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As a neutral , (though I've no love for Armagh as our closest neighbours and rivals and wanted to see Galway win), I really admire what Armagh brought to the championship this year. Riain O'Neill and Soupy Campbell are both All star material. Galway as always showed flashes of flair . Maybe I'm wrong but I thought that Walsh disappointed overall , he didn't take the game to Armagh but was feigning injury and attempting to get cards all day. Comer was acting the hard man all day , and Tbf was more likely to be the instigator of the row than Morgan who was already on a yellow. Sean Kelly won't be too happy with Comer and Walsh , Particularly if he misses out on the Derry game. Walsh was writhing about all day but made several miraculous recoveries. Remarkable to see him still standing at the end to take his penalty with such aplomb 😜.  The officials in the Derry game will presumably be wise to Comer and Walsh particularly. Though it's remarkable how RTE commentators , presenters and pundits weren't wise to them, given their scrutiny of Tyrone tactics over the years .
Rte's coverage and bias, is light years behind Sky's objective professionalism .

Morgan got nothing at the time for hitting Walsh on the blindside.

Didn't see that. Walsh could have had a black when he took Morgan out off the ball after Morgan was on a yellow.

The GAA seriously need to look At Melees. They are often "handbags" but seriously bad PR. The current sanctions aren't working and actually penalise normal human behaviour. If u see a friend in a headlock , you're going to want to protect him. It 10 of your opponents rush into melee you're not going to wait on the sidelines to see what happens.
Kelly and Nugent appeared to be peacemakers yet they're red carded. Previous sanctions have been rescinded as presumably legally unsound.
A few things to consider :
1.Subs outside the wire . Only minimal specific personnel inside the wire.
2.Those who pull people out are not treated the same as those who aggressively interject.
3.Heavy financial sanctions to teams

Finish on the day must stay. Replays mess up the calendar, are a further strain in amateur players, and financial strain on the punters . Perhaps 10 seconds to score from the edge of the D , might be a better option than penalties.

Mcgeeney is right about trial by media/social media. RTE's view has dictated rule changes in the past , and they have their own agenda. Eg They want replays as it's clearly good for RTE viewing figures and it's another payday for the pundits . Seán cavanagh's crocodile tears about his neighbours and Tyrone's biggest rivals losing out on penalties was laughable . The irony of the likes of Whelan and Cavanagh wringing their hands in disgust at foul play is even more hilarious .


Great game. Deal with melees going forward but keep the "win on the day".
Great championship so far and it will be finished in July so that 95% of players can enjoy club action for the rest of the year . Well done GAA

GAA HQ should hang  their heads In shame  by allowing that penalty nonsense to decide a game.

We all should have had a  replay to forward to  next weekend.

I'm currently on a crusade to help people understand penalty shootouts.

When you can shift your mindset from one in which the "loser" doesn't deserve to exit, to the (right) mindset in which a team that doesn't win a game has no right to proceed, it's a lot easier to take a penalty shoot out loss.

If you want to proceed, win a game. But if you don't win, don't expect a second chance.

Fair summary. Rules are clear from the start .

I went with my dad, a Mayo man in 1989. There was a sense that Cork were a notch above Mayo at that time. So we went in more hope than confidence. It reminded me of Tyrone in 1986 , in that even  when Mayo were in ascendancy, you felt that they would need a slice of luck to get over the line.
Remarkable to compare Mayo's supporters' psyché going into that final with Down supporters 2 years later. We fully expected to win the All-Ireland despite coming from nowhere , to tackle a legendary Meath team on top of their game. Down again came out of nowhere in 2010 and should have got over the line. In Downs 6 all ireland appearances they had quality scoring forwards . Galway and Tyrone are of a similar ilk. Sadly , I think Mayo have lacked two things that are required to win All-Ireland's : belief and established flare forwards , and the two are intertwined . Conroy and O'Dinoghue were making the right waves but got injured. They'll be back and may be enough to get Mayo over the line eventually , but ultimately Mayo football  needs to promote flare scoring  forwards in club and county football . Aodhán O'shea's 2 yard handpasses aren't going to win Mayo N All-Ireland, but an on-fire Ryan o'Donoghue may well  do so in the next couple of years.

Imagine a young fella growing up in a mixed marriage in Northern Ireland in the 90s, being confused about his identity... Shocker

Since you brought it up, and not that it should be relevant , but My understanding is that McIlroy was not from a "mixed marriage". Notably His uncle was an Armagh star of the 80s.  To understand McIlroy you have to put it into demographic context. There are several thousand "Catholics " in North Down, but only 1 GAA club, which was vandalised several times. There is no catholic grammar in Bangor/Holywood, so many Catholics attended the local state grammar schools. An elite sportsman such as McIlroy would presumably have been a popular student in Sullivan his local grammar, and like most Catholics in middle class North Down , suffered little discrimination and assimilated into the British/NI culture. Most of his childhood friends would come from that "NI" background, that's what he knows and he's obviously comfortable with . Who knows , but if was born ~20 miles down the road, like fellow North Down elite athlete, portaferry's  Ciara mageean , he may have wielded a hurl, and been more bought into Ireland as opposed to NI.
The point I'm making is that we are all a product of our environment and that should be respected . I'd love it if Rory was waving the tricolour on the podium , but that's not what he's comfortable with and I respect that. I'm just happy to savour a local lad , top of the world. He seems well grounded, and not afraid to speak his mind. He's committed to brilliant charity work, transforming lives, and he's loyal to his friends from childhood etc despite his jet set lifestyle . Can't wait to see him win another major and move from second back up to first in world rankings. Incredible talent.

Keegan is a good player but best ever? Come off it, he played well against a mediocre Kildare side. He's tenacious, a great athlete but he shouldn't even be in the conversation for best ever player.

While I'm OTT about this abilities, this is really quite insulting.

He's played well or better against pretty much every team for a decade.

Keegan is right up there. The ultimate criterium for a player is his effectiveness in producing for his team. He has played at the very top for over a decade and never found wanting. His best quality his bravery on getting in to the ball when his team needs him most , and making things happen, in a team with obvious limitations. He mAkes them punch above their weight consistently.I don't think it's an exaggeration to say he is one of the all time greats

Football has improved in many ways , but the current rules have fostered that possession based chess which is not attractive and bad for  PR.
No back passes in or into your own half , is an easily refereed improvement that should be tested.

Not scientific analysis as gaa have Lgfa and camogie. Have to say, our club has always been integrated, we probably have 50/50 male/female members and committee members. No
Hassle , everybody equally valued , no big deal. We have never had a quota. We just welcome and value all. There is absolutely no problem. We would be completely lost without our female officers and our male officers. It's the same as any area of discrimination if you're a bigot of any kind it's a problem. If you respect everyone equally , it's not .

Derry shows what buy-in from clubs can bring to the county. I do think we have every bit as talented as Derry but the commitment shown to Gallagher shows what can happen. For a club with Kilcoos history, it's a shame they have no intercounty All-Ireland Senior football medalists and I think maybe only James Morgan (1971) is their only Ulster intercounty medalist. I do think we have the footballers in this county to challenge for an Ulster title but we can't have anyone outside looking in, we need everyone at the party.

Interesting points. It's ok saying we are every bit as talented as Derry but in reality , when they were dipping down to division 4, they developed a serious underage production line , during an era when we only qualified for 1 underage final in 13 years.they also struggled at senior level when sleachtnéil were focussed on club. Now when the sleachtnéil men are able to  concentrate on county , look what's happening. Down can mirror this approach , I'd be confident Kilcoo will help lead Down out of the doldrums , but the focus must be serious work and resources put into underage , whilst trying to harness those senior players in this county with the attitude and humility to realise there's serious work to be done. In the midst of that environment, marquee players will emerge but the approach must be:
1. Underage development
2. Resource optimisation
3. Humility to realise how low we are
4. "Winning" Character development amongst existing and future players
5. Athletic optimisation

Slagging off players , management and county board isn't part of that plan. Derry turned it around through unity not bickering .

We can do the same

I believe in any future changes should be limited, and tested, and only considered if they make a referees life easier.
Therefore I would make two rule changes that will make the game easier to referee, based on the premise above from
Wobbler.
1. No back passes inside or into your own half. This promotes getting the ball as quickly as possible into the attacking half of the field , and keeps more forwards up front . It's easy to police on any pitch by one referee. It's even simpler than the current specific "no pass back to the keeper from a kick-out".
2. Black card is for a cynical foul taking a player to the ground (whether pull, push or trip ) . I would ditch the blocking the runner as a black card , as it is too much open to interpretation and is largely ignored by referees now.

I watched the game on bbc today . I found it intriguing and entertaining, tough but sporting, with no little skill eg point scoring , tackling, defensive brilliance, tactical nous. 32 scores. There was a full house in a brilliant venue and a great GAA county won their first senior title in 24 years. Genuine role models such as mckaigue and Rodgers who have been playing football and hurling ~12 months of the year for the past 10 years, with little Intercounty reward .
I didn't listen to Rte and it's only when I logged in here that I realised how brutal a game it was😂🤦🏻‍♂️.
We were treated to over two hours last night of soccer with only 1 score , and a team that totally dominated going home with nothing ( that rarely happens in GAA).
Rte GAA coverage is an absolute disgrace with unfunny soundbites , sensationalism, arrogant former stars regailing their past glories & lazy analysis , whilst ignoring the elephants in the room , financial Doping and the provincial cakewalks in Munster and Leinster giving Dublin and Kerry an advantage every year. Give me Marty Clarke and Peter Canavan's analysis before Seán cavanagh and Darragh O'Shea.

I was a neutral today and really enjoyed the game on the Bbc.

Dublin cakewalks in their half empty national stadium home venue will destroy our game sooner than a gladiatorial derby in a neutral arena bursting at the seams.

One of the aristocrats of Down club football cannot field a seconds team for the last two weeks. How can Bryansford be struggling for numbers?

Aristocrats?Where do you get all these terms and ideas from?Regional reserve leagues?

Yes with a play off of the winners and runners up to win all county league. If you look at the DNF for the weekend, Bryansford not traveling to Carryduff, Saval not going to Loughinisland and Annaclone not traveling to Downpatrick. Less travel for reserve players means a better chance the fixture will be played.

This is a fair point, and initial local leagues with all county playoffs may work better

[There is no majority for unity if you look at totals for the 2 sides]

The DUP are walking all over the Shinners.
Border Poll in 5 years my arse.

Care to elaborate?

SF as biggest party doesn't change anything. There is no majority for unity if you look at totals for the 2 sides. The DUP can always get the Tories onside .

So "the DUP are running rings around the shinners" because demographics? OK so.

The demographics aren't there for a successful border poll right now . And the DUP are setting the agenda now. What are SF doing ?

How are the DUP setting the agenda? You are sounding like people did when they were saying how great the DUP were negotiating regarding Brexit. Until people realised that their negotiation tactic was to say no and that was it.

The DUP have made a career out of saying "no". This will continue to work until Others unite against them. A continuing concern is that "the centre" ie alliance/SDLP/UU backed up by the governments , present the problem here as being two sides of the same coin . Which perpetuates DUP influence . SF and DUP are not the same. SF has mellowed and has made significant efforts to continue in government, even returning to government in the absence of Irish language act. They have put many of their republican ideals aside.  In contrast , DUP has been dragged kicking and screaming into power sharing. Any movement towards normalcy and parity of esteem is either resisted or tolerated by "pinching their nose". They promoted brexit and now can't accept its consequences. They facilitate and promote extreme unionism . All this , and the centre ground response is always qualified by a "SF are just as bad" narrative , which lets DUP off the hook again .

There is some right wing types in the south that wants ireland to join the uk

How does this make them "right wing"?

Good question wobbler. My understanding as a Nordie with an interest in Southern politics .
FG historically would be centre right. Though left/right politics throughout the island are not as binary as they tend to be in Britain , most right wingers in the South would probably be FG supporters. The "west-Brit " gibe was often directed at those who had an affiliation with "British ways" and were not as patriotically Irish , and the perception was they would have mainly been FG aligned and therefore right wing(albeit centre right).
Historically many FG politicians eg Bruton and Fitzgerald seemed to have little understanding or empathy for nationalists in the North, compared to Ahern/Reynolds/Haughey. FF self proclaimed as the "Republican Party " have always been wedded to a United ireland , whilst FG , even going back to their origins , have been comfortable with partition.
(Ironically at present , Miceál Martin FF seems to have a more partitionist outlook, whilst Simon Coveney  FG has shown an empathy towards northern nationalists rarely seen in FG.)

Right or left wing aside , there would be no interest in the South in linking back with UK even among those not particularly patriotic . ROI though not perfect , has done well since independence, given that only a few years prior to 1916 Ireland had suffered the horrors of the Famine under British rule, and the UK retained over 90% of the GDP on the island after independence of the 26. NI by comparison , since independence has been a disaster despite its massive economic advantages at its inception.

Down better going with 30 players who want to play for Down and not disappear to America, Australia or drop if the panel. Derry went through 107 players in less than 10yrs, it was a joke. Down beat Derry in Newry 2yrs ago. Gallagher got rid of maybe 8/10 players I have thought good enough to start / on the panel. Due to either attitude or couldn't commit. Down gonna go the same way. Derry keep Slaughtneil on board to backbone the team, Kilcoo seem to they too good for the county team.

Down are in a potentially strong position . Worst case scenario is they go to div 4.  Conor Laverty and his set up will look after emerging talent at u20. New coaching development pathway could be Dublinesque with GPO support in every club . Kilcoo's all-ireland success will hopefully convert to county spin-off over next couple of years( this usually happens with successful club teams). Ballykinlar due to start .
Importantly we will hopefully benefit from lowered expectations , allowing us to focus on development with mature realism . We are nowhere near a top football county for a variety of reasons. We are close to rock bottom . Let's get organised, get real and we have enough opportunities as listed above to be able to weed out those without the attitude required for the top. What have we got to lose anymore?
If players either can't or won't commit , move on with those that will ( no resentment towards those that can't/won't commit). There is no current Down player that is indispensable , and apart from Kilcoo , few are winners at present . Let's get behind a medium to long term plan, and sacrifice short term
Success to focus on getting our ethos right .

I see the new Down GAA coaching and Games development plan for 2022 - 2027 presentation is out to the clubs for review and to presented tonight in the Burrendale.

By the looks of it we're going cap in hand to Croke Park with a plan and we're entirely right to do so.

As I said in our place, these plans aren't worth my arsé full of warm snow unless they translate out onto the green grass in a meaningful way.

Have read it through club correspondence. A lot of work done , ambitious plans based on evidence around player development. This is the type of initiative we need and all try to get it on the green grass as u say JC. Hopefully the shot in the arm Down GAA needs,  we are in a good position to become a power again but it will take a patience, commitment and a unity of purpose.