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The Documentary- "Players Of The Faithful County"

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Replying To thelongridge:  "Everyone has a little heartache in life Kingdom Boy. Glad you enjoyed the programme, painful though it must be. It was a high point for Offaly football, we have fallen a long way from then, one Leinster title in 1997, followed by a National League Title the following year. The decline of Bord Na Mona and ESB in Offaly were one factor in our fall, but not all. Most of the players were from clubs adjacent to, or based in areas with a lot of employment in turf production or power stations.


Kerry won 3 in a row from 1984 to 1986, before the team broke up until 1997."
Ya it definitely helped having the industries you speak of the long ridge, it's sad to see ye fadeout but at least ye were there and ye won allirelands in football and hurling and made yer history , no one can take that from ye.

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 02/01/2019 13:32:14    2155460

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Replying To KingdomBoy1:  "Yew with all due respect ye gave us nothing we just took those allirelands from ye, and ye couldn't blame the refs in those finals."
Who is blaming the ref? True Kerry would still likely have won if those Mayo teams even showed up but they were non events the finals of 04 and 06.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11230 - 02/01/2019 13:43:50    2155462

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Replying To yew_tree:  "Who is blaming the ref? True Kerry would still likely have won if those Mayo teams even showed up but they were non events the finals of 04 and 06."
Ya I'd say we were the only ones who enjoyed those allirelands yew tree.

I'd love to ye win the big prize if we're not in the final.

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 02/01/2019 16:40:07    2155476

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Replying To Horsebox77:  "Good documentary, one question though, did anyone else find it strange that there was no Kerry involvement what a ever. No input by Kerry players on the day. I just think getting Mikey's thoughts on the penalty, or Charlie's thoughts on that ball that beat him or Tommy Doyle's on the final ball. Granted the programmer was the 'Faithful' but I found it unbalanced. '

Anyone else feel that way?"
Ah I think it was just "Offaly" based given the the decline I of them since I suppose and the overall issue of employment in the midlands and Bord Na Mona and ESB being the main employers then..I still think that young people are more educated now and the pulling of lads into the two fore-mentioned employments are a thing of the past, youngsters are educated now and will pursue the jobs they want where-ever these jobs might be. Banagher Concrete was a hurlers haven in the 1980's for anyone with no job, some were "fortunate" to end up in the office while most lads around Banagher Birr Clareen, Lusmagh and the general Banagher/Birr environs got laboring jobs in the yard. The ESB had a more polished appeal to it and was viewed as "your made" if you go the job there..interestingly I was at a presentation in Tullamore many years ago now, hurling/football presentation was on the same night, and the hurlers were a very down to earth lot, the footballers had a swagger about them which a lot of people were surprised at, but it was 1998 and after winning the League...just the two groups, despite some having dual players at the time seemed very very different in their interaction with fellow attendees, maybe that has tailed off now that neither team is winning...anyway, no point buttering it up, that's the way it came across to me and a few more of the hurling folk there on the night...will Offaly come again, I don't know, the standard has evened out now where the likes of Offaly etc have regressed and the so called lesser counties have progressed (preparation wise and access to gyms, diets etc) so bar the main Dublin and Kerrys maybe, hard to see Offaly or a similar county winning an AI soon, even if Dublin or Kerry are beaten in their province they would surely roar back in the back door, where many counties just don't seem to be able to come that root..

Fairplayalways (Offaly) - Posts: 1034 - 03/01/2019 13:52:08    2155552

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Replying To Fairplayalways:  "Ah I think it was just "Offaly" based given the the decline I of them since I suppose and the overall issue of employment in the midlands and Bord Na Mona and ESB being the main employers then..I still think that young people are more educated now and the pulling of lads into the two fore-mentioned employments are a thing of the past, youngsters are educated now and will pursue the jobs they want where-ever these jobs might be. Banagher Concrete was a hurlers haven in the 1980's for anyone with no job, some were "fortunate" to end up in the office while most lads around Banagher Birr Clareen, Lusmagh and the general Banagher/Birr environs got laboring jobs in the yard. The ESB had a more polished appeal to it and was viewed as "your made" if you go the job there..interestingly I was at a presentation in Tullamore many years ago now, hurling/football presentation was on the same night, and the hurlers were a very down to earth lot, the footballers had a swagger about them which a lot of people were surprised at, but it was 1998 and after winning the League...just the two groups, despite some having dual players at the time seemed very very different in their interaction with fellow attendees, maybe that has tailed off now that neither team is winning...anyway, no point buttering it up, that's the way it came across to me and a few more of the hurling folk there on the night...will Offaly come again, I don't know, the standard has evened out now where the likes of Offaly etc have regressed and the so called lesser counties have progressed (preparation wise and access to gyms, diets etc) so bar the main Dublin and Kerrys maybe, hard to see Offaly or a similar county winning an AI soon, even if Dublin or Kerry are beaten in their province they would surely roar back in the back door, where many counties just don't seem to be able to come that root.."
Excellent post, what has happened to Offaly can happen any county outside the pale.

we're living on borrowed time down here at the minute due to lack of industry, if we hadn't the bit of tourism we'd be a dead duck already, depopulation in the north and south of the county is killing us.

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 03/01/2019 14:23:39    2155557

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Replying To KingdomBoy1:  "Excellent post, what has happened to Offaly can happen any county outside the pale.

we're living on borrowed time down here at the minute due to lack of industry, if we hadn't the bit of tourism we'd be a dead duck already, depopulation in the north and south of the county is killing us."
I notice loads of spelling errors in my earlier post bu nonetheless, ah, I think years of tradition will stand Kerry good, tourism is grand but bar B&B, hotels, catering that type of thing, I cant see any up and coming Kerry star working as a jarvey or what have you, Cork and Limerick are either side I suppose for "city jobs"..Offaly is 80 odd miles from Dublin and 50 from Galway etc... Kerry is a very big county though, so what you loose in one very good player leaving the fold for whatever reason there is more than likely 2/3 more somewhere else in the county to take their place, Offaly just wouldn't have those type of numbers or replacments...I remember Kerry having a decent hurling team too in the mid to late 1980's and beating Waterford around 1993 I think in Munster championship...while most neutrals shout for counties playing against Kerry I am a believer that you need Kerry/Dublin etc. to come good every so often to keep the thing going..God Cork were so unlucky while Kerry were at the top...they had great teams, no back door then..

Fairplayalways (Offaly) - Posts: 1034 - 03/01/2019 15:34:31    2155567

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Replying To KingdomBoy1:  "Excellent post, what has happened to Offaly can happen any county outside the pale.

we're living on borrowed time down here at the minute due to lack of industry, if we hadn't the bit of tourism we'd be a dead duck already, depopulation in the north and south of the county is killing us."
This is not how I planned to start 2019. Tearing up at my desk thinking about the plight of Kerry football.

Really makes you think how lucky the rest of the country have it. We could start an appeal for yis, kinda like live aid or something? We don't have many footballers in Cavan but we could send you down a few, just to tide yis over until yis get back on your feet? It's a modest and humble offering but that's all we can offer in your hour of desperate and forlorn need.

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12118 - 03/01/2019 16:07:37    2155569

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Replying To Fairplayalways:  "I notice loads of spelling errors in my earlier post bu nonetheless, ah, I think years of tradition will stand Kerry good, tourism is grand but bar B&B, hotels, catering that type of thing, I cant see any up and coming Kerry star working as a jarvey or what have you, Cork and Limerick are either side I suppose for "city jobs"..Offaly is 80 odd miles from Dublin and 50 from Galway etc... Kerry is a very big county though, so what you loose in one very good player leaving the fold for whatever reason there is more than likely 2/3 more somewhere else in the county to take their place, Offaly just wouldn't have those type of numbers or replacments...I remember Kerry having a decent hurling team too in the mid to late 1980's and beating Waterford around 1993 I think in Munster championship...while most neutrals shout for counties playing against Kerry I am a believer that you need Kerry/Dublin etc. to come good every so often to keep the thing going..God Cork were so unlucky while Kerry were at the top...they had great teams, no back door then.."
Ya like you say not many of our footballers are involved in tourism although a few have pubs in the big towns, years ago they could get into the Gardí or the banks and post offices but post offices and Garda stations are closing at a serious rate down here and banking is all done on line.

What's the club scene like in Offaly at the moment? I remember rhode got to a Leinster final a few years back are they still the big guns up there?

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 03/01/2019 16:24:00    2155572

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Replying To KingdomBoy1:  "Ya like you say not many of our footballers are involved in tourism although a few have pubs in the big towns, years ago they could get into the Gardí or the banks and post offices but post offices and Garda stations are closing at a serious rate down here and banking is all done on line.

What's the club scene like in Offaly at the moment? I remember rhode got to a Leinster final a few years back are they still the big guns up there?"
Of course, this situation is entirely unique to poor aul Kirry

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12118 - 03/01/2019 17:11:16    2155579

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Replying To KingdomBoy1:  "Ya like you say not many of our footballers are involved in tourism although a few have pubs in the big towns, years ago they could get into the Gardí or the banks and post offices but post offices and Garda stations are closing at a serious rate down here and banking is all done on line.

What's the club scene like in Offaly at the moment? I remember rhode got to a Leinster final a few years back are they still the big guns up there?"
Rhode are current King pins and will wonder how they let Mullanaghta (Longford champions who went on to win the Leinster Club in early December) beat them by 1-06 to 0-07, be it Rhode played for three quarters of the game with 14 men after Brian Darby got a straight red..so they will or should be kicking themselves as they were scoring well and playing well all year..Ferbane are the up and coming team, falling a short the last few years to Rhode and Clara, and need to make the break through soon as players don't hang around like 20/25 years ago now with work and what have ya..other than than that Tullamore have gone back a lot, Gracefield push so far most years...but then taper off...you hear lads on about "a great game" and when you listen more its only an junior or intermediate game they are on about..no disrespect to either grade....good young talent coming through and good structures in place, whether it yields anything remains to be seen...nearly all counties now have such structures, so breaking through is very very hard...

Fairplayalways (Offaly) - Posts: 1034 - 04/01/2019 10:42:12    2155625

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Replying To Fairplayalways:  "Rhode are current King pins and will wonder how they let Mullanaghta (Longford champions who went on to win the Leinster Club in early December) beat them by 1-06 to 0-07, be it Rhode played for three quarters of the game with 14 men after Brian Darby got a straight red..so they will or should be kicking themselves as they were scoring well and playing well all year..Ferbane are the up and coming team, falling a short the last few years to Rhode and Clara, and need to make the break through soon as players don't hang around like 20/25 years ago now with work and what have ya..other than than that Tullamore have gone back a lot, Gracefield push so far most years...but then taper off...you hear lads on about "a great game" and when you listen more its only an junior or intermediate game they are on about..no disrespect to either grade....good young talent coming through and good structures in place, whether it yields anything remains to be seen...nearly all counties now have such structures, so breaking through is very very hard..."
Ya that's true all any county can do now is give their players the best structures they can and hope they'll want to commit to the county team, I was only reading about john Maughan was finding it hard to get lads to commit for 2019 and that's a tough one, I see billy lee has a semilar problem with limerick.

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 04/01/2019 11:26:05    2155628

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A very good and enjoyable programme, ex players spoke very well and you could sense some strong characters in their line up. It was some achievement for a small county to win 4 hurling and 3 football All Ireland titles in a 27 year period. That Offaly team had great self belief going one step further every year for four years in an era dominated by Kerry and Dublin. They won a Leinster semi final in '79, a Leinster final in'80, an All Ireland semi final in '81 before winning the All Ireland final in '82.
Sad to think we have lost at least four players involved in that famous final. Paudie O Shea, Tim Kinnelly, John Egan and Liam O Connor who delivered that floating diagonal cross for Seamus Darby.

Curlew66 (Roscommon) - Posts: 506 - 04/01/2019 11:33:47    2155630

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Replying To Fairplayalways:  "Rhode are current King pins and will wonder how they let Mullanaghta (Longford champions who went on to win the Leinster Club in early December) beat them by 1-06 to 0-07, be it Rhode played for three quarters of the game with 14 men after Brian Darby got a straight red..so they will or should be kicking themselves as they were scoring well and playing well all year..Ferbane are the up and coming team, falling a short the last few years to Rhode and Clara, and need to make the break through soon as players don't hang around like 20/25 years ago now with work and what have ya..other than than that Tullamore have gone back a lot, Gracefield push so far most years...but then taper off...you hear lads on about "a great game" and when you listen more its only an junior or intermediate game they are on about..no disrespect to either grade....good young talent coming through and good structures in place, whether it yields anything remains to be seen...nearly all counties now have such structures, so breaking through is very very hard..."
Tullamore are comprehensively better than Ferbane. Only team that put Rhode under pressure in knockout football.

LooseCannon (Offaly) - Posts: 86 - 04/01/2019 20:27:05    2155697

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Replying To LooseCannon:  "Tullamore are comprehensively better than Ferbane. Only team that put Rhode under pressure in knockout football."
Ferbane drew with Rhode in the championship this year, outplayed them in the first half, but went defensive in the second half instead of pressing on.
Tullamore had Rhode for the taking in the semifinal, but let them back into the game. We know what happened.

thelongridge (Offaly) - Posts: 1741 - 05/01/2019 11:46:14    2155726

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Replying To thelongridge:  "Ferbane drew with Rhode in the championship this year, outplayed them in the first half, but went defensive in the second half instead of pressing on.
Tullamore had Rhode for the taking in the semifinal, but let them back into the game. We know what happened."
Group stage games aren't a patch on knockout ball.

LooseCannon (Offaly) - Posts: 86 - 05/01/2019 16:12:43    2155747

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Great documentary. Anyone else find it strange though that the hurlers winning their first ever hurling All-Ireland in 1981 wasn't even mentioned? Especially with Liam Currams on both teams.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 06/01/2019 21:59:55    2155871

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Replying To LooseCannon:  "Tullamore are comprehensively better than Ferbane. Only team that put Rhode under pressure in knockout football."
Not sure about what point you are trying to make about Mullanaghta and Rhode. Rhode have won many championships over the last few years bout were not good enough to win a Leinster unlike Mullanaghta. I will say however that they were robbed out a Leinster club championship a few years back by a couple of Ref decisions when playing against Kilmacud when their keeper was twice bundled across the line - which was an obvious free which was not awarded. The Ref did not appear to know the rules!

browncows (Meath) - Posts: 2342 - 07/01/2019 02:01:21    2155888

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Replying To browncows:  "Not sure about what point you are trying to make about Mullanaghta and Rhode. Rhode have won many championships over the last few years bout were not good enough to win a Leinster unlike Mullanaghta. I will say however that they were robbed out a Leinster club championship a few years back by a couple of Ref decisions when playing against Kilmacud when their keeper was twice bundled across the line - which was an obvious free which was not awarded. The Ref did not appear to know the rules!"
Jays, the irony must be lost on you boyo.

catch22 (USA) - Posts: 2148 - 07/01/2019 11:12:06    2155914

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Replying To browncows:  "Not sure about what point you are trying to make about Mullanaghta and Rhode. Rhode have won many championships over the last few years bout were not good enough to win a Leinster unlike Mullanaghta. I will say however that they were robbed out a Leinster club championship a few years back by a couple of Ref decisions when playing against Kilmacud when their keeper was twice bundled across the line - which was an obvious free which was not awarded. The Ref did not appear to know the rules!"
I never mentioned Mullinalaghta

LooseCannon (Offaly) - Posts: 86 - 07/01/2019 18:43:39    2156001

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