All Ireland Semi Final: The Dubs v Cavan, 1730 Saturday 5 December 2020

[Milltown Row2]

Filing a stadium with 40,000 Dubs out of a population of 1.2 million some achievement.

When Dublin played Donegal in 2002 and Tyrone in 2005 and Westmeath in 2006, there was a of minimum 60-65k Dubs in a full 82k capacity stadium

It seems you want a much larger capacity stadium

How much?

200k capacity? 500k?

I don't want that

I don't think it would be a wise use of money

So why do you want it?

Surely the ticket allocation would have been shared between counties? And take into consideration minor teams involved that day? 62 seems very high and unfair

[sid waddell]

Filing a stadium with 40,000 Dubs out of a population of 1.2 million some achievement.

When Dublin played Donegal in 2002 and Tyrone in 2005 and Westmeath in 2006, there was a of minimum 60-65k Dubs in a full 82k capacity stadium

It seems you want a much larger capacity stadium

How much?

200k capacity? 500k?

I don't want that

I don't think it would be a wise use of money

So why do you want it?

Surely the ticket allocation would have been shared between counties? And take into consideration minor teams involved that day? 62 seems very high and unfair

All-Ireland quarter-finals - the Donegal and Tyrone games were replays on Saturdays, Westmeath wouldn't have been bringing a huge amount in the first place

The opposition wouldn't have been bringing any more than 15k in any of these cases

Can't remember what the curtain raisers were on those days or even if there were any, but whatever they were they weren't crowd pullers by any stretch of the imagination

[sid waddell]

You have seriously mental health issues or just a complete ballbag where did I say I want that, just quote or shut up.

Well clearly you want to do an experiment with an almost unlimited capacity stadium in the mid 2000s just to see how many Dubs would have turned up, and to measure it as a percentage of the total population of Dublin

Strange thing to want

[Lar Naparka]

Well done the Dubs on reaching another All Ireland final. Your performance last night was once again classic. As a team you have shown that Gaelic Football when played at the highest level is the equal of any other football game in the world - and something of which we should all be proud.

Fenton and Kilkenny having their own personal battle for POTY. Fenton is best midfielder I've been seen in football in the last 30 years. He can do everything. High fielding, tackling, shooting and a leader as well.

Everyone crying bitter tears over Dublin's domination don't care about the championship. They only care that their own county can't beat the dubs and hate that not only are the Dublin footballers supremely talented but they are also down to earth normal lads.

If all the Dublin haters really cared about the championship they'd be looking at what could be done for the likes of Wicklow, Leitrim, Clare etc who compete every year in a provincial championship they have no chance of ever winning and normally get well beaten by their opponents.

Giving counties like them something to realistically aim for would be more beneficial to GAA overall

I presume that was posted with your tongue firmly in your cheek.
The Dublin supporters who refuse to acknowledge that there is a serious problem are the ones who don't care about the championship.
The Leinster championship has been dead for several years now, with former players recommending their counties boycott the competition.
The All-Ireland championship as a whole is on the same trajectory, it's incredibly obvious and equally incredible some people don't see that.

Again, the Homer Simpson mantra - "if something is difficult, it's not worth doing"

This literally is what the attitude is

And it should be mercilessly ridiculed - it deserves to be, that's all it deserves

If you desire to be a loser, you'll be a loser

I'm not suggesting counties should quit.
I would suggest the GAA should stop funding Dublin as they are self-sustaining at this stage. Funding and organisational assistance should be given to other counties to give them the same opportunities i.e. similar to what was done for Dublin in the past 15 years.

There are 31 counties in the rest of Ireland

They can bang their collective heads together and come up with a genuine plan that serves their needs and the needs of the GAA as a whole - the GAA is a democratic organisation

But they never do that

When you hear what Eddie Brennan said about the Laois County Board, and the anti-county board rhetoric from various counties that I've read on this board over many years, that's probably not a surprise

Dublin is also part of the GAA and children in Dublin are no less deserving of being able to participate than anywhere else

G'man sid, if defending the indefensible was an Olympic sport, you'd be wearing the green by now. 
What percentage of children in Dublin actively participate in GAA activities?
While I'm at it, what percentage of the general public give a damn about Dublin GAA in any shape or form?
You are catering for a very special pampered elite and bankrupting the GAA in the process.




(PS. I was actively involved in Dublin Primary Schools, (Cumann na mBunscol) activities for more than three decades and in my considered imo, there is an active percentage of <5% who continue to play with local clubs when they leave primary level.)

I don't have the stats but I'd wager participation rates in Dublin at both juvenile and adult levels are significantly behind most other counties

As for your question about "what percentage of the public give a damn about Dublin GAA in any shape or form", it's sort of hard to answer a question which is written as a clear whinge and also contains no context whatsoever - it's like something you'd get from a trollbot on Twitter - or perhaps Ewan MacKenna - and perhaps those two things are not mutually exclusive

Though clearly a lot of people in Dublin do give a damn given the way Dublin have consistently filled the new Croke Park over the last 18 years - and that's merely a visible demonstration

Moaning about "pampered elites" is yet another MacKennaism

Now, now, you are attempting to shift the goalposts sid. 

I asked you a direct question:  "what percentage of the public give a damn about Dublin GAA in any shape or form." Obviously, we are talking in a Dublin context here.
I wasn't thinking of Ewan McKenna when I wrote this, rather I was thinking of Diarmuid Connolly.

Diarmuid lives on the longest road in Donnycarney which is as oul' Dub as can be found outside of the Liberties. On the morning of last year's final, there were a total of two Dublin flags on display and a bedraggled string of bunting tied between two lampposts which has split in two so the ends were trailing on the ground. This had happened a few days before the game and nobody had bothered to repair the insult to Dublin's heritage and tradition.
A few years ago Ballyboden played Castlebar in the AI club final.
In the lead up to the game I had a discussion with a poster named Jinxsy, who lives (lived?) in the Ballyboden catchment area, about the level in local participation of the respective clubs. I had been to Castlebar a short while before we chatted and I was able to report that just about every house, shop and lamp post were displaying the Mitchels' colours  where the most Jinxsy could find in any street in the Firhouse/Ballyboden was three house flags, no bunting, no good luck posters or sweet damn all of anything else.
What more context do you need?
I happen to agree with a lot of what Ewan McKenna has to say about Dublin's funding. Figures speak for themselves and he at least goes to the trouble of quoting his sources so talking about McKenna's opinions is a cop out. You produce nothing to counter his claims.
Dublin consistently filling Croke Park iis a dalliance with the facts for two reasons. Dublin didn't consistently fill Croke Park on any occasion on their own.
Going by flags and vocal support, Mayo with a tenth or so of your population, matched your numbers and support.
And there's another thing: Dublin has close to one third of the Irish republic's population so half filling Croke Park on glamour occasions is no big deal.
If Mayo or many other counties had your numbers, the crowds clamouring to get in would easily fill five Croke parks for a league game!

[Seaney]

You have seriously mental health issues or just a complete ballbag where did I say I want that, just quote or shut up.

Well clearly you want to do an experiment with an almost unlimited capacity stadium in the mid 2000s just to see how many Dubs would have turned up, and to measure it as a percentage of the total population of Dublin

Strange thing to want

Can you please quote where I said that, are you on medication?

[sid waddell]

Well done the Dubs on reaching another All Ireland final. Your performance last night was once again classic. As a team you have shown that Gaelic Football when played at the highest level is the equal of any other football game in the world - and something of which we should all be proud.

Fenton and Kilkenny having their own personal battle for POTY. Fenton is best midfielder I've been seen in football in the last 30 years. He can do everything. High fielding, tackling, shooting and a leader as well.

Everyone crying bitter tears over Dublin's domination don't care about the championship. They only care that their own county can't beat the dubs and hate that not only are the Dublin footballers supremely talented but they are also down to earth normal lads.

If all the Dublin haters really cared about the championship they'd be looking at what could be done for the likes of Wicklow, Leitrim, Clare etc who compete every year in a provincial championship they have no chance of ever winning and normally get well beaten by their opponents.

Giving counties like them something to realistically aim for would be more beneficial to GAA overall

I presume that was posted with your tongue firmly in your cheek.
The Dublin supporters who refuse to acknowledge that there is a serious problem are the ones who don't care about the championship.
The Leinster championship has been dead for several years now, with former players recommending their counties boycott the competition.
The All-Ireland championship as a whole is on the same trajectory, it's incredibly obvious and equally incredible some people don't see that.

Again, the Homer Simpson mantra - "if something is difficult, it's not worth doing"

This literally is what the attitude is

And it should be mercilessly ridiculed - it deserves to be, that's all it deserves

If you desire to be a loser, you'll be a loser

I'm not suggesting counties should quit.
I would suggest the GAA should stop funding Dublin as they are self-sustaining at this stage. Funding and organisational assistance should be given to other counties to give them the same opportunities i.e. similar to what was done for Dublin in the past 15 years.

There are 31 counties in the rest of Ireland

They can bang their collective heads together and come up with a genuine plan that serves their needs and the needs of the GAA as a whole - the GAA is a democratic organisation

But they never do that

When you hear what Eddie Brennan said about the Laois County Board, and the anti-county board rhetoric from various counties that I've read on this board over many years, that's probably not a surprise

Dublin is also part of the GAA and children in Dublin are no less deserving of being able to participate than anywhere else

G'man sid, if defending the indefensible was an Olympic sport, you'd be wearing the green by now. 
What percentage of children in Dublin actively participate in GAA activities?
While I'm at it, what percentage of the general public give a damn about Dublin GAA in any shape or form?
You are catering for a very special pampered elite and bankrupting the GAA in the process.




(PS. I was actively involved in Dublin Primary Schools, (Cumann na mBunscol) activities for more than three decades and in my considered imo, there is an active percentage of <5% who continue to play with local clubs when they leave primary level.)

I don't have the stats but I'd wager participation rates in Dublin at both juvenile and adult levels are significantly behind most other counties

As for your question about "what percentage of the public give a damn about Dublin GAA in any shape or form", it's sort of hard to answer a question which is written as a clear whinge and also contains no context whatsoever - it's like something you'd get from a trollbot on Twitter - or perhaps Ewan MacKenna - and perhaps those two things are not mutually exclusive

Though clearly a lot of people in Dublin do give a damn given the way Dublin have consistently filled the new Croke Park over the last 18 years - and that's merely a visible demonstration

Moaning about "pampered elites" is yet another MacKennaism

Now, now, you are attempting to shift the goalposts sid. 

I asked you a direct question:  "what percentage of the public give a damn about Dublin GAA in any shape or form." Obviously, we are talking in a Dublin context here.
I wasn't thinking of Ewan McKenna when I wrote this, rather I was thinking of Diarmuid Connolly.

Diarmuid lives on the longest road in Donnycarney which is as oul' Dub as can be found outside of the Liberties. On the morning of last year's final, there were a total of two Dublin flags on display and a bedraggled string of bunting tied between two lampposts which has split in two so the ends were trailing on the ground. This had happened a few days before the game and nobody had bothered to repair the insult to Dublin's heritage and tradition.
A few years ago Ballyboden played Castlebar in the AI club final.
In the lead up to the game I had a discussion with a poster named Jinxsy, who lives (lived?) in the Ballyboden catchment area, about the level in local participation of the respective clubs. I had been to Castlebar a short while before we chatted and I was able to report that just about every house, shop and lamp post were displaying the Mitchels' colours  where the most Jinxsy could find in any street in the Firhouse/Ballyboden was three house flags, no bunting, no good luck posters or sweet damn all of anything else.
What more context do you need?
I happen to agree with a lot of what Ewan McKenna has to say about Dublin's funding. Figures speak for themselves and he at least goes to the trouble of quoting his sources so talking about McKenna's opinions is a cop out. You produce nothing to counter his claims.
Dublin consistently filling Croke Park iis a dalliance with the facts for two reasons. Dublin didn't consistently fill Croke Park on any occasion on their own.
Going by flags and vocal support, Mayo with a tenth or so of your population, matched your numbers and support.
And there's another thing: Dublin has close to one third of the Irish republic's population so half filling Croke Park on glamour occasions is no big deal.
If Mayo or many other counties had your numbers, the crowds clamouring to get in would easily fill five Croke parks for a league game!

Your question is unanswerable without an opinion poll, so I'm not sure how you expect me to answer something like that

If a lower percentage of the population of Dublin is interested in GAA than in say, Mayo, and I'd agree that that's the case, it puts to bed a lot of the population argument as regards the senior team and reinforces the need for grass roots funding

You also have to understand that a lot of Dublin's population is not actually from Dublin - a much much higher figure than the corresponding figure in Mayo or other rural counties

I don't take what MacKenna says seriously because he i) he uses Twitter as his primary medium ii) it appears to me he cherry picks statistics to suit his own narrative and iii) he consistently uses foul language and general arseholery, thus lessening his credibility, which I don;t think is very high in the first place

Just on the flags thing, Dubs generally aren't massively into flying flags from houses, I've never flown a flag outside my house and when I lived in Dublin (up to 2015) very, very few people on my street would fly flags from their houses, that didn't mean they weren't going to Dublin matches or club matches, or not involved in the GAA, every bus into the city would be packed with supporters

Ironically a lot of the people who did fly flags tended not to be big supporters at all, they didn't go to matches but liked to be conspicuous around All-Ireland time

Mayo didn't bring many supporters to All-Ireland semi-finals in 1988, 1993 and 1996, they brought very few indeed to the quarter-finals against Cork in 2002 and against Kerry in 2005

Dublin's regular crowds were bigger when they were not successful in the 2002-2008 period

[From the Bunker]

Mayo didn't bring many supporters to All-Ireland semi-finals in 1988, 1993 and 1996, they brought very few indeed to the quarter-finals against Cork in 2002 and against Kerry in 2005

Dublin's regular crowds were bigger when they were not successful in the 2002-2008 period

There was a shortage of money in the '80's and '90's. Going to Croke Park is an expensive day out for a Family from Mayo! Following Dublin for a Dub fan is the price of a Return Dart ticket and the Match Ticket.

[Lar Naparka]

 ATTN: sid

Taking your points in order...



Your question is unanswerable without an opinion poll, so I'm not sure how you expect me to answer something like that.

Only if you take my question at face value.
Certainly it would take an opinion poll to give an exact percentage but I have lived in a number of different areas in the city and I have been in Donnycarney for many years and, further to that, I spent my career teaching in Finglas and a considerable majority don't take note of GAA affairs.


*(If) a lower percentage of the population of Dublin is interested in GAA than in say, Mayo, and I'd agree that that's the case, it puts to bed a lot of the population argument as regards the senior team and **reinforces the need for grass roots funding.

* That's what concerns me, isn't it?

** It does indeed but an investment of €274 per player in Dublin compared to a mere €22 for their counterparts in Mayo won't hep tp ensure that they will compete on qual terms  when the teams next meet.

You also have to understand that a lot of Dublin's population is not actually from Dublin - a much much higher figure than the corresponding figure in Mayo or other rural counties

Here, I certainly agree with you but very many from the country are GAA people to begin with and their kids are, by and large, going to be Dublin supporters and this is one of the main reasons the gap in standards between Dublin and the rest is increasing.

I don't take what MacKenna says seriously because he i) he uses Twitter as his primary medium ii) it appears to me he cherry picks statistics to suit his own narrative and iii) he consistently uses foul language and general arseholery, thus lessening his credibility, which I don;t think is very high in the first place

Again, I agree with you here. His standards are regressing all the time but I refer to the sources he uses, between obscenities, to make his pins. If they are accurate, he makes his case no matter how much of an arswehole he is now..

Just on the flags thing, Dubs generally aren't massively into flying flags from houses, I've never flown a flag outside my house and when I lived in Dublin (up to 2015) very, very few people on my street would fly flags from their houses, that didn't mean they weren't going to Dublin matches or club matches, or not involved in the GAA, every bus into the city would be packed with supporters

On the flags issue, I have seen far more flags and bunting on my street and in the Finglas region whenever the local clubs , Parnells, Vins, Isles, etc. won anything of note and support for the national soccer team is invariably much better supported going by the decorations on houses. No shortage of support during, say. Italia 90.

Ironically a lot of the people who did fly flags tended not to be big supporters at all, they didn't go to matches but liked to be conspicuous around All-Ireland time


I agree that many who go to Croker for glamour occasions are just temporary fans but I have no way of knowing if they tend to fly flags etc. or not. But I'll take your word for it.


Mayo didn't bring many supporters to All-Ireland semi-finals in 1988, 1993 and 1996, they brought very few indeed to the quarter-finals against Cork in 2002 and against Kerry in 2005

You are certainly correct on this one. But Mayo played at a far lower standard back then and  anyway, right now, Mayo's participation levels are not under discussion.

Dublin's regular crowds were bigger when they were not successful in the 2002-2008 period

No problem agreeing with you here  but again we are discussing the present. .
Indeed, the further back you go, the greater this support was. Time was when fleets of buses took Dub fans to away games and most of them were made welcome wherever they went - in the pubs anyway.

[sid waddell]

Mayo didn't bring many supporters to All-Ireland semi-finals in 1988, 1993 and 1996, they brought very few indeed to the quarter-finals against Cork in 2002 and against Kerry in 2005

Dublin's regular crowds were bigger when they were not successful in the 2002-2008 period

There was a shortage of money in the '80's and '90's. Going to Croke Park is an expensive day out for a Family from Mayo! Following Dublin for a Dub fan is the price of a Return Dart ticket and the Match Ticket.

There was plenty of money about by 1996 and certainly by 2002 and 2005

There was less money about by 2012/13, yet May brought huge support in 2012/13

The difference was Mayo supporters genuinely smelled success in 2012/13 whereas they didn't believe in their team in 1996, 2002 and 2005 (despite reaching the All-Ireland final in 2004)

By 1997 Mayo were bringing a much bigger turnout to an All-Ireland semi-final than 1996 because they smelled success then too

Similarly in 2006 they were bringing a much bigger turnout when they played Dublin than when they played Kerry in 2005, they were "up for the day" because they knew the Dubs would bring the atmosphere, it would be a full house and they wanted to be there, in 2005 they knew Kerry would hardly bring anybody because Kerry supporters don't generally travel for quarter-finals, and also Mayo expected full well to lose

Criticising the turnout of Dublin supporters and then making excuses for poor Mayo turnouts is fairly specious reasoning

[Seaney]

You have seriously mental health issues or just a complete ballbag where did I say I want that, just quote or shut up.

Well clearly you want to do an experiment with an almost unlimited capacity stadium in the mid 2000s just to see how many Dubs would have turned up, and to measure it as a percentage of the total population of Dublin

Strange thing to want

Can you please quote where I said that, are you on medication?

So just to be clear you totally made that up and are a compulsive liar.

[sid waddell]

You have seriously mental health issues or just a complete ballbag where did I say I want that, just quote or shut up.

Well clearly you want to do an experiment with an almost unlimited capacity stadium in the mid 2000s just to see how many Dubs would have turned up, and to measure it as a percentage of the total population of Dublin

Strange thing to want

Can you please quote where I said that, are you on medication?

So just to be clear you totally made that up and are a compulsive liar.

I laughed heartily at that, especially from you, the forum's arch-lying troll

[Seaney]

You have seriously mental health issues or just a complete ballbag where did I say I want that, just quote or shut up.

Well clearly you want to do an experiment with an almost unlimited capacity stadium in the mid 2000s just to see how many Dubs would have turned up, and to measure it as a percentage of the total population of Dublin

Strange thing to want

Can you please quote where I said that, are you on medication?

So just to be clear you totally made that up and are a compulsive liar.

I laughed heartily at that, especially from you, the forum's arch-lying troll

So you just made it up, a complete liar.

[Seaney]

You have seriously mental health issues or just a complete ballbag where did I say I want that, just quote or shut up.

Well clearly you want to do an experiment with an almost unlimited capacity stadium in the mid 2000s just to see how many Dubs would have turned up, and to measure it as a percentage of the total population of Dublin

Strange thing to want

Can you please quote where I said that, are you on medication?

So just to be clear you totally made that up and are a compulsive liar.

I laughed heartily at that, especially from you, the forum's arch-lying troll

So you just made it up, a complete liar.

Last time of asking or you just accepting you make up shite for a reaction, keep taking the tablets kid.

[Angelo]

Dublin fans are against fairness and a level playing field.

When you try and engage them with reason, logic and facts they go in full on defence mode.

They are the GAA's unionists.

[dublin7]

Dublin fans are against fairness and a level playing field.

When you try and engage them with reason, logic and facts they go in full on defence mode.

They are the GAA's unionists.

That part in bold is brilliant. You're hypocrisy knows no bounds. Everyone trying to get you to provide any of the above in relation to your covid vaccine views is always disappointed