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Is it farcical? Most people would put Newbridge, Glen, Slaughtneil and Magherafelt ahead of Dunloy right away.

If it definitely was then it was before 1939.

This wasn't a thing in senior championship.

We are already broken. And it's getting worse.
You are seeing it as "conceding" to soccer. You can't concede something you've already lost. There needs to be practical strategies to get the best out of it for us. Will working around soccer definitely do that? Who knows but it's certainly a conversation worth having.

You are conflating two things wrongly there. The pitch is a totally different issue. Don't let it cloud other things.
Look, we need to find a way to get more people playing GAA sports in Belfast. If working around soccer fixtures is a way to do that then it shouldn't be scoffed at. It's not going to change by itself.

But we are getting beaten 10 nil by soccer in Belfast. Even in west Belfast. We need to be realistic about that. We are really struggling to compete with soccer. North Belfast GAA has never competed with it.
Can we make small changes to let people play both sports and give our games a bit of scope to grow in the area? Or is it more important to allow our pride to be a stumbling block?

I get we are a proud association but in a city where soccer has won the war and is beating the shit out of GAA, a small bit of pragmatism wouldn't go amiss.
The alternative is that the lads all go and play the soccer matches and the GAA club loses out. Can't see how that does any good.

[There was a club Representative from North Belfast asked Antrim GAA could they not rearranged fixtures so they didn't impact on Soccer Matches in recent years.]

Boost belfast by concentrating on north belfast not west belfast as Gaelfast did Hic
Buy woodlands and turn it into Belfast s dumsilly Hic
Taht how you improve belfast

You'll need to change the culture in North Belfast. There was a club Representative from North Belfast asked Antrim GAA could they not rearranged fixtures so they didn't impact on Soccer Matches in recent years.

Ardoyne could have played senior for years if they never lost the star boys to preseason around champo. Running joke in North Belfast that Division 3 in Antrim was the only place Beann Madigan would ever get a game against the Star.

A fair question?

There are some complete slabbers on here. Those who seem to thrive on only highlighting the clear and obvious negatives that the dogs on the street could tell you about.

The reality is that the top end of Antrim club football is as strong as it has been in an age, not the other way around. Dunloy, Cargin, Creggan, St. Brigids, Portglenone and Aghagallon if they got their act together would be more than competitive in Derry or Tyrone. You dont know football if you argue otherwise.

I am also optimistic on the County front for next season. The more I hear the more I like, and on the face of things the re introduction of mckenna cup football for the new management team and a division 4 & tailtean cup campaign lays out a season, to my mind, where we can really compete on all fronts and begin to make strides again.

I've been critical on these things in the past myself, but I don't get the agenda of some people.

I know you believe this and that's the insane bit.
There are intermediate teams in Tyrone who would beat some of the clubs you've listed. "More than competitive" Christ above.

There is a notion that some of these SW teams have really kicked on but in reality they aren't any better than they were 20 years ago. They aren't producing players of any better quality than they were 20 years ago.

The only difference is that St Galls are no longer battering them out the door year in year out.

The quality at the top end of our county is poor.

[bar a few clubs in the country]

Identity is a good point.  Isn't simply doesnt matter enough bar a few clubs in the country and that's not enough of a playing population to generate good county teams

We need a string belfast if we are to do anything at county level.  Thats the honest answer and at the moment it is just a series of quick fixes and sticky plasters.

Our best club side of the last 50 years took the quick fix of importing players which covered up all the roblems of proper coaching and effort.  Ironically st galls are now perhaps up there with the best coached underage set ups in the city

Facilities in belfast are poor unless the county steps in

The SW clubs dont passionately support the county.  That needs redressed

But until we get young lads in belfast to follow football completely and increase playing numbers we are just going to continue spinning wheels

We need a strong belfast in order to do anything at county level

Why are they shite too then?

A lot of big statements in there, Tony.

However, referring to your missus as "the wide" raises the eyebrows the most.

There are people in this discussion who are quoting posts twice. I'm not here to engage in such carelessness.

No grammar school anymore in Armagh, here the girls school have entrance exams and allocate classes accordingly, seems to work. The boys school lumps everyone in with no academic selection, seems to be a f**king shitshow.

This is how it is in primary school. All abilities in each primary class. Up to the teacher to differentiate their the work so all abilities are catered for.
The transfer grammar schools don't want lesser ability pupils. Sure let the secondary schools deal with them. Grammar just want to do whole class teaching with better ability pupils and get the top grades in GCSE and A Level

A very significant percentage of our society want that system also.
I am not one of them btw.

"Hands up who'd do it for nothing" would be an interesting litmus test.