Antrim Hurling

[SaffronSports]

In fairness i think a lot of it is just the nature of how things are with the championship. Leagues are played in great weather then the championship is played at a different time of year in bad conditions. Lot of big games across Ireland will be ruined by the weather.

[maxpower]

I get that and accept pitches in October aren't perfect, but better options exist, namely Corrigan

This is my last post on it

I am sure both teams are pissed about it but neither will raise an issue and there will be no change next year

[paddyjohn]

I get that and accept pitches in October aren't perfect, but better options exist, namely Corrigan

This is my last post on it

I am sure both teams are pissed about it but neither will raise an issue and there will be no change next year

County ground isn't available according to St Johns.

[MalluskMan]

If the county wanted to play the match in corrigan, that's where it would be played, St John's would have no say.

The whole thing with the county at the minute, be it  in football (which is worse) hurling, Camogie or lgfa, is get it played, wherever, whenever, they don't care about the public as long as they get a decent gate. Ballycastle, whilst poor for the semi final, will get itself sorted, grass will be cut etc. Best of a bad bunch to hold it.

But here's a question: what are the thoughts of folk in the current standards in Antrim hurling?? For me, it's very poor. Starting from minor, final yesterday was very poor, one of the worst I've been at this few years, onto u21, a shoehorned competition with no importance put on it by the county, treated with disdain by the clubs due to its proximity to the senior championship and finally, the senior, standard is awful; with respect to all, St John's were one of the worst county champions in recent memory in a piss poor 2025 championship (coupled with the fact that they were put out this year by an intermediate team at best), Ballycastle, Rossa, st Endas all nowhere near it, Loughgiel flatter to deceive, again and neither Cushendall or Dunloy will win Ulster this year. And ye wonder why Antrim are where they are. Million dollar question, how does it get fixed??

[Torcrua]

If the county wanted to play the match in corrigan, that's where it would be played, St John's would have no say.

The whole thing with the county at the minute, be it  in football (which is worse) hurling, Camogie or lgfa, is get it played, wherever, whenever, they don't care about the public as long as they get a decent gate. Ballycastle, whilst poor for the semi final, will get itself sorted, grass will be cut etc. Best of a bad bunch to hold it.

But here's a question: what are the thoughts of folk in the current standards in Antrim hurling?? For me, it's very poor. Starting from minor, final yesterday was very poor, one of the worst I've been at this few years, onto u21, a shoehorned competition with no importance put on it by the county, treated with disdain by the clubs due to its proximity to the senior championship and finally, the senior, standard is awful; with respect to all, St John's were one of the worst county champions in recent memory in a piss poor 2025 championship (coupled with the fact that they were put out this year by an intermediate team at best), Ballycastle, Rossa, st Endas all nowhere near it, Loughgiel flatter to deceive, again and neither Cushendall or Dunloy will win Ulster this year. And ye wonder why Antrim are where they are. Million dollar question, how does it get fixed??

The standard has been slipping for a while now, and I think we need to stop pretending otherwise.

Cushendall, by their own lofty standards, have stumbled into this year's final. Had Ballycastle and Loughgiel performed anywhere near their potential, would they even be there? Cushendall and Dunloy remain streets ahead of the rest, and the gap doesn't appear to be closing.

Last year's Intermediate champions couldn't get past the Tyrone champions in Ulster and subsequently took an almighty trimming in the Senior semi-final, having beaten a very poor Johnnies side. That should tell us plenty about the overall standard.

For me, the entire development pathway in Antrim needs a complete overhaul. How often are we strategically appointing the best qualified coaches, putting proper structures in place and developing players over a number of years? Or are we still relying too heavily on well meaning dads and club connections rather than coaching ability?

Gaelfast, in my opinion, has become a complete white elephant and a money pit. For the level of investment involved, where are the measurable outcomes? I'd be very interested to see a proper independent audit of how the funding has been spent and, more importantly, what it has actually delivered.

Coach education is another massive issue. Outside the occasional tick box course and a few photographs for social media, where is the meaningful investment in developing our club coaches? These are the people working with players week in, week out, yet there appears to be little in the way of ongoing support, mentoring or accountability.

Was there not a hurling development committee established recently? What exactly is its remit, what has it achieved, and what is the long term plan?

We don't need another committee or initiative that looks good on paper. We need a properly structured, accountable development system with qualified people driving it and measurable standards from underage right through to senior level.

[NorthAntrimSaff]

I get that and accept pitches in October aren't perfect, but better options exist, namely Corrigan

This is my last post on it

I am sure both teams are pissed about it but neither will raise an issue and there will be no change next year

County ground isn't available according to St Johns.

Wondering who funded the recent work on their pitch out of curiosity. Both Dunsilly and Corrigan are in tip top shape at the minute but we are playing two out of our three top tier club games in Ballycastle.

Are we keeping Dunsilly for county training and Corrigan for next years league games?

[Saffron71]

Ahead of Saturday's Intermediate final, it's a local derby and both teams will die with their boots on to win it.  However,  I assume that it's a dead rubber regarding who plays in Ulster?? Cushendun will progress regardless of the outcome due to Carey winning Ulster in 2024 and still being within the 3 year period??

[Na Glinntí Glasa]

Carey cant progress in Ulster if they win is what ive been told as well.

[NorthAntrimSaff]

I think saffron71 is correct on this one

I know if i was in the cushendun camp there wouldnt be much appetite to play ulster if i didnt win antrim

[Torcrua]

£3 admission for Under 16s to Sunday's Antrim Hurling Final. Seriously, what are we at?

Children get free admission throughout the championship, yet we're charging them for the biggest game of the year. Where's the logic in that?

We talk endlessly about growing our games and inspiring the next generation. Surely having as many young hurlers as possible experiencing a county final atmosphere is worth more than a few extra pounds at the gate?

[paddyjohn]

£3 admission for Under 16s to Sunday's Antrim Hurling Final. Seriously, what are we at?

Children get free admission throughout the championship, yet we're charging them for the biggest game of the year. Where's the logic in that?

We talk endlessly about growing our games and inspiring the next generation. Surely having as many young hurlers as possible experiencing a county final atmosphere is worth more than a few extra pounds at the gate?

Nail on the head. Absolutely disgraceful decision. Pr!cks

[Deerstalker]

£3 admission for Under 16s to Sunday's Antrim Hurling Final. Seriously, what are we at?

Children get free admission throughout the championship, yet we're charging them for the biggest game of the year. Where's the logic in that?

We talk endlessly about growing our games and inspiring the next generation. Surely having as many young hurlers as possible experiencing a county final atmosphere is worth more than a few extra pounds at the gate?

Nail on the head. Absolutely disgraceful decision. Pr!cks

Was the same Sunday past at the football

[NAG1]

If the county wanted to play the match in corrigan, that's where it would be played, St John's would have no say.

The whole thing with the county at the minute, be it  in football (which is worse) hurling, Camogie or lgfa, is get it played, wherever, whenever, they don't care about the public as long as they get a decent gate. Ballycastle, whilst poor for the semi final, will get itself sorted, grass will be cut etc. Best of a bad bunch to hold it.

But here's a question: what are the thoughts of folk in the current standards in Antrim hurling?? For me, it's very poor. Starting from minor, final yesterday was very poor, one of the worst I've been at this few years, onto u21, a shoehorned competition with no importance put on it by the county, treated with disdain by the clubs due to its proximity to the senior championship and finally, the senior, standard is awful; with respect to all, St John's were one of the worst county champions in recent memory in a piss poor 2025 championship (coupled with the fact that they were put out this year by an intermediate team at best), Ballycastle, Rossa, st Endas all nowhere near it, Loughgiel flatter to deceive, again and neither Cushendall or Dunloy will win Ulster this year. And ye wonder why Antrim are where they are. Million dollar question, how does it get fixed??

The standard has been slipping for a while now, and I think we need to stop pretending otherwise.

Cushendall, by their own lofty standards, have stumbled into this year's final. Had Ballycastle and Loughgiel performed anywhere near their potential, would they even be there? Cushendall and Dunloy remain streets ahead of the rest, and the gap doesn't appear to be closing.

Last year's Intermediate champions couldn't get past the Tyrone champions in Ulster and subsequently took an almighty trimming in the Senior semi-final, having beaten a very poor Johnnies side. That should tell us plenty about the overall standard.

For me, the entire development pathway in Antrim needs a complete overhaul. How often are we strategically appointing the best qualified coaches, putting proper structures in place and developing players over a number of years? Or are we still relying too heavily on well meaning dads and club connections rather than coaching ability?

Gaelfast, in my opinion, has become a complete white elephant and a money pit. For the level of investment involved, where are the measurable outcomes? I'd be very interested to see a proper independent audit of how the funding has been spent and, more importantly, what it has actually delivered.

Coach education is another massive issue. Outside the occasional tick box course and a few photographs for social media, where is the meaningful investment in developing our club coaches? These are the people working with players week in, week out, yet there appears to be little in the way of ongoing support, mentoring or accountability.

Was there not a hurling development committee established recently? What exactly is its remit, what has it achieved, and what is the long term plan?

We don't need another committee or initiative that looks good on paper. We need a properly structured, accountable development system with qualified people driving it and measurable standards from underage right through to senior level.

This would be the key for me in all this and probably the one thing that is missing in it from what I can see.

[Hectic]

If we really want to push on development, in both codes, then development hubs is the answer IMO.

Pooling of resources, be that players, coaches, facilities etc.  and county involvement in the hubs.

Each hub could have a number of teams at each age group streamed into appropriate divisions and go from there.

Won't be for the purists who need their own jersey the whole way from U8 but it shouldn't matter when players are back at their clubs better for it. And can still play certain underage club fixtures alongside.

At present we have a mixed bag, parents learning on the job and often getting more out of their depth with each passing year, a lot of fixtures unfulfilled and those that are often result in badly lopsided games of poor quality.

We are miles behind now, even in Ulster getting, and this nonsense for years of trying to win a Div 1 game in National League to remain a top tier team is the stuff of delusion.

[NorthAntrimSaff]

Some rain fell and forecast. What will Ballycastle be like?