Antrim - What's the story

[ck]

I'm not intending to offend Antrim Gaels with my observation but I believe it's relevant to this thread.
My in laws are Belfast GAA people. There is a massive difference in my GAA tradition and that of my in laws. Belfast folk have an opinion on everything, they have an answer to all ills, but they are low in action. They don't fundraise, support underage, coach or support their clubs properly in numbers. For me there isn't a "real" GAA culture or tradition. Their clubs and grounds are clustered due to the troubles and are in the same state they were in 30years ago. I could go on but don't want to offend the good Antrim people who do care for the GAA.

[Itchy]

1940 pages on the antrim hurling thread. Crazy they can't get their act together but maybe as you say too many Wafflers and no doers.

[keep her low this half]

Antrim is the only county in Ulster that attempts ( badly ) to be a dual county. That means a relatively equal division of all funding for all teams and development squads. I suspect that Antrim puts much more  funds into developing football than Tyrone or Down does into developing hurling. In very rough terms most teams in North Antrim are hurling only, most in South Antrim are football only and Belfast has more commitment to dual clubs. This leads to a lack of a united county feeling in my opinion with clicks in all areas on various issues and a serious them and us attitude. A house divided against itself will fall and Antrim has been divided against itself for as long as I care to remember.

[armaghniac]

I don't think Antrim hurling has been ruined by football, there is little indication of footballers making a serious effort either. Antrim has a decent population to make a go of both codes, as Dublin has.

[keep her low this half]

Antrim has the third highest number of clubs in Ireland, behind Dublin and Cork. It takes a lot of effort to maintain those clubs from the people interested in GAA and given the historical lack of success in either code in Antrim the club versus county issue is much more relevant in Antrim than in more succesful counties. By the way I did not say that football was ruining hurling I was making the point that financial and administrative resources in Antrim are spread much thinner than any other county in Ulster due to the fact that Antrim attempts to be a dual county while no one else in Ulster does.

[DermyTDredi]

Antrim competes internally on 3 fronts:
- football v hurling
- club v county
- city v country

A few years ago they ran an initiative called the saffron sweep and they raised over £250,000...then they fucked up Dunsilly....there are people on the county board who take the seat as some kind of badge without actually doing anything...they haven't been able to generate consists commercial support from business in the city or across the county for that matter.

yet despite all of this there is some serious potential - St Galls and loughgeil prove that...if they ere to get the same level of support from Croke park that Dublin ir Cork did, then things might change....but the first change needs to come from within

[TheOptimist]

I always wondered has the lack of access to RTE around Antrim contributed to the apathy towards county football. The youngsters aren't getting to see the best in action in front of big crowds week in/week out.

With Virgin/Sky and the internet where they can now get RTE this may change.

[johnneycool]

I always wondered has the lack of access to RTE around Antrim contributed to the apathy towards county football. The youngsters aren't getting to see the best in action in front of big crowds week in/week out.

With Virgin/Sky and the internet where they can now get RTE this may change.

eh?

[TheOptimist]

Couldn't get RTE on the old aerials or Freeview around Belfast... in my years there anyway

[ck]

100% correct!

The country counties like Armagh and Tyrone take RTE access for granted. In Belfast it's a struggle, you have to go out of your way to get it. So you have generations growing up without a REAL sense of what GAA is all about. I loose RTE radio coming up the M1 around Moira too. Some Antrim people don't even know what they're missing, I'm not saying RTE is everything but at least it would give people a sense of GAA identity. BBC and UTV are a pathetic joke as for print media? Worse again. You have the Irish News which is a good GAA paper but there isn't that All-island connection that they should have with national media!
Antrim are stuck out on their own and a fractured media infrastructure simply compounds the matter

[imtommygunn]

It was harder to get in the 80 and 90s but it was still available as far up as the glens(perhaps more readily than belfast i don't know?).

In RTEs digital broadcasting now there are big blackspots up near the glens area where it is very difficult / nigh on impossible to get via the digital broadcast. (sky will get you it mind you - freeview i'm not so sure)

[rosnarun]

youd be waiting a while to see antrim on RTE esp footballers . maybe 30 seconds squeezed in at the end of the sunday game

[Clinker]

Antrim should start a scheme in West Belfast with reduced price wirelesses with marked dials of stations where the matches are on  instead of just radios with Athlone indicated on them so people can listen to the games and this may encourage them to get involved.

[johnneycool]

Couldn't get RTE on the old aerials or Freeview around Belfast... in my years there anyway

Well I was able to watch a Munster hurling final in Ballycastles old Portacabin years ago. Can't think of a club further North East and they were able to get RTÉ even then!!

[theticklemister]

youd be waiting a while to see antrim on RTE esp footballers . maybe 30 seconds squeezed in at the end of the sunday game

Ah, to be fair to Antrim; Belfast was always on RTE over the last 30 years....... The News section that is!