[caoimhin]

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=eKJSH_dxjXg

Irish come out on top of the battle of the Gaels!


Ireland hold out to complete day of shinty wins

Ireland 1-11 Scotland 1-8

Ireland withstood a dramatic six minutes of injury-time as a 74th-minute goal from Offaly ace Shane Dooley ensured a clean sweep of Hurling-Shinty International wins for the visitors at Bught Park, Inverness today.

The Ireland and Scotland senior sides showed great urgency in the opening stages, but scores proved hard to come by.

Ireland opened the scoring thanks to Dooley's seventh-minute point, but Scotland had the perfect answer with their goal-scorer supreme Ronald Ross punishing the visitors in the 11th minute.

Ross doubled on a long-range free to slot the ball past Ireland goalkeeper Paddy Mullaney, before quickly adding a two-pointer to push his side four points clear.

The Irish dug deep and showed great heart before the interval with captain Tommy Walsh, Dooley and Kerry's John Griffin all adding vital scores, closing the gap to 1-5 to 0-5 for half-time.

Walsh's men burst into life on the restart as Scotland struggled to cope with their speed and accurate passing.

Scores may have been at a premium but four unanswered points in the third quarter, including two from Gareth ‘Magic’ Johnston, sent Ireland into a 0-9 to 1-5 lead.

Scotland tried hard for scores in the second half but Ireland's defence stood firm, with Laois netminder Mullaney inspirational when the stakes were at their highest.

Indeed, the hosts were held to just a single second half point as Ireland claimed their first victory in the senior Hurling-Shinty clash since 2003.

Scorers:

Ireland: S Dooley 1-3, T Walsh, J Griffin, G Johnston 0-2 each, S Clynch, J McIntosh 0-1 each

Scotland: R Ross 1-2, P McArthur, G Innes 0-2 each, N McPhee, S Nicholson 0-1 each.

IRELAND: P Mullaney (Laois); D Kirby (Meath), S O’Neill (Cork); T Walsh (Kilkenny), J Rowney (Laois), S Clynch (Meath); G Johnston (Down), Interchange: D Harney (Kildare), P McCormack (Armagh), S McCullagh (Derry), P Richmond (Antrim).

SCOTLAND: S MacNeil; A MacKenzie, J Barr; A Mackey, N Campbell, J Stewart; I MacDonald, P MacArthur, N MacPhee; R Ross, G Innes, F MacRae; H Whitelaw, N Robertson.

Interchange: S Campbell, S Nicolson, E Tembo, D Cheyne, J Gannon.

Referee: David Mitchell.

Camogie-Shinty International

Ireland 2-2 Scotland 0-0

Goals in either half from Cavan's Margaret McBride and Ashling Corr of Tyrone proved vital as Ireland powered to a 2-2 to 0-0 whitewash over Scotland in the Camogie-Shinty International at Inverness.

In mixed weather conditions, defences stood firm in the opening half until McBride burst through for a 26th-minute goal.

Ireland dominated possession in the second half with player-of-the-match Colette McSorley and Lorraine Day both very much to the fore.

Scorers

Ireland: M McBride, A Corr 1-0 each, C McSorley, L Day 0-1 each.

IRELAND C Connaughton (Roscommon); N Connolly (Roscommon), S Greville (Westmeath), K Walsh (Wicklow); N Breen (Kildare), B Murray (Armagh), R O’Connell (Kildare); M McBride (Cavan), F Bigley (Tyrone); L Day (Cavan), V Crean (Carlow), AM Doran (Wicklow); C Curley (Roscommon), C McSorley (Armagh), P Greville (Westmeath).

Interchange: R McKenna (Monaghan), R Crowe (Cavan), A Corr (Tyrone), M Coady (Carlow), S McQuillain (Monaghan)

SCOTLAND: E Cameron; E Wink, L McKay, H Dooley; L McCafferty, B MacDonald, K Myerscough; K Deans, K Smith, Y Connaughton; L Norman, K Munro, F Mathie; J Nicol, O Coughlin.

Interchange: K Drain, S Dunstaffnage, M Holohan, J Gillanders, A Gribbon.

Referee: Calum Duff (Scotland).

U-21 Hurling-Shinty International

Ireland 1-8 Scotland 0-10

A superb second-half showing saw the Ireland U-21s capture back-to-back Hurling-Shinty internationals at Bught Park in Inverness today.

Trailing by 0-8 to 0-1 approaching the interval, a 28th-minute goal from Antrim's Neil McManus turned the game in Ireland's favour.

The visitors kept up the momentum in the second half with man-of-the-match Andrew Collier of Laois and Antrim's Arron Graffin both playing vital roles.

Scorers

Ireland: N McManus 1-2, A Graffin, A Kelly 0-2 each, G Murphy, A Collier 0-1 each

Scotland: D Rodger 0-5, K Bartlett 0-4, M Rodger 0-1

IRELAND: E Reilly (Laois); P Keogh (Meath), B McFall (Antrim); J Boyle (Meath), R Jackson (Westmeath), A Graffin (Antrim); O McCloskey (Derry), A Collier (Laois), B Aherne (Kildare); N McManus (Antrim), M Miley (Roscommon), J Prior (Laois).

Subs used (interchange): E Madigan (Mayo), J Corvan (Armagh), A Kelly (Tyrone), G Murphy (Meath).

SCOTLAND: G Stobbart; D Cameron, S Morrison; M Sproule, R MacDonald, O Fraser; A MacPherson, G Irvine, R MacLeod; L MacLennan, M Rodger, D Rodger; K Bartlett, S MacMillan.

Sub used: D Howie for MacPherson (35 mins).

Referee: Tony Carroll (Offaly).

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This post has been edited by caoimhin: 02 November 2009 - 00:15

[Waspie]

Was at the senior game on Saturday. It was a good match, close throughout and played in a good spirit despite some tasty challenges. Looked like Scotland might run away with it early but the Irish got hold of the midfield and cut off the supply to the Scottish forwards and thereafter were in control. The late goal by Dooley was a cracker but it must be said that Scotland were denied a strong penalty claim immediately after.The goalie took out Cheyne when he was about to put the ball into the empty net although possibly the first contact was just outside the D.
Good day out anyway and a good atmosphere. Walsh was class but the big lad from Down, Gareth Johnstone, looked like an excellent hurler. Shame he's from Down and wont appear on the biggest stage in hurling!

[caoimhin]

I only managed to catch the second half myself and really enjoyed it.i was certain the Scots had done enough to retain it with that free at the end so i was delighted with Dooley's strike.as for the penalty i thought the original offense was outside the D(but i would think that Waspie ) and as Innes pointed out after wards it was a Scots umpire that signaled a puck out.

Is Bught Park Shinty's main ground?we've played it there before haven't we?

i'd like to see the fixture moved to the spring(if that's possible with shinty's calendar) and played as a season opener rather than ender as it would certainly mean a higher profile with a better pick of players to choose from

you're right about that Johnstone lad,i'd never heard of him and unless he takes a job in Dublin of moves down to munster he'll never get to play on anything near the big stage

[Waspie]

caoimhin, on Nov 3 2009, 13:24, said:

I only managed to catch the second half myself and really enjoyed it.i was certain the Scots had done enough to retain it with that free at the end so i was delighted with Dooley's strike.as for the penalty i thought the original offense was outside the D(but i would think that Waspie ) and as Innes pointed out after wards it was a Scots umpire that signaled a puck out.

Is Bught Park Shinty's main ground?we've played it there before haven't we?

i'd like to see the fixture moved to the spring(if that's possible with shinty's calendar) and played as a season opener rather than ender as it would certainly mean a higher profile with a better pick of players to choose from

you're right about that Johnstone lad,i'd never heard of him and unless he takes a job in Dublin of moves down to munster he'll never get to play on anything near the big stage

The Bught is indeed the main shinty ground caoimhin although Mossfield Park in Oban and An Aird in Fort William also host the internationals sometimes. I think it was Ronald Ross who said it was the Scottish umpire who gave the 45 rather than the penalty. Gary Innes said he wouldnt be buying the umpire a dram because of it .
The whole game and highlights of the Under 21's and womens matches are on iplayer.

[caoimhin]

Waspie, on Nov 3 2009, 23:21, said:

The Bught is indeed the main shinty ground caoimhin although Mossfield Park in Oban and An Aird in Fort William also host the internationals sometimes. I think it was Ronald Ross who said it was the Scottish umpire who gave the 45 rather than the penalty. Gary Innes said he wouldnt be buying the umpire a dram because of it .
The whole game and highlights of the Under 21's and womens matches are on iplayer.

thats the one,either way i don't think any of the lads had a dry night!

goodman waspie,i'll have a look for those games so.i don't know what its like with the shinty but some of the best hurling matches you'll see are the u 21's

This post has been edited by caoimhin: 04 November 2009 - 15:02

[Mr Mojo Rising]

Caoimhin, I watched this on demand and found it entertaining but I have a limited knowledge of shinty and a non-existent knowledge of hurling so was wondering if you could enlighten me a little.

Which sport does the "compromise rules" favour in your opinion? Obviously the Irish boys would have been pretty disadvantaged not being able to catch etc when its probably second nature but the ability to flick the ball up with the hurley and also them being used to aiming above the goal, I thought, might equalise things a bit. The set pieces also seemed to favour the Irish.

Also, what standard of team was it that the Irish sent over? I've read in the past that Ireland doesn't take the international match too seriously so its never that strong a team that plays but the commentator mentioned that Tommy Walsh is a bit of a hurling legend so wondered if it had changed at all or was it a one off sending some good players over because Ireland hadn't won it in ages and it might've been a bit embarassing?

[Waspie]

It was addressed to caoimhin but Ill throw in my tuppence worth anyway. The composite rules will never satisfy everybody and there will be differing opinions on who they favour but I think they are fair enough. As you say not being able to catch the ball is tough for the Irish but they do get the advantage of being able to shoot for points which is foreign to the shinty boys. The composite game just wouldnt work if the Irish could catch the ball.

In terms of the strength of the squads it was common enough for the Irish to send strong teams in the 90's. In recent years its been a select of players from lesser counties. This year it was again mainly lads from the weaker counties with a couple of real stars in Tommy Walsh and Shane O' Neill. Should be remembered though that the number of hurlers in Ireland is huge compared to shinty players in Scotland, they have a far bigger pool to pick from. The Scotland team was mainly drawn from the Premier League although there were a few boys from North Regional League clubs.

The international is never going to be comparable for the players to winning trophies in their own sport but I still think its a worthwhile event, celebrating a common root and culture and giving players the chance to represent their country.

Big game of shinty yesterday with Kingussie beating Newtonmore 3-1 in front of a big crowd. The title race will now go down to the wire.

[caoimhin]

Alright Mojo,there's not much i can add to Waspie's reply.the rules as they stand for the hurling -shinty are probably as fair as we can get it.playing the ball on the ground isn't foreign to the hurlers but playing the ball in the air pretty much is to the shinty lads

the set piece actually favours the Scots to offset the hurlers point scoring.the shinty lads are used to hitting a deadball straight from the ground whereas in hurling you lift and strike

the thing with the quality of players the Irish select is a tough one.last year there was four all stars in the team,this year just Tommy Walsh.Although he'll most certainly finish up his career as one of the all time greats.this was his seventh year and not only has he made the all star team in every season he has done so in 5 different positions and in all lines.

At this time of year the inter county season has ended and the club championships are swinging into gear so a lot of Irelands best players are unavailable.my solution to this would be to play it in Croker on Paddies day along side the club finals.the club finals always get a respectable walk up crowd on the day and the added attraction of the international would only raise that

It bothers me greatly that this game isn't promoted more,it certainly deserves more attention than the football version we play with the Aussies


An Fear Rua and The Hoganstand are to good sites for GAA news and debate

[Kejan]

I've kinda gotten into Shinty through Alba, was flicking a few months back and kept it on, more so the fascinating with the Keepers wearing what look like less than a football goalkeeper and stopping that ball at some pace! Quite amazing, and mad - anyone wanting to be a Shinty Goalie.

I was a bit lost in the Shinty-Hurling International with the rules at times, but looked great fun, esp the stands with the Beer flowing. Would love to go across to Ireland for the return leg, can imagine the socialising might be quite good fun in the night after it?
How big is this game in Ireland?, A' Chaoimhin? Tha Gaidhlig beag agam.
I know you guys play Oz at some kinda compromise sport too, don't you? It seems to be more on the radar in Eire, than this?

Waspie, is there a highlights package on Alba or that? It seemed to me they just shwoed the big games, or cup finals 'Camanachd Cup' etc. Would be good if they did a wee highlights show - and probs wouldn't cost too much money.
Any of you lads play it? It seems brutal..

[caoimhin]

It would be fairly big alright now Kejan,certainly a lot bigger than shinty is in Scotland.the GAA has over 2000 clubs in Ireland alone and about 600 spread across the world.football (the Gaelic variety) is the bigger sport in Ireland as its a lot easier to play . As the saying goes "football is just a game for people that can't hurl"

The hybrid game we play against the Aussies tends to sell out Croker and we can only dream the day comes when the one against the Scots is as popular

[Waspie]

Kejan, on Nov 9 2009, 20:02, said:

Waspie, is there a highlights package on Alba or that? It seemed to me they just shwoed the big games, or cup finals 'Camanachd Cup' etc. Would be good if they did a wee highlights show - and probs wouldn't cost too much money.
Any of you lads play it? It seems brutal..

As far as I know Kejan the deal between Alba and the Camanachd Association this season was to show a few live matches and test the water. Now the season is over Id imagine they would look at how it went and decide what the plan will be for next season. Alba themselves are being reviewed by the BBC Trust at the moment so Id guess nothing concrete would be arranged at this stage. There was a weekly programme on BBC2 Scotland (with Gaelic commentary, clip here of Ronald Ross scoring a peach http://www.youtube.c...h?v=w3Lvqx-7NuA ) maybe 3 or 4 years ago, highlights of the game of the week, which was very good. Would be nice to think that kind of thing might become a fixture on Alba.

This post has been edited by Waspie: 12 November 2009 - 15:45