[Padayr]

Probably true about the Hurling. The Cats slaughtered us in the Semi. But, I fancy us in the Football. We're looking good !

[Waspie]

Padayr, on 27 August 2010 - 11:30, said:

Probably true about the Hurling. The Cats slaughtered us in the Semi. But, I fancy us in the Football. We're looking good !

I'm not sure I would agree Padayr. Cork were rightly considered amongst the favourites at the start of the summer but even in reaching the final they haven't really convinced. Beaten by Kerry in Munster followed by a right scare against Limerick in the qualifiers, a pretty poor performance against a limited Roscommon outfit then a win over a Dublin side who had the game won had they kept their heads. Cork haven't played as well as they did last summer. Down have come out of nowhere but then again that's what Down normally do. A team who are seriously dangerous once they get a bit of momentum up and with Coulter, Clarke and Hughes in the forwards they can do damage. Plus they have never lost an All-Ireland Final yet! Cork would want to keep Down down early on or they will have a real fight on their hands.

Great match today in the Hurling final. Tipp put in a huge performance and were worthy winners. Shame the way it ended for Shefflin but the better team won on the day and probably a good result for the sport in general.

[Padayr]

Waspie, on 05 September 2010 - 22:23, said:

I'm not sure I would agree Padayr. Cork were rightly considered amongst the favourites at the start of the summer but even in reaching the final they haven't really convinced. Beaten by Kerry in Munster followed by a right scare against Limerick in the qualifiers, a pretty poor performance against a limited Roscommon outfit then a win over a Dublin side who had the game won had they kept their heads. Cork haven't played as well as they did last summer. Down have come out of nowhere but then again that's what Down normally do. A team who are seriously dangerous once they get a bit of momentum up and with Coulter, Clarke and Hughes in the forwards they can do damage. Plus they have never lost an All-Ireland Final yet! Cork would want to keep Down down early on or they will have a real fight on their hands.

Great match today in the Hurling final. Tipp put in a huge performance and were worthy winners. Shame the way it ended for Shefflin but the better team won on the day and probably a good result for the sport in general.

Thought I'd give it a week and then say what a great game the Football was and good to see us bring home Sam after twenty years. Got very drunk that night and even treated the locals here to a song or two on the karaoke (for which I was quite rightly booed).

[Waspie]

Padayr, on 29 September 2010 - 02:10, said:

Thought I'd give it a week and then say what a great game the Football was and good to see us bring home Sam after twenty years. Got very drunk that night and even treated the locals here to a song or two on the karaoke (for which I was quite rightly booed).

Reckon I called it pretty much perfectly Padayr! Cork failed to get on top early (despite having the chances) and ended up in a real struggle with a one point win in the end. It was a decent match but not a great game. Cork never reached the same heights as last summer. Deserving champions though and with the confidence they take from finally getting over the finishing line they should be very formidable opponents in the next few years.

Shame about the Minor final though eh?

[Padayr]

And the final score was ?

And who remembers the Minor results (although we almost stole that).

[Waspie]

Padayr, on 01 October 2010 - 11:11, said:

And the final score was ?

And who remembers the Minor results (although we almost stole that).

The winners remember

Look after Sam and tell him not to worry, he'll be back in Tyrone soon enough .

This post has been edited by Waspie: 01 October 2010 - 12:14

[caoimhin]

Fair play to Cork and Tipp,poor enough year in the hurling but a classic for the final while the football championship was the most watchable in years thanks to Kerry and Tyrone getting bounced on the same weekend

The internationals are nearly upon us,can't wait for the game against the aussies in Limerick next week,should be a cracker.If i've the money i'll head up to Croker for the second test and take in the game against the Scots as well

• Great expectations: Scotland will hope to avenge last year's defeat to Ireland on hurling's biggest stage

While it will not be the first time Scotland and Ireland have met on the hallowed turf of GAA HQ (2006 being the last time), it does, as in 2006, have the potential to provide Shinty with its largest-ever audience.

The game will again precede the Gaelic Football/Australian Rules cross-code international between Ireland and Australia as part of a double-header. The football international has become a popular fixture on the Irish sporting calendar and it is hoped the bumper crowd expected will arrive at the stadium early to take in the Shinty/Hurling spectacle.

At the weekend Camanachd Association president Duncan Cameron spoke of the importance of the fixture to the players and the Association: "For the players and the Scotland team it's a great honour to play in such a vast staduim. Each and every member of our team will not have played in a venue as large as that before and they are very much looking forward to it. Apart from club matches this is the highlight of the season."

GAA president Christy Cooney echoed the senitments of his Scottish counterpart: "Our links with Shinty are very important both to the game of hurling but also to the Association as a whole.

"The games last year in Scotland were fantastic spectacles and drew very favourable comment from television viewers after being screened in Ireland. The series provides our hurlers with a chance to wear an Irish jersey and I know this is something they value greatly.

"That we have decided to pair the International Rules series involving our footballers and those from Australia with the Shinty/Hurling game underlines our determination to continue to foster relations with Shinty. A large Irish crowd will get to see Shinty first hand, perhaps for the first time ever, and that can only help raise the profile not only of shinty but also of the project that brings the two games together".


• The Camanachd Cup Final between Kingussie and Fort William takes place this Saturday with coverage on BBC2 from 2pm.

http://sport.scotsma...-big.6533884.jp

[Padayr]

caoimhin, on 10 October 2010 - 11:05, said:

Fair play to Cork and Tipp,poor enough year in the hurling but a classic for the final while the football championship was the most watchable in years thanks to Kerry and Tyrone getting bounced on the same weekend

The internationals are nearly upon us,can't wait for the game against the aussies in Limerick next week,should be a cracker.If i've the money i'll head up to Croker for the second test and take in the game against the Scots as well

• Great expectations: Scotland will hope to avenge last year's defeat to Ireland on hurling's biggest stage

While it will not be the first time Scotland and Ireland have met on the hallowed turf of GAA HQ (2006 being the last time), it does, as in 2006, have the potential to provide Shinty with its largest-ever audience.

The game will again precede the Gaelic Football/Australian Rules cross-code international between Ireland and Australia as part of a double-header. The football international has become a popular fixture on the Irish sporting calendar and it is hoped the bumper crowd expected will arrive at the stadium early to take in the Shinty/Hurling spectacle.

At the weekend Camanachd Association president Duncan Cameron spoke of the importance of the fixture to the players and the Association: "For the players and the Scotland team it's a great honour to play in such a vast staduim. Each and every member of our team will not have played in a venue as large as that before and they are very much looking forward to it. Apart from club matches this is the highlight of the season."

GAA president Christy Cooney echoed the senitments of his Scottish counterpart: "Our links with Shinty are very important both to the game of hurling but also to the Association as a whole.

"The games last year in Scotland were fantastic spectacles and drew very favourable comment from television viewers after being screened in Ireland. The series provides our hurlers with a chance to wear an Irish jersey and I know this is something they value greatly.

"That we have decided to pair the International Rules series involving our footballers and those from Australia with the Shinty/Hurling game underlines our determination to continue to foster relations with Shinty. A large Irish crowd will get to see Shinty first hand, perhaps for the first time ever, and that can only help raise the profile not only of shinty but also of the project that brings the two games together".


• The Camanachd Cup Final between Kingussie and Fort William takes place this Saturday with coverage on BBC2 from 2pm.

http://sport.scotsma...-big.6533884.jp

Didn't know the Hurling/Shinty was on the same day. That's wicked !

[caoimhin]

Padayr, on 10 October 2010 - 14:34, said:

Didn't know the Hurling/Shinty was on the same day. That's wicked !

Its a cracker alight.I just hope it draws a decent crowd though as there has been no coverage of it all while the football is getting a write up everyday.Really looking forward to the test in Limerick

[ICTChris]

I went to a shinty match at the weekend - Newtonmore v Lochaber. It was good, a few meaty hits went in.

[caoimhin]

Shinty is a decent sport alright\

We beat you in the international this year on aggregate after we both won our away tests

[Cruoninga]

Mocko, on 01 July 2008 - 18:47, said:

Look up your local GAA club if you're from the cities:

Glasgow - Tir Conail Harps; Glaschu Gaels; Sands McSwinneys
Edinburgh - Dunedin Connollys
Dundee - Dundee Dalriada (my team)

Great way to keep fit and an awesome social scene!

I play Gaelic football as well and agree it is a great game. The big matches from the Irish tournament can be very exciting to watch either. Yet the sport remains very small outside of Ireland. Our team in Amsterdam mostly consists of Irish expats and some Aussies. The explanation for this might be in the name of the Scottish teams. Gaelic football remains very much related to Irish nationalism, as names as Harps and Connollys suggest. On the continent you have teams like the Frankfurt Sarsfields and Prague Hibernians (although the latter is pretty good ) . Maybe that's what has prevented the sport from becoming more international. With a huge Irish diaspora you would have expected the sport to become more known abroad than it is.

[Waspie]

Right, where is Padayr??

[caoimhin]

Crouninga @ Who outside of Ireland would make the connections between the names and Irish nationalism and who would really care?

And there are currently around six hundred clubs in North America ,as well as plenty in Europe and Australia.Also,London won their first game in the Championship this year since 1977

That Cork result was some shock alright Waspie,can't see Mayo getting anything off Kerry though.The b*****ds destroyed us

[Waspie]

caoimhin, on 03 August 2011 - 16:11, said:

That Cork result was some shock alright Waspie,can't see Mayo getting anything off Kerry though.The b*****ds destroyed us

You're probably quite right, unfortunately. Mayo are well capable of causing Kerry an awful lot of problems but is this Mayo team mentally stronger than the ones of years gone by who crumbled at the sight of Kerry? I think there was an element of that in Limerick's hammering. It was an unkind draw for Limerick and you would surely have done better against any of the other provincial champions, don't think Limerick really believed they would beat Kerry.

Tyrone are the one team left who certainly don't fear Kerry but I'm not quite sure exactly where this Tyrone team stands, they haven't played a really strong team so far. Bringing in the younger lads has helped but can't help but feel it's happened a bit late in the day. Had we done this earlier in the year we would be in a stronger position. All will be revealed on Saturday night anyway and the Dubs will be favourites for that one.

With Down being so poor this summer and Cork bowing out in such a meak fashion perhaps we need to re-evaluate last season's championship, looks suspiciously like Cork won a soft AI title .

[Waspie]

Superb performance by the Dubs on Saturday night, the game was in the bag early in the second half. I reckon they will have too much for Donegal in the semi and will win easily enough. With Kerry likely to beat Mayo the prospect of a Dublin - Kerry final is an exciting one.

Think the pundits are right this time in suggesting it's the end of an era for Tyrone. Would imagine Dooher and McMenamin are certanties to retire with questions over Jordan, Gormley, Hughes, Mulligan, O'Neill etc also. I do feel it's unfortunte that we didn't see more young players introduced over the past couple of years as the mix of the legends of 03,05 and 08 with the best of minor winnings teams of 04,08 and 10 could have been very effective. I think given all he has been through with them though that it's no surprise Mickey Harte stuck with his old guard. I hope now he can keep a few of those lads on the panel to help the newer players come through and establish themselves. If he succeeds in doing that then Tyrone can challenge again soon with the best of the 2008 and 2010 youngsters alongside Sean Cavanagh and the McMahons and hopefully some of the 97/98 minors for a season or two more. To those who retire thanks for the memories, a legendary team who turned around decades of failure (and dealt with tragedy with great courage) to be the best in Ireland.

[caoimhin]

Its hard to see Tyrone challenging any time soon Waspie

Most of the players that brought them three all Irelands are going to retire and I see no replacements coming up.Mickey will probably pay the price for not blooding any of those minor and u 21 teams

Sad to see them go,they were a marvel and although Kerry won more titles in the decade past I don't see how anyone could argue that the noughties didn't belonged to the Red Hands

A Kerry - Dublin final will be a cracker though

[Waspie]

caoimhin, on 10 August 2011 - 14:30, said:

Its hard to see Tyrone challenging any time soon Waspie

Most of the players that brought them three all Irelands are going to retire and I see no replacements coming up.Mickey will probably pay the price for not blooding any of those minor and u 21 teams

Sad to see them go,they were a marvel and although Kerry won more titles in the decade past I don't see how anyone could argue that the noughties didn't belonged to the Red Hands

A Kerry - Dublin final will be a cracker though

I know why Kerry fans disagree but I also say Tyrone were the team of the decade. When two sides who have dominated the decade meet 3 times in semi finals/finals and one team wins all those encounters I don't see how the others can really contest it.

You're probably right about us not challenging but I can still dream . If you took the likes of Ronan McNabb, Niall McKenna, Petey Harte, Mathew Donnelly and Kyle Coney of the 2008 team and Ronan O'Neill and Harry Og Conlon (amongst others) of 2010 you have some of the best young players in the country. Throw in Sean Cavanagh and the McMahons, and say convince Gormley and Stephen O'Neill to give it another couple of years, and there is a strong team in the making. We might not stay at the top table but I doubt we will fall too far, the raw talent is there.

This post has been edited by Waspie: 10 August 2011 - 15:53

[A-Mac]

Love watching the Hurling, sat down & watched Kilkenny v Waterford the other day.

[caoimhin]

Waspie, on 10 August 2011 - 15:51, said:

I know why Kerry fans disagree but I also say Tyrone were the team of the decade. When two sides who have dominated the decade meet 3 times in semi finals/finals and one team wins all those encounters I don't see how the others can really contest it.

You're probably right about us not challenging but I can still dream . If you took the likes of Ronan McNabb, Niall McKenna, Petey Harte, Mathew Donnelly and Kyle Coney of the 2008 team and Ronan O'Neill and Harry Og Conlon (amongst others) of 2010 you have some of the best young players in the country. Throw in Sean Cavanagh and the McMahons, and say convince Gormley and Stephen O'Neill to give it another couple of years, and there is a strong team in the making. We might not stay at the top table but I doubt we will fall too far, the raw talent is there.

The big mark against Tyrone though is their failure to win Sam back to back.I'd say ye have a few more years challenging for Ulster but All Irelands look out of the question.Its imperative that Jordan comes back,he'll be a massive loss

@Wandering Warrior

No finer sport!

The other semi was a cracker,the Dubs very nearly knocked out Tipp which would have been a massive shock.Can't wait for the final now

[A-Mac]

caoimhin, on 17 August 2011 - 16:38, said:

@Wandering Warrior

No finer sport!

The other semi was a cracker,the Dubs very nearly knocked out Tipp which would have been a massive shock.Can't wait for the final now

I actually haven't seen that yet, recored it & just haven't had time to sit down and watch it.

[caoimhin]

[denltfc]

Well its the third All-Ireland hurling final in a row between Tipperary and Kilkenny on Sunday. One win for Tipp last year to end the 5 in a row dreams of the Cats, 2009 Kilkenny won. Weather is due to be a shocker heavy rain and wind all day saturday and sunday according to RTE so in reality probably a heatwave over Dublin knowing their prediction records !!!!

I fancy Kilkenny to win this year against the odds, just think they have a little more hunger and wont be found wanting if its a wet and windy day in Croker.

As for football in 2 weeks. Can Dublin manage the hype and expectation before the game against Kerry ? I think Kerry will win but wont be more than 2 points in it.

[Waspie]

caoimhin, on 17 August 2011 - 16:38, said:

The big mark against Tyrone though is their failure to win Sam back to back.I'd say ye have a few more years challenging for Ulster but All Irelands look out of the question.Its imperative that Jordan comes back,he'll be a massive loss

The back to back thing never bothered me to be honest caoimhin. Tyrone made a good effort at it in 2004 despite the loss of Cormac McAnallen and actually ran into good form that summer but were undone by injuries and Mayo having an inspired day. In 2006 the injuries were on an epic scale and no county in Ireland could have shipped those losses and had a chance of retaining their title. No complaints about 2009, Tyrone were just very poor on the day against Cork, but we were past our best by then. Had Tyrone had a bit of luck they would have won back to back titles but 3 Sams in 6 seasons was more than acceptable .

As for more All-Irelands being out of the question we'll see, need to see how the 2008 and 2010 AI minor winning teams make the breakthrough.

denltfc, on 01 September 2011 - 13:10, said:

Well its the third All-Ireland hurling final in a row between Tipperary and Kilkenny on Sunday. One win for Tipp last year to end the 5 in a row dreams of the Cats, 2009 Kilkenny won. Weather is due to be a shocker heavy rain and wind all day saturday and sunday according to RTE so in reality probably a heatwave over Dublin knowing their prediction records !!!!

I fancy Kilkenny to win this year against the odds, just think they have a little more hunger and wont be found wanting if its a wet and windy day in Croker.

As for football in 2 weeks. Can Dublin manage the hype and expectation before the game against Kerry ? I think Kerry will win but wont be more than 2 points in it.

Haven't seen much hurling this summer and can't really comment on the big game on Sunday other than hoping it's a good match. Regarding the football I did have high hopes for Dublin but the way they panicked against Donegal's blanket defence (what were they thinking pumping aimless high ball into the Donegal backline?) didn't inspire confidence. Then again perhaps how poor Dublin were the last day will dampen down expectations a bit for the final and that might help them. Clearly they will get more room to play against Kerry than they did against Donegal too. Not something I would say too often but I hope Dublin can do it, Kerry have enough All-Irelands.

[Padayr]

Lost all interest in the games from July for obvious reasons. But fair play to the Dubs for stopping the Queendom !