Railway cup returns!

[Zulu]

I'm not sure how many turned up for them but they have a bigger impact on the GAA community abroad when played there. They have no impact at home.

[Eamonnca1]

Play the game in Ireland and you'd be lucky if 5 people in the crowd had never seen the game before.

Play the game in the states and you'd be looking at potentially a few hundred people in the crowd who have never seen the game before.  Plus whatever local TV coverage it can get, that adds a few thousand on.  It's also a huge morale boost for the established local GAA community.

If you want to expose the game to new audiences then you have a better chance of doing it outside of Ireland.  (You could reach new audiences in Ireland too with a bit of clever marketing, but "clever marketing" seldom appears in the same sentence as "GAA".)

[ross4life]

Returns Sunday 17th of Feb.

Hurling

12:30pm - Ulster v Munster - Athletic Grounds
2pm - Leinster v Connacht - O Connor park

Football

2pm - Leinster v Connacht - Pearse park
2:15pm - Ulster v Munster - Athletic Grounds

[BennyCake]

Any news on where the finals will be played?

[ross4life]

Probably decided after those games. Didn't Ulster have a home final last year.

[Rossfan]

Returns Sunday 17th of Feb.

Hurling

12:30pm - Ulster v Munster - Athletic Grounds
2pm - Leinster v Connacht - O Connor park

Football

2pm - Leinster v Connacht - Pearse park
2:15pm - Ulster v Munster - Athletic Grounds

Hope the N4/N5 don't get clogged up with all the match traffic 

[ross4life]

Apparently the football railway cup/interprovincial final will be played in Croke park Sunday 24th Feb at 3:45 All-Ireland junior club football final Ballinasloe v Kenmare is on before it at 2pm.

[BennyCake]

Am I right in thinking that the football Railway Cup interest is mainly in Ulster? I presume that was why last years final (and Sundays semi), was in Armagh.

I can't see a big crowd going from Munster or Connacht, should they get to a Croke Park final. Maybe the future of the RC is dependant on Ulster success?

[From the Bunker]

Ah, the lame horse called the RC which should have been put down and out of its misery years ago!

[Rossfan]

Ah, the lame horse called the RC which should have been put down and out of its misery years ago!

+1.

[yellowcard]

Absolutely no interest in this competition, couldnt give one jot who wins it. It's time this competition was put out of its misery in an already pressurised fixture schedule.

[BennyCake]

Is it because of attendance figures that the RC should be scrapped? So, how many attends Sigerson Cup games? Or Ladies league matches? Not many I'd have thought. I'm not bothered about who wins alot of competitions, but it's no reason to scrap them.

The RC is still valued by alot of the top players and managers in the country. And there are still thousands who will continue to attend these games.

[Zulu]

And you could come up with some reason to retain any competition/match/tournament/kick around. The vast majority of fans would prefer to have a league match to look forward to this weekend. The GAA season needs to start to follow some logical pattern and getting rid of a non-event like this would be a step in the right direction.

[Ard-Rí]

Can we have our province back please ...

[theoriginalmup]

8 Tyrone players on the Ulster panel: P McConnell S Cavanagh P Harte C McAliskey C McCarron Joe & Justin McMahon M Penrose