Down Club Hurling & Football

[dundrumite]

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Who was referee in the first minor game?

Young Ciaran Bannaigan from bryansford. he had a very good game. Up and coming Ref!!!!!

Great to see, heard great reports about him. Boys who understand the game need to be refereeing

[ardtole]

While the stickfighters of this world may disagree, I struggle badly with the reasoning behind football fixtures being postponed because of hurling fixtures involving the same club.  If the hurling championship is that important to (Kilclief in this example), then they should simply field a weakened team in a football league match. If every game, at every level, in both codes is so important that nothing else can clash with it, then we have an impossible situation.

I think small clubs like Kilclief and Leitrim should be applauded and encouraged for playing both codes. If there was a properly planned fixture schedule at the start of the year that was adhered to, then there should be minimal disruption. Im sure both clubs have several key dual players and it would be very unfair for colin Shields or Phelim Sharvin as managers of kilclief hurlers and footballers to have to sacrafice success this year because of poor planning rather than poor management.

Kilclief should be allowed to compete at full strength in the ulster club hurling this weekend and I am sure the footballers and indeed the whole parish will be there to support them. It is ridiculous to suggest their footballers should potentially jeopardise their position at the top of the league because their fixture was never allocated a time slot in the gaa calendar at the start of the season and should be just squeezed in now to get it over and done with.

This problem was identified straight away in march, it was a disaster waiting to happen, it just seemed whoever was making out the fixture list couldnt be arsed finishing them.  Wobbler,I dont follow hurling an awful lot but I would bet that there are plenty of more hurling fixtures disrupted by football games than vice versa. Maybe the county board could consult with other dual counties like offaly, wexford,Derry, Antrim or Cork for a bit of advice. With only a couple of dual clubs in Down it should never be a problem but it is this year and Kilclief should not be punished beacause of it.

[redandblackareback]

[/sup]
Who was referee in the first minor game?

Young Ciaran Bannaigan from bryansford. he had a very good game. Up and coming Ref!!!!!

Great to see, heard great reports about him. Boys who understand the game need to be refereeing

Think there is another young lad from Rostrevor who is apparently getting rave reviews, Ciaran Mooney?? Is that Caolan Mooneys brother? Its a huge issue in this county the poor standard of refereeing, all too often the talking point after matches.

[thewobbler]

Ardtole, what you're basically saying is that every football club in Down should endure a longer and more fragmented season so that a handful of clubs can go stickfighting.

I can't agree. I'm no more for or against hurling than I am soccer. In my mind, if you enter a league, you should be spellbound to complete that league's fixtures in due time, regardless of external or associated commitments.

[dundrumite]

Ardtole, what you're basically saying is that every football club in Down should endure a longer and more fragmented season so that a handful of clubs can go stickfighting.

I can't agree. I'm no more for or against hurling than I am soccer. In my mind, if you enter a league, you should be spellbound to complete that league's fixtures in due time, regardless of external or associated commitments.

Wobbler I normally agree with you on vast majority of issues but on this case completely disagree. The term stickfighting to start with is extremely patronising for lads who are busting their pan to keep alive an important part of our games in this county. A game which in my opinion requires more skill than Gaelic football. Too suggest that a club should essentially be made choose one or the other at an important stage of the season would have massive implications and would cause nothing but rows, fall outs guaranteed and potentially split the club which from kilclief's point of view would be a disaster and unfair.Kilclief shouldn't and correctly are allowed to accommodate both and deserve congratulating for their dual success not to be backed into a dilemma based corner. Hopefully lessons can be learnt from this year and powers that be look at all potential avenues to avoid winter play offs.

[thewobbler]

Dundrumite, the difference in our opinions is because you feel emotionally tied to promoting hurling, whereas I couldn't care less about it. Hurling, as a game, should be able to stand on it's own two feet, and run independently of football. If the games have to complement each other's fixture lists, then it's proper tail wagging the dog stuff. There's maybe 100 dual players in Down; the 800 footballers should not be held to ransom by this minority.

[PAULD123]

Ardtole, what you're basically saying is that every football club in Down should endure a longer and more fragmented season so that a handful of clubs can go stickfighting.

I can't agree. I'm no more for or against hurling than I am soccer. In my mind, if you enter a league, you should be spellbound to complete that league's fixtures in due time, regardless of external or associated commitments.

Have to say that not only do I agree with Dundrumite, I am quite suprised that this is your opinion Wobbler. I am no big hurling fan but it is a vital and colourful part of our history and our Gaelic brotherhood. The beauty of the GAA is that it is more than just a sport and a handful of games, it is a cultural fraternity. We should not be asking people to choose between two improtant aspects of it. And we should be able to allow everyone to participate in all aspects of the GAA where they can. 

[whitegoodman]

While the stickfighters of this world may disagree, I struggle badly with the reasoning behind football fixtures being postponed because of hurling fixtures involving the same club.  If the hurling championship is that important to (Kilclief in this example), then they should simply field a weakened team in a football league match. If every game, at every level, in both codes is so important that nothing else can clash with it, then we have an impossible situation.

Ridiculous statement. That and your comparison of hurling with soccer shows a very ignorant view of gaelic games.

[thewobbler]

Whitegoodman perhaps you're right.

But in any walk of life I object to situations in which the minority calls the tune for the overwhelming majority.

I'd suggest that your type ofunwillingness to entertain the idea that hurling and football might be mutually exclusive entities, does more harm than good to the Association. Promote hurling by all means, but not at the expense of football.

[ardtole]

This is probably the first time ive defended Kilclief in my life, but to suggest that hurling is wagging the tail of the footballers is pathetic. Dungiven footballers and hurlers won both sfc titles in derry in the same year recently and Ballyboden st ednas in Dublin. So dual clubs can work given a chance. There is a clash this year between football and hurling in Kilclief and its not the clubs fault for being successful. Whoever made up the fixture list for div 3 this year made a c**k up, it could be December before its completed. It shouldnt be too hard to learn from this years mistakes and rectify them for next year. All leagues in my opinion should be completed in september with play offs in October.

[johnneycool]

I'd suggest that your type ofunwillingness to entertain the idea that hurling and football might be mutually exclusive entities, does more harm than good to the Association. Promote hurling by all means, but not at the expense of football.

Wobbler is obviously entitled to his opinion and from his loft perch football is his be all and end all and that's fine as he's in the majority within this county, but as a member of the GAA which is set up to promote all aspects of Irish culture he needs to maybe take a step back from his arrogant stance.

Kilclief, historically are a hurling club who play football and like other dual clubs should be commended not penalised for being successful in both codes and I'm sure they have a sizeable overlap of players being asked to turn out for both codes. More power to them I say.

I've noticed that with a Div3 of 12 teams that's 22 odd fixtures in a year, and I'm no expert on how these leagues work as there may be promotion and relegation playoff's, not to mention championship fixtures, so the club footballer in Down will play almost twice the number of games as his hurling counterpart, so hurling is well and truly already in the ha'penny place in this county thanks to men in power.

If the football leagues are not being completed then reduce the size and have five leagues instead of four.

[Mourne Rover]

The arguments about accommodating football and hurling are always complicated, but I would question Wobbler's claim that there are `maybe 100' dual players in Down. If you include the underage ranks, from u12 upwards, there would be not far short of that number in the Bredagh club alone. They all deserve the chance to play their football and hurling, although it is very difficult to be competitive, as opposed to simply fielding teams, in both codes.

[Mid Down Gael]

ACFL Division 1

Saval 1-7 Kilcoo 1-11

Good way for us to bounce back from last weeks demorilising defeat with a deserving 4 point win in Saval in wet conditions.

[wehatepauly2]

ACFL Division 1

Saval 1-7 Kilcoo 1-11

Good way for us to bounce back from last weeks demorilising defeat with a deserving 4 point win in Saval in wet conditions.

Great result with a very young team,fine display from everyone on an awful wet evening?
Any other results?how'd the yellas do?

[thewobbler]

Mourne Rover, let's not get hung up on exact figures. If you want to bring dual juveniles into the equation, then also take into the equation juvenile footballers only. In which case the duallists continue to be a tiny minority.

Ardtole, hurling isn't the tail thats wagging football's dog. Kilclief are the tail in this instance. Because they, one club in Division 3, are playing important hurling matches, every other club in thei division has to wait aroun for them, and they'll all be playing football in November, and the hugely important playoff matches will be muck infested wars of attrition in December.

The point I'm really trying to get across here is that in my opinion, this is too big an ask of Kilclief's competitors in Division 3. There just is no sense in a football division being put in hold because one team wishes to use their players in another sport.

The hurling folk can play their emotive cards all they like, but if at the same time they're not prepared to accept that this is not a league secretary's fault, then I think these noises should be ignored. If we need a 40 week season because one team wants to wave their sticks around, then this is very much the case of a tail wagging the dog.