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Weren't they crying last year they wanted a stand alone fixture and when they got it they were crying it was a week later than they expected.  They kick up if they've to travel anywhere for a championship game, now they crying because they've to play in Croke park? (that's right isn't it? because I got sick of the tyrone v dublin thread)
I'm sick of their moaning and yapping, if they werent such a pack of pricks it would be funny. 

I don't agree with any foolish talk of a boycott but the above is completely untrue.

Dublin v Tyrone AIQF was originally fixed for Sat 9th Aug as a stand alone fixture. (This would have meant tyrone playing 3 matches in 3 weeks)
Galway complained as their quarter fonal would not then be played in Croke Park.
The GAC then offered the Dublin County Board the choice between a double header on the 9th or a standalone on the 16th.
After consulting with the players and mangement Dublin indicated to the GAC that they would like to play a double header on the 9th.
The GAC then despite having offered Dublin a choice fixed the match as a standalone fiixture on the 16th. Presumably this was done for financial reasons.

Now I think it would be foolish to say Dublin would have beaten Tyrone on the 9th considering how the game eventually panned out but in this case they were not treated very fairly by the GAC. 

louth-brawl with Laois.Stefan Whyte's moustache
dublin - hot days in Croker.
wexford - Tony Doran's no teeth
longford- Big Niall
wicklow - Refs in car boots
westmeath - traffic jams
laois - windy whiners
carlow-spliffs
offaly - economical
kilkenny - dread

tyrone - cynicism
cavan - Stephen King
down-Wee James diving
monaghan-Nudies little pot belly
armagh - hardy but smell of bottler off them
fermanagh - The Hideout
Antrim- Cloot
derry - Brian Mullins Hat
Donegal - lunacy

galway - smug, self satisfied.
mayo - fondness, Ciaran Mac
roscommon - Dermot Earley with his scocks pulled up
sligo - Benbulben
leitrim-emigration

kerry- smug but with good reason
cork- whining
tipp- Nicky, smug without good reason.
clare- Pj O Connell, the strut, the mullet and the moustache. 
waterford - Blaa's. Paul Flynn and the football manger who smokes Major.
limerick-fondness. Ciaran Carey swashbucler supreme.

Why is Murray backtracking in the paper today?  Sure he didn't say anything of offence!

He said some very offensive things but the Indo wouldn't print them as they could then be sued for libel. Murray hardly apologised for nothing.

Met Joey Towell up in the Phoenix Park about a year ago. He was pucking a sliotar against the dressing room walls of the old Eoghn Ruadh pitch. I had a juvenile team with me and I brought them over to him and told them he was the best hurler Dublin ever had. They were sceptical to say the least looking at this auld lad in his 50's with a bit of a belly on him. Then while he was talking to them he flaked the ball straight up about 150 feet in the air. Still chatting away to the young fellas he caught the ball behind his back on the way back down. The boys eyes nearly popped out of there heads. He showed them a few more tricks after that. They were enthralled with him. He is a gentleman and the lads are still talking about him.

Lads like it or not player welfare has improved considerably since the inception of the GPA. You can argue that it may have happened anyway but seen as very little improvements had been made before they arrived I don't think that arguements stand up. Below are some areas that have improved. If anyone thinks any of the below are a bad thing I give up.

Improved mileage rates
Requirement for players to get a hot meal after training
All inter County players get 2 tickets for ALL ireland finals
Requirement for certain amount of gear to be given to players each season
Grants for third level players
Setting up of benevolent players fund.

You really need lessons in arguing. Did I say I didn't believe you about the existence of the article?

First of all you complain that the GPA made no comment. Then when you were proved to be spoofing you try and wriggle out of it by claiming that no one knew they commented. They commented in a large article in the biggest selling newspaper in the country. What do you want? A pigeon to deliver all GPA statements to your doorstep. Your emabarrassing yourself.

That's not really the point. The fact that only yourself can remember any comment by Farrell (and at that one skirting the subject as per your report) proves my point.

See below article Magpie Seanie. Do you believe me now?

'Failure to apply sanctions the problem' - Farrell

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THE failure to apply meaningful sanctions that punish serious offenders lies at the heart of the current International Rules crisis according to GPA chief executive, Dessie Farrell.

He blames administrators from both codes for not practising what they preach regarding discipline and punishment for those who offend.

"The reality is that the sanctions don't really hurt so they're not a real deterrent. We were told that it would be different this year and that players who stepped out of line would be sent off and no replacement allowed, yet not one red card was handed out on Sunday.

"The refereeing was disgracefully bad. We all saw what happened in the first quarter, yet neither referee sent off a player on a straight red card, which was amazing. And then you have a goal scored while a large group of players are tearing into each other quite close by. It was bizarre stuff," he said.

He pointed to the specific example of where Irish forwards tried to make a run, only to have their jerseys pulled.

"It was happening in full view of officials, yet no action was taken. Some of the Australian tackling was way out of order but with no real sanctions in place, they didn't really care. It would be different if they feared being sent off and suspended or fined when they went back home."

Farrell said that he wasn't remotely surprised to see the Australians raising the stakes to unacceptable levels last Sunday.

"They were trailing after the first game and were determined to do whatever it took to win the second test.

"A bigger than usual media representation travelled from Australia this year so it meant an awful lot to the camp to win the series and with the sanctions so weak, they knew they could get away with anything. The line was crossed with the Graham Geraghty incident. There's something wrong when an amateur player is knocked unconscious by a professional in full view of 82,000 people. GAA administrators have to be very aware of their responsibilities in this regard," he said.

However, Farrell reckons that the series will survive in the longer term, not least because it's a valuable commercial enterprise. "It puts an awful lot of bums on seats. There are also the TV and sponsorship dimensions. Neither the GAA nor the AFL want to lose out on that."

Example

Farrell believes that the general consensus among GAA players is that the series should continue but they need to be guaranteed that they be protected by stringent rules.

"There's also the whole amateur v professional issue. You have full-time, well-paid Australian players taking on amateurs who are expected to work on the week of the game while their opponents are in full-time training. There's something wrong about that."

While he was sickened by the Aussies' approach in the first quarter, he said the GAA would need to be very careful before they climbed too high up the moral ground.

"There's a certain level of hypocrisy regarding violence because it's not exactly unknown in our own games either. But then there's a fair degree of hypocrisy when it comes to legitimate payments for players too," Farrell added.

Martin Breheny




See below article Magpie Seanie. Do you believe me now?

Taken from Indo on November 7
'Failure to apply sanctions the problem' - Farrell

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THE failure to apply meaningful sanctions that punish serious offenders lies at the heart of the current International Rules crisis according to GPA chief executive, Dessie Farrell.

He blames administrators from both codes for not practising what they preach regarding discipline and punishment for those who offend.

"The reality is that the sanctions don't really hurt so they're not a real deterrent. We were told that it would be different this year and that players who stepped out of line would be sent off and no replacement allowed, yet not one red card was handed out on Sunday.

"The refereeing was disgracefully bad. We all saw what happened in the first quarter, yet neither referee sent off a player on a straight red card, which was amazing. And then you have a goal scored while a large group of players are tearing into each other quite close by. It was bizarre stuff," he said.

He pointed to the specific example of where Irish forwards tried to make a run, only to have their jerseys pulled.

"It was happening in full view of officials, yet no action was taken. Some of the Australian tackling was way out of order but with no real sanctions in place, they didn't really care. It would be different if they feared being sent off and suspended or fined when they went back home."

Farrell said that he wasn't remotely surprised to see the Australians raising the stakes to unacceptable levels last Sunday.

"They were trailing after the first game and were determined to do whatever it took to win the second test.

"A bigger than usual media representation travelled from Australia this year so it meant an awful lot to the camp to win the series and with the sanctions so weak, they knew they could get away with anything. The line was crossed with the Graham Geraghty incident. There's something wrong when an amateur player is knocked unconscious by a professional in full view of 82,000 people. GAA administrators have to be very aware of their responsibilities in this regard," he said.

However, Farrell reckons that the series will survive in the longer term, not least because it's a valuable commercial enterprise. "It puts an awful lot of bums on seats. There are also the TV and sponsorship dimensions. Neither the GAA nor the AFL want to lose out on that."

Example

Farrell believes that the general consensus among GAA players is that the series should continue but they need to be guaranteed that they be protected by stringent rules.

"There's also the whole amateur v professional issue. You have full-time, well-paid Australian players taking on amateurs who are expected to work on the week of the game while their opponents are in full-time training. There's something wrong about that."

While he was sickened by the Aussies' approach in the first quarter, he said the GAA would need to be very careful before they climbed too high up the moral ground.

"There's a certain level of hypocrisy regarding violence because it's not exactly unknown in our own games either. But then there's a fair degree of hypocrisy when it comes to legitimate payments for players too," Farrell added.

Martin Breheny

I find the defending of the GPA quite alarming here. Where were you guys when I pointed out in the immediate aftermath of the second test this year (and last year) that the so-called champions of player welfare were so silent about "their members" being physically attacked on the field? The GPA didn't care more about Graham Geraghty ending up in hospital than they crave professionalism. QED. The GPA have consistently lied about this matter. They are ONLY about pay for play and I will vehemently oppose them and it while I am living and breathing.

Your mistaken there Magpie Seanie. A couple of days after the second test there was an interview with Dessie Farrell in the Indo. He blamed the violent scenes on the referees not implementing the rules properly. I thnk he was right.

Why do you find it alarming when people have a different opinion to you?

However, I do admit to a grain of truth in my attitude to non-players wearing the jersey and I seriously don't ever recall seeing players wearing the jersey off the pitch. Maybe I'm wrong and many do it, but I haven't seen it. Anyone?

Don't mean to be smart Hardy but is the whole county jersey is sacred attitude not a bit precious. Surely its a good thing. Arnotts, O2, Avonmore and all the rest pay big money to County Boards for sponsorship. This money goes directly back to the grassroots. They would hardly pay the same amount if only the players were allowed wear them.

Re the players I have often seen palyers wearing county polo shirts or jackets  but never the jersey. I would say thats more to do with the fact they would feel like attention seeking gimps parading around the town in the county jersey.

Agree on the Humphries Dub v Kerry book. Excellent stuff. Read it in 2 days.

Colm O Rourke's autobiography was as good as Liam Hayes and thats high praise indeed.

Also as Tayto said Last Man Standing was top class. Don't think you would have to even be a hurling fan to appreciate it. However O Conner managed it, he got players to say stuff on the record that they normally wouldn't.

This is more GAA bashing from the Indo. A little more subtle than usual but the same old agenda. Dublin change their jersey once every 3 years while Man United/Liverpool etc have 3 new strips every year. Also as far as I know GAA jersies are considerably cheaper than soccer ones.