Is it the same in your part of the country?

[rionach 4]

Do ye're clubs ever host charity matches, i.e. all the proceeds go to a charity of choice. Last year we hosted one. It raised around €16,000 for cystic fibrosis and a lot of high profile GAA men came to play. This year we were supposed to have another one - for a local charity, but it got cancelled because the GAA didn't recognise it as part of the overall calendar. I was never as angry with the GAA as I am right now and I could insert a few expletives but sure what good would that do.

North Armagh over this past few years have held a town versus country GAA charity match usually around the December period or close to it. All the proceeds from that went to a worthy charity. It was quite successful the first few years not so sure now, but it was a good idea and well worth the support. Disappointed to hear that the GAA dont recognise yours Farrandeelin.

[Down Follower]

I was heading home on Wed evening about 6 pm and travelled through three counties  Derry Tyrone and into Armagh. It was a beautiful late summer early Autumn evening. I drove about 50/ 60 miles . I noticed some beautiful scenery particularly along the loughshore but also Along the way I passed numerous GAA pitches . At all the pitches I passed matches were being played and in some places two or three matches were going on in different pitches. I stopped for some petrol in a town along the way and the vast majority of young boys and girls out and about the shop and town were wearing GAA jerseys and quite a few differing counties I might add. Not once on the journey did I see any soccer jerseys or on passing some of the soccer  pitches they were empty.( I am not anti-soccer btw) The amount of young boys and girls playing GAA on that evening across mid-Ulster was huge . Any stranger or visitor to these parts would be left in no doubt as to what was the biggest show in town.  I could have just hit a good evening but if my travels were anything to go by GAA is alive and thriving in this part of the world. Would it be the same in your part of the country.  All those doom and gloom  merchants predicting the death of  Gaelic games  might wanna try that journey.

Its great that you came across that. I dont think it would happen in Down at the moment though. Our set up was very poor this year. In the sense that everything is basically over already. Great that things can run off so early you may think, but to be finished up before the middle of September is unreal. Only teams still playing are those in the latter stages of championships. Fair play but basically all other underage and senior football teams already have the feet up. Too early for me.

[screenexile]

Around our place it's wall to wall GAA jerseys and these Gaagle tracksuit bottoms and you could see a Wexford/Dublin/Kerry/Armagh jersey at anytime as well as those hideous St. Patrick's county jerseys they had out all in green.

As far as Cul Camps go we used to run our own Summer Camps all in house with our own coaches volunteering and taking time off work and it was really a great job. A few of the County GPO officers used to pop in but we have enough people in our club to do it ourselves.

Having said that the local school also run a Camp Cormaic and I think there was a Cul Camp up at the Club recently although I'm not too sure why we ran both!