey and how important it is, not for any year in particular but as an institution. 

The housing market may be banjaxed but there will always be Tipp Cork matches.  It is hard to believe it was so long since the previous Tipp win in Cork. 

Cork bet and plenty of time yet to save the hay.

It is a pity Babs is out of management -  I love his soundbites.