So now you have to be a Traditional County to be worth comment. He even had a league table of Offaly's "non-successful decades" on League Sunday. Are such counties not worth comment. Donal og we live in the present and every county is entitled to try and establish its own tradition. If you logic were to be extended nation wide we would not have Derry for example competing in the Ulster Championship as it is my belief that Derry did not compete in the Ulster Senior Football Championship in the middle of the last century for a period but they did rejoin the Championship and low and behold did get there and when they did, who did they beat? Donal og they lowered your own county. Fermanagh were in the same boat and did not rejoin the Ulster Championship until possibly the 1960's and are now on the verge of making it to Division 1. Limerick I believe also rejoined the Munster Senior Football Championship in the 1960's and did not take too long to dump Cork out of the Championship in 1965. So while tradition is nice it is not everything and certainly is not mentioned in the Official Guide, every county is entitled to compete in the Association's competitions without any reference whatever to tradition. Except of course in the Leagues a county's participation next year is dependent on its performance this year.
But of course the sacred cow of the Munster Senior Championship is different, Kerry for example are not now permitted to rejoin it on the same basis as the Leinster, or Connacht, or Ulster counties are allowed into the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship. To enter the latter all you have to do in win the Joe McDonagh Cup and you are in the Leinster Championship next year but if Kerry are successful they are nor allowed automatic entry to "their own" Championship, now that's discrimination not tradition.

MillerX (Meath) - Posts: 1061 - 11/03/2019 12:07:54    2171604

What are you on about??

Bon (Kildare) - Posts: 1898 - 11/03/2019 13:22:08    2171623

We are all entitled to strive for the top. Cusack sounded like he wanted to put Offaly back with the plebs, and not dare to sit at the same table as the 'traditional counties', whatever that means. Patronising.

We have been hurling in Offaly and other small counties since before the GAA was founded, and have kept the tradition alive.
Coming back to the Sunday Game panel, sure he had to get attention.

thelongridge (Offaly) - Posts: 1735 - 11/03/2019 13:58:18    2171640

Some of the loudest voices and maybe what you would consider the biggest influencers from Offaly over the last number of years, it always strikes me that be it innovation in the game or progression in the association, they always seem to be the voice of regression.

I don't agree with Donal og comments but he has a point on this one.

logger (Wexford) - Posts: 296 - 11/03/2019 14:19:16    2171650

We are all entitled to strive for the top. Cusack sounded like he wanted to put Offaly back with the plebs, and not dare to sit at the same table as the 'traditional counties', whatever that means. Patronising.

thelongridge (Offaly) - Posts: 999 - 11/03/2019 13:58:18

Patronising indeed...

if_in_doubt (Kildare) - Posts: 3685 - 11/03/2019 14:40:46    2171657

The biggest shock was the Imokilly division county champions having a bigger pick than the whole of Offaly. The time has arrived that no county under 100,000 people has a hope of winning a hurling All Ireland

bloodyban (Limerick) - Posts: 1710 - 11/03/2019 14:40:47    2171658

offaly need to face reality though,the gaa cant keep changing numbers,divisions,etc to include them.
they have been absolutely terrible at underage for a long time,it is time the offaly keyboard/twitterati (of which there is no shortage) asked themselves "what am i doing,what can i do,and where can i make a difference"?
i dont think the days of a county of less than 100k winning an all ireland are over at all,but the shoulder needs to be put to the wheel in the clubs to get them back up there.
we had our own road to damascus moment after a loss to carlow about 10 years ago and while we are not all ireland winners in the making,we have at least put ourselves back on the radar.
it is tough medicine but offaly need to take it now and stop playing poor old me.

perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 11/03/2019 15:52:43    2171676

while I am not totally up to speed with the schools competitions now a days, I have noticed from following results in Midland tribune etc..Colaiste ??? late rally secures Leinster Final (or Leinster final place even) for Colaiste ???..only to read on and see that the competition is a B or even a C competition...if we win it then (I don't want to go sounding sarcastic) but the opposition team are generally not from a traditional hurling county or very best not a top 2/3 county in Leinster...these players are then feeding up the chain into our minor/u21 where their limited experience (we will leave ability out of this at this juncture) is laid very very bare against a team from Kilkenny/Wexford whom have players who have won A schools competitions with St. Kierans or Peters etc..the days of Banagher VS or Birr(as I say I am not fully sure what grade they are presently hurling at) winning the A competition we were getting county material who were learning their trade by playing teams from Ballyhale, Kilkenny, Loughrea, Athenry, Moneennaguesha, Borrisokane, Nenagh, Buclody/Wexford teams, Mountrath/Rathdowney etc...so when these players progressed to minor U21 they had the experience of playing against players who themselves were going on to represent their counties at top level at under age and later senior..as an ex hurler, to even be playing club hurling with these lads kept all us hurling and wanting to hurl (i.e. our clubs were stronger for the schools/minor/U21 success etc)I know not every player on all teams referred to above didn't make the grade at minor/u21/senior but the few did kept the whole system replenished...sadly, once we started dropping back to B & C in schools competitions, no disrespect to any team in these competitions, but you are not being exposed to the high quality and standards required....I have been at county finals over the last 20 years in both Birr and Tullamore, and could count on my two hands (I wont say one hand) the amount of players who fell to their knees in disappointment after loosing a county final, many were indifferent and were immediately discussing who was going where and what time later etc...there was no raw emotion like in my day, when you would be going around in rings for week giving out to yourself over some mistake you might have made etc..everything is "not the end of the world" now and appears to be quickly forgotten about, may that is good in some respects, but I think you know what I mean from a match point of view..not sure if relegation was a good or bad thing, I hear the arguments for staying up, but realistically, this time next year, or two years time, I think the same conversation would be taking place i.e. we have to win agains X Sunday to avoid relegation and moral would be on the floor for ever, maybe going down and winning a couple of games, and hopefully the Joe McDonagh, will give the lads something to celebrate, they are coming in to it with no baggage now given its 21 years since we last won the Senior AI...surely they will compete in the JMD cup..it is now as it is..

Fairplayalways (Offaly) - Posts: 1034 - 11/03/2019 17:47:19    2171703

PoolSturgeon (Galway) - Posts: 1902 - 11/03/2019 18:30:08    2171708

In regards to Offalys place as one of the big traditional hurling counties I think he had a point. There was alot of calls for a late rule change to keep them in Liam McCarthy last year because of this perceived tradition. Placings in a league or cup with promotion/relegation should not be based on a golden period 20 yrs ago. If they want back in the LM go win the joe mcdonagh but current form looks like they wont.

Also nothing wrong with pointing out that having a small catchment area makes it harder and no shame in getting relegated by a better team as long as long as work is put in to try come back stronger.

Breezy (Limerick) - Posts: 1236 - 11/03/2019 19:35:23    2171719

Am I alone in thinking that that man should never again be employed by our national broadcaster again. Is it ok to hide away for a year or so and come back as if nothing has happened. ?

twbm (Clare) - Posts: 23 - 11/03/2019 21:44:20    2171750

Just looked up Offaly's 80's record they were in every Leinster final winning six. I don't think anyone is suggesting they are a big traditional team but in terms of a 20 year period they created their own tradition. The fact of the matter is when they lost the 2000 all- ireland final they had no young talent coming through, Kilkenny winning the Leinster minor year after year built their legacy. Donal Og also stated that one of the divisions in Cork was bigger than the whole of Connaught !!!! To progress I think they need a clean sweep, new county board, update the plan they had 3-4 years ago and implement it straight away.

ke40 (Kildare) - Posts: 209 - 11/03/2019 22:10:51    2171754

Carlow, Laois and Westmeath are just better than them at the moment
The only people that can sort that out are... the clubs and coaches on the ground in Offaly.

valley84 (Westmeath) - Posts: 1890 - 11/03/2019 22:18:03    2171756

roundball (Tipperary) - Posts: 2514 - 11/03/2019 22:51:21    2171771

FootblockREF (Monaghan) - Posts: 563 - 11/03/2019 23:11:30    2171775

DOC Statements/Opinion are not worth the paper they are written on. RTE have shamed themselves.

WunderBar (Galway) - Posts: 290 - 12/03/2019 08:57:48    2171795

and I suppose the issue too is of interest in Offaly GAA..if this was happening to Kilkenny or Cork or Tippeary in hurling of Dublin or Kerry in football, this type thread would have hundreds of posts..its Offaly...15 posts and slipping down the conversation blog...gone..

Fairplayalways (Offaly) - Posts: 1034 - 12/03/2019 17:51:11    2171907

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11227 - 12/03/2019 21:26:54    2171946

for me michael duignan response on twitter was a low blow.
for a man who is a strong advocate of calling it as he sees it,he doesn't like it when offaly are criticised.
mind you,all these Offaly ex players are comical ali esque on twitter,commentary on everything while their own county fall through the floor.
donal og only told the truth.

perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 17/03/2019 09:03:39    2172935

bloodyban (Limerick) - Posts: 1710 - 17/03/2019 10:22:40    2172953