Best Club Championship

[the Deel Rover]

In the Ulster club, ove the past 20 years there have been 5 different winners from Derry (a total of 7 titles), 2 different clubs from Armagh (8 titles) and Monaghan (2 titles) and one winner each from Tyrone (2 titles) and Antrim.
Thus Derry would appear to have the most competitive championship in Ulster.

When it comes to the strongest overall, Mayo, Dublin and Galway would be worthy contenders, but the one I would most like to see being played off is the Kerry county championship - from all I hear about it, a Kerry SFC medal is second only to an All Ireland SFC medal (and after they've won a few of them, probably more precious).

The mayo championship is fairly competetive as Abbeysider said you would have Ballina, Ballaghadreen , Knockmore , Charlestown , Crossmolina and some up and coming teams like Breaffy for e.g.  In our championship this year in our Group there is Knockmore, Ballina and Crossmolina between them these teams have competed in 5 Ai club finals since 1999 and all clubs are within 7 miles of each other.

You declined to mention Knockmore's fall from grace. Knockmore also 'contested' an AI club final in 1997.

i had included you Farrandeelin just got my dates wrong i thought ye contested it in 1999   

[mouview]

In Connacht both Galway and Mayo have pretty strong club championships as witnessed by the fact that 5 different clubs have won the club All-Ireland since 1998. Corofin, Caltra and Salthill from Galway along with Ballina and Crossmolina from Mayo.

True, but the standard year in year out is pathetic I have to say; only slight bit of quality comes at the semi' stage - even last year's final was awful. Hurling couterpart is light years ahead of it where games are usually well-contested from 1/4 final stages onwards.

[Farrandeelin]

Is that why there is generally more people at the hurling finals in Galway than football finals?

[GalwayBayBoy]

Is that why there is generally more people at the hurling finals in Galway than football finals?

Don't think so. North Galway crowd don't like travelling to Pearse as they still cling onto the halycon days of Tuam Stadium. West Galway crowd will travel but their teams generally don't reach the county final (Carna Cashel did a few years ago but it was a bit of a freak occurance).

South Galway hurling crowd never really had a spirtual home like Tuam so don't mind travelling to Pearse in big numbers.

Certainly though in the last decade in Pearse the hurling county final often gets very big crowds anywhere up to 15,000 (and there have been some fairly one sided finals) . Football final has been as low as 6,000 one year.

Hard to explain really. Galway football is very competitive but Galway hurling can be almost tribal and bitter and that brings the crowds in.

[nrico2006]

In the Ulster club, ove the past 20 years there have been 5 different winners from Derry (a total of 7 titles), 2 different clubs from Armagh (8 titles) and Monaghan (2 titles) and one winner each from Tyrone (2 titles) and Antrim.
Thus Derry would appear to have the most competitive championship in Ulster.

How does these stats equate to Derry's Club Championship being the most competitive?

[NAG]

I think the Derry thing is more the fact that the clubs are all of an average standard bar Ballinderry so thats what makes it competitive, not really something to be boasting about really!

[Drumanee 1]

ballinderry,loup and bellaghy have all won the ulster championship this decade what other county in ulster has three winners in 9 years?
mayo have charlestown, ballina,crossmalina
dublin have st brigids,na Fianna,kilmacud and st Vincents
galway have corofin,salthill and caltra

these teams have all won there provincial championship this decade

[mountainboii]

Does the fact that there hasn't been a Derry Ulster club champion for 6 years now perhaps suggest the standard in the county currently isn't as high as some may think?

I know if Crossmaglen weren't about that statistic would probably be different, but perhaps some should also bear that in mind when running Armagh down as a 'one club county' or words to that effect.

[Drumanee 1]

Does the fact that there hasn't been a Derry Ulster club champion for 6 years now perhaps suggest the standard in the county currently isn't as high as some may think?

I know if Crossmaglen weren't about that statistic would probably be different, but perhaps some should also bear that in mind when running Armagh down as a 'one club county' or words to that effect.

very hard to say otherwise,nobody has really put it up to them,drumintee had a go but never really came close.

[mountainboii]

Does the fact that there hasn't been a Derry Ulster club champion for 6 years now perhaps suggest the standard in the county currently isn't as high as some may think?

I know if Crossmaglen weren't about that statistic would probably be different, but perhaps some should also bear that in mind when running Armagh down as a 'one club county' or words to that effect.

very hard to say otherwise,nobody has really put it up to them,drumintee had a go but never really came close.

Well I think a lot of the time when that argument is put across it is done so with the presumption that everyone else in the county is shit. Why is it almost taken for granted that had Cross not won all those Ulsters in recent years that no other Armagh club would have done so? Its is entirely possible that had if Cross not existed that more than a couple of Armagh clubs would've went on to win Ulster, and who knows maybe Al titles, namely Mullagbawn in the late 90s, Dromintee in the early to mid part of this decade, and Pearse Ogs in recent years. Then we would be all be talking about the amazing strength in depth and competitiveness of Armagh club football.

[Drumanee 1]

thats all if's but's and maybe's,i have been to quite a few armagh county finals over this past few years and nobody really threatened cross.
a very average bellaghy team went to cross and beat them in cross in 05,now you could say this was  a one off and matbe so but you would think over 13 years in armagh there would be one team catch them on a off day.

[mountainboii]

Of course its all ifs and buts. My main gripe is that more often than not in the last decade Cross having not only been beating the best Armagh can offer, but also the best that any other county in Ulster can throw up. Despite this there is still the assumption that other counties automatically have stronger championships, just because they produce a few different winners over the space of a few years.

I think its a bit of a fallacy to use the number of recent winners, or number of potential future winners, as an indicator of the depth of quality of a competition.

[The GAA]

Unfortunately, Dromintee are probably still the most likely team to beat cross in armagh. was it last year they took them to a replay - something only ballinderry have done in ulster in recent years. That said, i still don't expect dromintee to beat cross any time soon.

[Katchit]

Well the Armagh Championship is certainly not competitive, it's a foregone conclusion and has been for years.

I've no interest in a championship when it's merely a one horse race, sad but true.

[INDIANA]

Cross do get 90% of the best footballers in Armagh at a young age. I was told that by 2 very prominent Armagh individuals-with their repuatation of winning at this stage- thats to be expected. Hence their dominance. Vincents dominated the dublin championship in the 50's and 60's and dublin won little or nothing at all-ireland inter county level in that period. Having one very strong team is no good for any county. Thats not Cross's fault but it leaves the standard among the rest at a low enough level.