Gaelic Life

[Norf Tyrone]

Have to say that this paper just keeps getting better.  This weeks was excellent, usual top drawer stuff from Brolly, and the top ten lists.  I know there was a lot of scepticism about this paper when it first came out, because every GAA paper or magazine which preceeded it was crap.  But this is an essential buy every Friday.  I know some of the Gaelic Life guys read this board, so some constructive criticism.

Yip it is getting better and better. My problem is getting time to read it sometimes!

Fair play to the GL!

[Gabriel_Hurl]

It's the highlight of my Tuesday mornings when I get it in the post from me mam 

[ziggysego]

It's the highlight of my Tuesday mornings when I get it in the post from me mam 

Why don't you just subscripe to it on-line?

[Gabriel_Hurl]

Can't take the computer to the bog with me 

[ziggysego]

Can't take the computer to the bog with me 

Why don't you buy yourself a wire-less laptop then

[Out in Front]

.....Sorry to hear sales aren't great but that's simply down to the rise of the Internet and the fact that reading print is almost a thing of the past!

O'Neill, where did you hear sales weren't good for GL?

[ONeill]

I was talking to a GAA photographer a fortnight ago and he told me so...though his reasoning was somewhat dubious...i.e. giving free copies away - that could just be just a case of printing a few extra I suppose.

Good to see Deaglan Bogue contributing -  fine journo.

[orangeman]

People are maybe thinking if they're being given away then they're not up to much ?

[ExiledGael]

Must say Brolly is a great read every week, his column appears in the Derry journal too which is where I nabbed this from, very funny, especially his opinions on Conor Mortimer, and his lobbed goal account at Celtic Park.

FUNNY HOW a run in the Championship puts you in a good mood. I woke up on Sunday morning and went for the papers, then sat smiling through them.
"Derry Bandwagon Rolls On" declared the headline on the front page of the 'Sunday Times' Sports Section, with a large action photo from the game.
"Derry send warning with ten points demolition of Mayo" screamed another headline.
Various journalists have been ringing me during the week, all asking the same question; "How good are Derry?"
Having been discounted completely after the putrid effort against Monaghan, we have suddenly appeared back on the radar, and the media are anxious to get to know us.
It is good for the old self respect to see the county team being talked about again, but where do we really stand? As I was leaving the ground I bumped into a couple of my old team mates. Enda Gormley was positively raving about the team: "That's the best Derry performance in five years!" he maintained.
Fergal McCusker was also delighted, but sounded a note of caution. He agreed that the result was good but said he was worried the victory "papered over a lot of cracks."
The truth is that the performance was a mixed bag. Barry Gillis didn't have much to do, but committed a howler that will be shown in years to come on the Free State equivalent of "It'll be alright on the night!"
It is clear that Gerard O'Kane is not a corner back and it is unfair to play him there, but it was only after the excellent Thomas Freeman skinned and pickled him in Casement that the penny finally dropped.
On Saturday last both our corner backs were excellent and provided the foundation for the easy win. Michael McGoldrick was easily the best player on the field and does everything right. He put Conor Mortimer in his pocket and fed him on farts (as we used to say in primary school).
Conor is no good anyway, but regardless of that, young Michael was outstanding, and more importantly, he ticks all the boxes.
Then there was Sean Marty, who had reverted back into the corner for O'Kane and was a pleasure to watch. On the few occasions when Andy Moran actually got the ball, Sean simply shepherded him onto his weak foot and kept him on it. As a result, Andy kept going on solo runs nowhere, then stopped and hand passed the ball back to someone else.
Strong, dominant and relentless, Sean Marty looks as though he could go on for another 10 years.
Kevin McCloy put in another fine performance at full-back. Barry Moran is an old-style edge of the square full forward, so Kevin was happy as a pig in clabber. The full-back line was totally dominant and Mayo couldn't get scores.
Francis McEldowney was, as usual, game as a pheasant, throwing himself into the match in the true spirit of the Gael - and I cannot let the moment pass without commending him for his heroic efforts against Armagh - but he will never pass the "Oh Jesus" test!
At one stage in the first half Sean Marty patiently tracked his man down the sideline, keeping him on his wrong foot, and eventually forcing him into an error. The ball came to Francis on the edge of his own square. He came out under little pressure and fisted a 'hospital' ball in the general direction of James Conway.
"Oh Jesus!" thought the crowd. The Mayo full forward gleefully accepted the gift and popped it back over the bar.
Liam Hinphey was strangely lacklustre and needs, as his father is wont to say, "the size 12 applied to the rear end!"
He did his basic duties well enough, but in common with most of the defence he doesn't break out at speed when we gain possession in the midfield and defensive areas.
Only Michael McGoldrick and Sean Marty break at pace while the others pass and stand, or watch while their team mate gets into trouble. Against Monaghan this was very apparent and, as a result, Monaghan kept us pinned in our own half for most of the game.
We must break out at speed and in packs at this level. If we continue with this bad habit against Laois, they will turn possession over on us all day long and we will lose.
Hilarious delight
James Conway was poor by his standards, as was Conleth Gilligan. Enda was in and out, but his lobbed goal was a hilarious delight. To the best of my knowledge it is the first lobbed goal in Celtic Park since I hoodwinked the Meath goalie in a league play-off in 1998.
"F...k!" he shouted, as the ball looped over his fingertips. It had been a bad tempered contest and the goal won it for us with a few minutes to go. I turned and ran out the field, blowing kisses and pointing at the foot. BBC showed footage of the incident recently and even I cringed!
Anyway, the antics came to an end when Colm Coyle (now Meath manager) put his boot in my leg and left me needing stitches. As I was coming into the dressing room afterwards, Brian Mullins said to me: "You deserved that you little bollocks!"
Memories, memories

***Another plus for us is Colin Devlin. Like all the Ballinderry boys, he has the skills because he's been properly coached. He is quick, has good positional sense and is that rare beast - a natural forward.
Meanwhile, Paddy Bradley is too one dimensional with his runs, making the same dash to the left touchline time and again. I would like to see him moving the defender around a bit more, sometimes roving outfield and sometimes hugging the square to get himself into position for goals. He didn't score from play for a long time, yet he played very patiently and eventually posted three very good points at an important time.
Mark Lynch got the kick in the arse he deserved by being left on the bench and it certainly had the desired effect. He came on and played his best game for a long time.
Mindful of Anthony Tohill's comments on the 'Sunday Game' recently, that this Derry team doesn't handle praise well, the line I have taken with the Press is that Armagh were done and Mayo were woeful.
And yet against Armagh, we battled with real heart and when we did that we were more than a match for them. Against Mayo, we also battled hard and again our pedigree shone through.
In the last quarter against them, when the game was in the melting pot, we crucified them with a ten minute spell that was out of this world. The trick is to sustain this for 70 minutes, in which case there will be very few available to live with us.

[Fishead_Sam]

This article got a lambasting in the Local Mayo papers, The Mayo News is the one I think I read about it in.

It might be on the wall of the Mayo dressing room in the bowels of Croke Park before the 2009 All-Ireland Semi-Final, as O'Mahoney prepares his troops for battle with the previous years All-Irelands Runners Up Derry 

This adds to the resolve of a Mayo team that has already defeated 2 in a row ex-Connacht Champions Sligo & Munster Finalists Kerry.

The stakes are high because the winner gets to play the winners of Dublin & Meath, an easy All-Ireland is in the bag for todays victors 

[Maguire01]

I was talking to a GAA photographer a fortnight ago and he told me so...though his reasoning was somewhat dubious...i.e. giving free copies away - that could just be just a case of printing a few extra I suppose.

Good to see Deaglan Bogue contributing -  fine journo.

From my knowledge of the publishing industry, it doesn't matter how many copies are paid for and how many are given away free. The vast majority of the cover price is taken by the retailer, distributer, printer etc. anyway - that's not how a publication makes its money.

The real money is in the advertising. Advertisers don't care how many you actually sell - all they care about is the readership - i.e. how many people will pick up the magazine and therefore potentially see their advertisements. Giving away free copies does not mean that a publication is in trouble by any means. The higher the readership figure, the higher the advertising rates.

[mayo51]

joe brolly is a complete and utter w**ker and btw c.mort was top scorer in ireland last year and also won an allstar.

[Fishead_Sam]

Not that we would read it in a real Province like Connacht 

[Fishead_Sam]

Not that we would read it in a real Province like Connacht 

Because you have lost interest in the GAA after almost all of you have been dumped out on your holes.

Nah just a brief rest for our Senior Intercounty teams, we hardly have lost interest in the GAA because we don't read a magazine/paper about Ulster football. Sure everyone knows Mayo & Galway County Board planned our exits, its because we wanted to facilitate our club competitions, coz we the Real GAA 

[ExiledGael]

I see McSherry had a go at our distinguished board in the paper at the weekend as well as name dropping a few of our famous posters, ofcourse Ziggy gets a mention with a few others