It's as if Ulster just doesn't exist! - 11 Like(s)
Ulsterman, no harm to you, your acting the maggot now. After Antrim got beat by Carlow in the Christy Ring you decreed we should just give hurling up. Now your faux outrage because RTE didn't mention anyone from Ulster on a day which was rightly focused on Galway and Waterford. As an earlier poster said you make yourself relevant and thats what we'll have to do rather than feeling sorry for ourselves.

duckula20 (National) - 04/09/2017 19:01:06

GAA Poll - 5 Like(s)

duckula20 (National) - 06/12/2016 12:44:35

Poor state of football in rural Ireland - 4 Like(s)
Its insulting to peoples intelligence to try and label everything outside Dublin as rural Ireland. This is a sad attempt to say Dublin haven't had any competition over their run of wins. To counter that I'd say look at the all-Ireland finals they played in and compare it to Kerrys in the 00's against Mayo and Cork (No offence intended to those counties). Dublin haven't hockeyed anyone in a final and got through by the skin of their teeth in some other games so cop on to try and intimate they have had no competition is a poor effort considering some of the runs the OP's county have had. Pure begrudgery pure and simple and whilst they weren't able to maintain it Donegal matched and did something the Op's county couldn't do and beat the Dubs so, back to the drawing board and quit with the excuses.

duckula20 (National) - 20/03/2017 11:18:32

Manager of the Year - M Donoghue - 3 Like(s)

duckula20 (National) - 14/12/2017 10:28:34

GAA Has Never Been Better - Why So Much Complaining - 3 Like(s)
I think it can be boiled down to a very simple point. The games have never been more professional as a result cynicism has come in and whilst it's lauded as 'closing out a game' or 'sticking to a game plan' seeing cheating for want of a better word annoys punters. I will state this is by most teams now, it's just the way the game has gone. The ethos of gaa has always been knocking several shades out of each other then having a pint, leaving it on the pitch, those days are history and unfortunately the level of cynicism which we continue to see will tear at the heart of the game until something is done about it and that's why people complain and give a general air of dissatisfaction with the game currently.

duckula20 (National) - 24/02/2020 06:07:30

Antrim hurling RIP - 2 Like(s)

duckula20 (National) - 10/06/2017 21:18:02

GAA Poll - 2 Like(s)

duckula20 (National) - 06/12/2016 11:47:51

Blue Print To Beat The Blues - 2 Like(s)

duckula20 (National) - 28/03/2017 12:13:19

Sweeper system in Munster Hurling Final - 1 Like(s)
Lastly Thurles, I think you'll find Gleeson has played everywhere between the two 40's this year, Waterford beat Clare in the championship which I would suggest is more impressive than Tipps victories thus far as Clare had a modicum of form going into that game whereas Tipp's opponents weren't in the best of knick. Anyway should we just fast forward to your usual proclamation that you'll disappear if Tipp get turned over. They are a good team and I'd quite like to see them win Liam after some mighty close calls over the years but they are no better than Clare, Waterford and Kilkenny in my opinion and to say otherwise smacks of delusion.

duckula20 (National) - 21/06/2016 16:47:52

What exactly do people want? - 1 Like(s)
Super 8's is a money making exercise, how long before 'Monday night Football' or 'March madness' or some other made up rubbish. The GAA has sold itself at the expense of the club player for many years, now that is being extended to the county player not playing at the elite level. It will eventually sell itself to forget hurling and then what are we left with.

Its great that we have a supposedly 21st century attitude towards media and coverage but the GAA is an amateur organisation and if the gap between the haves and have nots continues to increase as it is, we'll be left with nothing.

People say the GAA are slow to change that isn't true, the black card was brought in with little thought and we were just told to get on with it, what the GAA is slow at doing is recognizing the danger to the games and the continual chase for the almighty dollar or whomevers pockets they are trying to climb into leads to an elitist non-representative landscape.

I cant help but think that the men who met in the Hayes hotel in 1884 would be overly impressed with the direction things are going. You cant buy the things the GAA has going for it, volunteers the country over, parishes and towns pulling in one direction a phenomenal grass roots system, but if the GAA continues trying to sell it, it wont be long before the volunteers go elsewhere, no one likes seeing other people make money of their graft and that is exactly what central council do, offer little - take all.

duckula20 (National) - 28/02/2017 12:10:03

All-Irelands won by a late dubious free? - 1 Like(s)
Not late free but 2009, winning team got away with a straight red from the throw in, offender scored 2 points and contributed for full game.

duckula20 (National) - 26/08/2016 10:07:13

Tyrone are the only team that can beat Dublin - 1 Like(s)
Look, Tyrone are being overhyped but its the only story of note in the championship so far, so the media are losing the run of themselves. However I do see Tyrone building, they were in an all ireland semi last year where they beat but weren't embarrassed and could have had more joy had they not butchered some clear cut goal chances. Donegal or Monaghan wont fear playing them because of the incestuous nature of the Ulster championship and the opportunity to try and put manners on the young pretenders mean there is the potential for a blood bath at some stage. Tyrone will get to August whether they can overturn a Dublin, Kerry or Mayo that remains to be seen. Donegal got to the final in 2014 and were favourites in the final having competed in Div2 of the NFL so I dont read anything into that but Tyrone looked good in the face of very poor opposition, sterner tests await.

duckula20 (National) - 24/05/2016 12:21:05

Thank God for Ulster - 1 Like(s)
Some people here talk like Ulster is a land far across the sea, the language used when referring to Ulster is divisive and these threads always boil down to the same bating and counter bating, boring. Anyway back to the games, the connaught final was rubbish as were the conditions, but you have 2 teams here who like Donegal in 2011 have their defensive strategy in place with little or no offensive strategy at present. It came good for Donegal but the philosophy of that team was to win, via a defensive counter attacking strategy, the philosophy of the two teams today was not to get beat. Their offensive strategies may develop over the summer we'll have to wait and see but theres no place for taking a moral stand when all the provinces have had their fair share of muck games and it is down to the teams philosophies if one doesn't want to get beat it will always be a turgid affair.

duckula20 (National) - 11/07/2016 09:18:15

Are Posters happy with Gaa? - 1 Like(s)
The problem we have is an abject lack of leadership from HQ, the only time they seem to react is when the sunday game or some other media outlet has a go and then they go over the top. The structures are broken but they dont want to change them. The whole calendar and championship structure need a complete overhaul, but doing what they did in the Hurling would be wrong. The Christy Ring has been terribly marketed and seems designed to placate the smaller counties rather than offer opportunities to improve. Kerry won last year and still had to beat Antrim to be allowed to compete in the McCarthy which was madness. Kerry have kicked on and fair play to them but realistically hurling is dying outside of its traditional strongholds and that doesnt seem to bother croke park one bit. Same with football, how can one team arrive in an All Ireland quarter final playing 2 games whereas another team can play upto 6, thats not equitable, its again designed to keep an archaic structure in place to the detriment of the wider game.

duckula20 (National) - 23/05/2016 09:41:17

Casement Park - 1 Like(s)
Gary, with all due respect, whether in your opinion, technical or not you are still wrong. You intimated that the sole reason for the funding was the RWC you were wrong. A multitude of posters have discussed the merits of having the stadium located closest to the major population centres, still not good enough for you. You are ploughing a lone furrow and your insistence that Ulster GAA can pick and chose how they spend the money is fanciful. You are also incredibly selective in your responses, so to reiterate casement held Ulster finals up until about 1971 and hurling finals right up until it closed, there is no recent historical precedent for the finals being anywhere else other than Belfast, Clones or Dublin for a period in the 00's. Your insistence that if you build it they will come is a non argument as a green field site offers little return on the investment the gaa will put in. 45% of Ulsters GAA clubs are in Antrim, Down and Armagh, if you add in Tyrone goes up to 58%. All within 60-90 mins of Belfast by car, train and bus. To help you along, if you look at some modern stadia and I can think of two in wales in Rugby, in Llanelli they built a brand new stadium out of town replacing the historic stradey park, very very rarely full, no atmosphere, Cardiff rugby moved to cardiff city's stadium for two years, also out of city centre then moved back to their central home because of poor crowds and worse atmosphere. A stadium which everyone has to travel to will struggle to recoup any of its costs, one in a more populous center has a much better chance of this and for every accusation of parochial bias can you not see an equal accusation of bigotry, arrogance and snobbery can be levied at yourself?

duckula20 (National) - 03/11/2016 08:56:36

Was Gooch as good as Canavan? - 1 Like(s)
Like all things on here instead of saying why one was better than the other it descends into he was rubbish because x,y and z. Two outstanding footballers, idolized in their own counties and further afield and both delivered time and time again over the years. The question shouldn't be who was better the question should be will we ever see their ilk again, the small, skillful forward rather than the fashion for the larger, athletic types we have today. Not a criticism of anyone player or team, more an observation on the lack of smaller stature players in the game now and their proximity to the sticks.

duckula20 (National) - 06/04/2017 10:43:00

Connelly/Holmes - 1 Like(s)
Nobody comes out of this particularly well, the two lads say they are doing it for the best intentions as Mayo men but in reality they are settling a few scores. The players took the decision to perform the 'heave' trying to absolve themselves for failings during the year. Whilst training methods and attitudes towards the game become more professional it is antics like this which remind us of the amateur status of GAA. I don't think anyone can claim any moral high ground here, and what the two lads have done is cast doubt on the current managements decision to drop Clarke for the replay and it fits into their narrative. Its disappointing and should have been handled behind closed doors. If I were a Mayo fan I would be disappointed at the airing of the dirty laundry in public but it seems the players are simply happy in a 'high performance environment'. I'm sure at the end of their careers you would rather be an all ireland winner than an ex high performance athlete, I think that may be the difference between the dublins, kerrys and Mayo, winning is everything the performance is incidental in most cases, as long as you are winning.

duckula20 (National) - 20/12/2016 09:48:53

Anyone see post by Hill 16 Group? - 1 Like(s)

duckula20 (National) - 22/09/2016 09:17:30

Fun gone out of GAA - 1 Like(s)

duckula20 (National) - 01/06/2016 12:49:46

Casement Park - 1 Like(s)
Ulster GAA, Central Council and Antrim County Committee remain firmly committed to the development of the new stadium The Project Board continues to work closely with the planning and delivery teams to prepare a revised scheme for the stadium that ill: (i) develop and provide a worldclass stadium for the GAA in Belfast; (ii) enhance the local community; (iii) deliver a facility suitable for hosting club, county, provincial and national fixtures; and (iv) contribute to the economic and social development of Belfast and Ulster. A public consultation process is underway on new proposals. Following this comprehensive engagement process and consideration of the results and feedback of that work, Ulster GAA will prepare and submit a planning application later in the year. One can only admire the determination and resilience of the Ulster Council, its Project Board and Antrim County Committee, as they strive to overcome various obstacles. Although completion of the project will extend far beyond the original timeline, the objective is a vital one for the Association and the major investment of time and energy worth the effort. Gary I direct you to the Ard Stiúrthóirs report from last year, where does it say it will be the sole domain of all provincial games, which seems to be your main gripe. For £15M of the GAA's money we'll build casement with all its faults and invite anyone whom wishes to attend any games which are fortunate enough to be fixed there. Your £25M for Healy Park or whichever other crackpot idea you have simply isn't in the coffers as the GAA had only ever budgeted the £15M. Your conspiracy theories of the UK governments to the English Rugby unions plans for a GAA stadium are amusing but wrong. This isn't a provincial project it is a national one hence central councils involvement and why wouldn't central council want modern stadia in Dublin, Belfast and Cork so whilst your utopian ideal of a central location may make sense logistically anyone whom has been sent to Thurles for All-Ireland semis and finals from the North coast will tell you that the distance teams and fans have to travel is nowhere near the top of the GAA's agenda. This allied with the fact that outside of Ulster football and Munster hurling there is a growing chorus to revamp the provincials so would it make economic sense to build a stadium in the centre of a province which may in the not too distant future be the centre of nothing. Anyway I'm off to be more parochial, down with that sort of thing!!!!!!!!

duckula20 (National) - 08/11/2016 15:50:12