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I took a chance and headed down Collins Avenue and up the N2 on my way home last night, there was very little traffic on the road and I was home at 11pm.

Show off

Did some genius switch Hawkeye off after the 70 minutes were up? Perhaps Croke Park are paying for Hawkeye by the minute, so switched it off to save money.

Yes, I saw lots of drunk Armagh fans in the stadium. Perhaps thats a downside of running a train special. But I didnt see any abuse in the walkways or outside the stadium. Myself and others shook hands with the Farney men and wished them luck.

I also applauded every good score from both sides in the Kerry Tyrone drubbing. The two british sides playing on Saturday just were not good enough. Feck it Orior, delete that line, lol.

Overall, I think we were just unlucky. In full time and extra time, the match could have gone one way or the other. Monaghan just edged it on killer instinct.

The journey home was awful too. When we reaching the single lane at Dundalk, who were the buck ejits racing up the hard shoulder? I got home about 12:30am

Finally, why are keepers allowed to wear the same colours as the ref? This was never an issue until keepers started playing outfield.

Good points and you did well to get home for 12.30. The bit on keepers and referees wearing the same colours is 100%.

I don't get Tyrone fans getting annoyed about Armagh fans cheering Kerry. Is that not part of local rivalry. I don't like the goading as you leave the ground though. Same thing happened me when Armagh lost to Fermanagh in 2004 and I had to get home. Tyrone ones gave me plenty of grief.

With the traffic tailbacks yesterday the Tyrone game had stopped being a contest by the time I got in.

No harm but if anyone thinks the referees did well today it says more about the poor clarity of the rules leading to an overall poor standard of consistency in interpreting those rules. We can all say Armagh were crap today, Monaghan weren't great or Tyrone were brutal. Why can't we say the officials had a bad game. Going on the fair today gaelic football is in serious bother. People can laugh and joke at Armagh and their supporters but the last couple of years they have brought numbers to matches. That will soon change if the fare on show continues to be so poor. Look at Tyrone. They used to have a massive support. The football they served up for years now means the local country GAA club could host their games.

Cathal o Rourke was excellent in the first drawn game
Was taken out in the replay
Can we agree on this at least , if you recall your player was booked then substituted.
If you note I haven't named any names apart from Kennelly who acknowledged what he did  so won't be.
Let's agree to differ .

You are right. As the referee threw the ball in at the start of the game O'Shea punched O'Rourke in a very sore area. He struggled until taken off. If I remember rightly O'Shea got booked in All Ireland final for an off the ball hit too.

As for Kerry in general. The 2006 quarter final first 20 minutes of second half v Armagh was a rough a display as I have seen from any county.

In relation to penalty incident. Is it definitely Forker?

Just read over a few pages there after watching the Sunday game. Think these Tyrone boys live in a different world. The referee got the penalty / card in their game 100 % by the rules. Maybe some should learn the rules instead of complaining about the referee.

As for the Armagh game. It was great craic with the Galway fans today. Everyone agreed it was a good game played in a good spirit. McKay was reckless at the end and lucky it didn't cost a draw. The free given to Murnin may have been on the soft side but there were plenty of soft frees to both teams during the game. I still find it amusing how Tyrone ones in particular complain that Armagh deliberately use rough house tactics. Maybe it is because I didn't hear any Galway ones complaining during the game.

As for the celebrations. It is always great to enjoy the big games. Maybe if Tyrone did the same so many fellas - players and supporters- wouldn't have deserted the team.

Never want hear Armagh complain about tickets again!

I assume there were bigger crowds at other gamesq

Galway v Kerry in the rain , croker , can't remember what year it was maybe 08 ish .

Definitely 2008.

Armagh lost to Wexford in first game.

Unless memory is failing I also saw O'Neill say something to referee while Armagh were waiting for Derry for extra time. He also lifted his jersey at that time. I thought he was complaining about a nip then?

What antics were Derry at? The only thing I saw was McGuigan charging after the ball in the middle of getting treatment which wasn't great. Other than that I didn't see anything dirty from us!

Just saw Flynn and Keegan tell us Tyrone are still the team to beat in Ulster anyway so what even is the point of the Ulster championship?

I saw a good bit along with plenty of 'game management'. Sean Hurson tried to bring it to referees attention a few times. Still no use debating at this stage. Maybe Armagh's biggest problem is that they aren't as cute as other teams and many people believe the narrative that that are a team of bodybuilding MMA artists.

Here what the f**k was the craic with that tr**p twisting McGuigans fingers??

Seems to have been mentioned a few times online. Why would that not be a red?

Maybe you should look at some of the off the ball antics of Derry.

In all honesty I thought the game today was a pile of crap with a few exciting bits. Armagh spent the league trying to get a defensive gameplan and Derry managed to get a scrappy goal and 3 fisted points. Add to that the lack of focus through league on forward play came to roost with bad wides and wrong options being taken. They need to go back to playing to their strengths. When a top forward they Cian Mcconville sits on the bench it suggests you are more concerned with not losing than winning.

I also detest penalties...probably because Armagh have been so bad at them. But have rules changed that keepers can charge off the line at each kick?

Anyone able to paste Joe Brollys piece from today's Independent

Joe Brolly: Why Rory Gallagher had to step down
The protection of three vulnerable children in now everyone's priority


Rory Gallagher — © SPORTSFILE


Rory Gallagher — © SPORTSFILE


Rory Gallagher — © SPORTSFILE


Rory Gallagher — © SPORTSFILE

Joe Brolly
Today at 02:30
I am thinking of three small children. Three small children with their Derry kits folded by their bedsides, wondering why they can't go to the Ulster final. Three small children unaware of the public bloodbath that is to come.
Today, the 1998 Derry Ulster championship winning team is being introduced to the crowd at half-time. Earlier in the week, when it looked as though Rory Gallagher was going to be on the sideline today, the group decided that we would not go through with it. How could we have? Smiling, waving, blowing kisses?

The GAA symbolises our community. It is what we are. When Nicola Gallagher put her harrowing, terrifying story online, Rory had to step down. He has custody of three small children and their protection is all of our priority.

The reason family courts anonymise parents is not to protect the parents. It is to protect the children. Children are the innocent victims of acrimonious break-ups and of outrageous abuses. Sometimes, they experience things that will haunt them forever. The court's objective, insofar as is possible, is to allow them to get on with their lives in a way that causes them the least possible damage. To ensure they are in a settled, secure environment.

​I am devastated to hear these allegations. Worse is the fact that these vulnerable children are now going to hear and see this tragedy being played out so publicly.

I make no judgment on the private lives of the parents. But once this moved from the privacy of the family courts and a confidential PSNI investigation into the public domain, the GAA had no choice but to act.


Rory Gallagher — © SPORTSFILE

In the coming days, the Gallagher family will be a spectator sport. The three children will be frightened and confused by what they hear and see. They will feel all eyes on them and sense that unmistakeable atmosphere of sympathy that usually accompanies a death in the family. There will be no protecting them now.

Nicola, a vulnerable young woman who has obviously suffered terribly, must be given space and support. Most of all, she must be listened to. Those public howls of distress and pain shook us all to the core.

Rory, who has parental responsibility for three vulnerable children, must also be given space and support. In a few weeks, the public will have lost interest. They will be left to pick up the pieces.

​Yesterday morning I was in a quandary about whether to write anything at all for today. Then I got a call from Rodney Edwards, from this paper. He said: "Joe, would you like to comment on the fact that the Derry County Board were notified about these allegations a year ago and yet did nothing?" Rodney, a decent and straightforward journalist, proceeded to read the email that had been sent to the board by Nicola Gallagher's father. I said, "Jesus Christ" and put the phone down.

This was never disclosed to the county board members. I never thought this would happen with us. Why? To win some football matches? To get a f**king promotion?

I think of how the GAA is flourishing like never before because of the massive rise in involvement by our girls and women. How it has created such a vibrant community of equals. And then to hear that such serious allegations were reported to us and nothing was done?

I am a Derry GAA man to the core. It is humiliating to know that this has happened in my name. I spoke to several board members yesterday morning who are equally enraged. They had no idea this had been done. They were unaware of the allegations until they read Nicola's anguished Facebook posts last week.

I am one of the lawyers in the Stardust Inquest, a story of secrets and cover-ups and hoping it would all go away. That disaster occurred on Valentine's Day, 1981, a symphony of sorrowful songs that some hoped would be buried with the dead. But secrets have a habit of coming back to haunt us. Now, they have come back to haunt Derry GAA.

A well written considered piece from Brolly.

1. Facebook post  Tuesday,  5 days before the Ulster Final   https://twitter.com/thegaacorner/status/1656322909395202049
The post triggered a large social media response focusing on football and Domestic Abuse.
2 Media interview  Sunday , the morning of the Ulster Final https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/if-my-story-helps-one-woman-or-man-then-it-will-have-been-worth-it-nicola-gallagher-on-domestic-abuse-claims/a1936363625.html
3 There will probably be more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMe8ltiH2IQ

What makes it strategic is the timing and the linking with the Ulster Final. Also the cross border media angle.
Then you have very focused messaging in both the Facebook post and the Indo interview. Eg "if my story helps one woman"

Fogra : RG is innocent until proven guilty

In cases like this I would say he is legally innocent until he is proven guilty. If in real times he is guilty he deserves all the grief he gets - and much more.

Yeah and when Armagh weren't going well few years ago, over half were nowhere to be seen.

Still leaves a fair few.

Was at an Armagh match in Kilmallock a few years ago when the Armagh fans outnumbered the Limerick fans about 100 to 1. All through the Divisions Armagh have a solid core support.

It's amazing how people can see the same game differently. I thought Down were very poor today and looked far more intent on fouling and hitting off the ball. I thought Armagh looked comfortable through out and were working on tactics for the next day.

I thought the ref was poor and kept Down in the contest.

That said a lot to improve on for the next day. Also thought O'Neill had a great game linking the play.

Have to agree with most of that.

Tactically I think Down tried to snuff out a number of Armagh key players. Unfortunately for them other Armagh players stood up and they had no one good enough yet to mark Murnin.

Interesting for a team people say got favours from the referee I can only remember Armagh scoring one free.