EURO 2012

[AZOffaly]

Exactly. I think the LOI fans, or some of them, have a dislike of the GAA because they feel the GAA is the darling of the Irish public while they struggle to survive. However your average soccer fan or player at junior and club level is much more liable to be a GAA fan and/or member as well.

I know that anywhere I've lived or been involved in sport the crossover is huge, and it's the same people involved over and over again, with a few dedicated to one code or the other.

[ballinaman]

There were plenty of GAA fans in that crowd against Spain singing the fields of Athenry.

I would have thought the majority of the Irish fans at the games were also GAA fans.
90-95% I'd say.

Far less than that...50% maybe.
A lot of Irish soccer fans dislike the GAA.

I would have thought that myself until i seen the amount of county and club jerseys on show over in poland, there was a big gaa presence there. Id say there is more anti gaa feeling in the hardcore LOI clubs ( a few hundred per team ) teams than the more liberal international/bandwagon fan

I'd agree with that.

Also, when I was flying home I got chatting to a lad from Sligo....turned out his brother is a regular and the county team and he's never seen him play!Has no interest in GAA whatsoever. Mad Sligo Rovers fan though, hardly misses a game. Thought it was unusual!

[Declan]

Exactly. I think the LOI fans, or some of them, have a dislike of the GAA because they feel the GAA is the darling of the Irish public while they struggle to survive. However your average soccer fan or player at junior and club level is much more liable to be a GAA fan and/or member as well.

I know that anywhere I've lived or been involved in sport the crossover is huge, and it's the same people involved over and over again, with a few dedicated to one code or the other.

Agreed - Though I think Clerkin's article is patronising

[AZOffaly]

In fairness he did clarify a bit yesterday. That particular article is daft.

[thejuice]

I don't see why people are making a fuss about the fans.

What happens on the stands and on the field are largely separate from each other.

The small nation that likes to party and make itself heard is the mentality many of those that went to Poland-Ukraine.

Since it became apparent we weren't going to make our mark on the field there was nothing left to do but sing our lungs out and make the wider world notice us.

That's what it really amounts to. What went on, on the field wasn't really a big deal because we only went in hope of a big scalp or a draw not in expectation of anything. After all apart from the hardcore LOI fans, few people really are willing or interested in doing what's necessary to make Ireland a top soccer nation.

Going to Old Trafford and playing GAA isn't going to do that.

[seafoid]

This was on the guardian site

•    suitone
25 June 2012 7:55PM
For forty-odd years the louts running English football would rather sell a kid a shirt than teach that kid how to pass properly. It starts and ends there.

[magpie seanie]

There were plenty of GAA fans in that crowd against Spain singing the fields of Athenry.

I would have thought the majority of the Irish fans at the games were also GAA fans.
90-95% I'd say.

Far less than that...50% maybe.
A lot of Irish soccer fans dislike the GAA.

I would have thought that myself until i seen the amount of county and club jerseys on show over in poland, there was a big gaa presence there. Id say there is more anti gaa feeling in the hardcore LOI clubs ( a few hundred per team ) teams than the more liberal international/bandwagon fan

I'd agree with that.

Also, when I was flying home I got chatting to a lad from Sligo....turned out his brother is a regular and the county team and he's never seen him play!Has no interest in GAA whatsoever. Mad Sligo Rovers fan though, hardly misses a game. Thought it was unusual!

Not unusual in Sligo, the town especially.

[screenexile]

They are 2 different and polar opposite situations. What Clerkin has to remember is the Irish fans in Poland were on holiday. I think the football was very much secondary to that and is the reason why they were all pissed up and singing all the time.

Had any of those games been in Dublin you could be sure there would have been a chorus of boos!!!

[TopofthePops]

They are 2 different and polar opposite situations. What Clerkin has to remember is the Irish fans in Poland were on holiday. I think the football was very much secondary to that and is the reason why they were all pissed up and singing all the time.

Had any of those games been in Dublin you could be sure there would have been a chorus of boos!!!

Correcto!!

[Minder]

Philip Brown thinks Pirlo is homophobic

http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/features/120626/phil-brown-andrea-pirlo-homophobic-175256

[Gazzler]

There were plenty of GAA fans in that crowd against Spain singing the fields of Athenry.

I would have thought the majority of the Irish fans at the games were also GAA fans.
90-95% I'd say.

Far less than that...50% maybe.
A lot of Irish soccer fans dislike the GAA.

Me hairy arse.
50% of Irish soccer fans dislike GAA?? Not a hope of it.

[thewobbler]

I'd think the majority of soccer-first fans are like the majority of gaa-first fans. They prefer their own game, and normally wouldn't travel too far to watch the other - but every once in a while they join up with a wee bandwagon in the other.

[Tony Baloney]

Philip Brown thinks Pirlo is homophobic

http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/features/120626/phil-brown-andrea-pirlo-homophobic-175256

Muppet!

[Applesisapples]

Pirlo's penalty....whopper.

Messi scored a similar one last season in La Liga and was forced to retake it.

[Premier Emperor]

There were plenty of GAA fans in that crowd against Spain singing the fields of Athenry.

I would have thought the majority of the Irish fans at the games were also GAA fans.
90-95% I'd say.

Far less than that...50% maybe.
A lot of Irish soccer fans dislike the GAA.

Me hairy arse.
50% of Irish soccer fans dislike GAA?? Not a hope of it.

I never said they'd dislike the GAA.
About 10% of true soccer fans would dislike the GAA, a lot of the rest wouldn't have much interest in it.