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Donegal GAA thread

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Replying To Scenicparish:  "No u16's in Hill for health & safety reasons"
The Health and Safety reasons are that the last 3 games Armagh have played in Clones that the Garda Riot Squad had to be called in. At the Ulster Final last year they launced foreworks down on the Pat McGrane seats. Its terrible that people who behave themselves are made suffer for the actions of fools that don't.

SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 777 - 09/05/2024 10:22:33    2543791

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Replying To NPadraigAbu:  "Hearing that Armagh have been allocated around 5000 more tickets than us, Personally I think that's disgraceful. Favoring one county over another when it could easily be 50/50 allocation as we've seen the demand in Donegal."
I would imagine that Armagh have received more than us for 2 reasons. 1. They have far more season ticket holders than Donegal. 2. They have far more adult members than us.

donegaldouble (Donegal) - Posts: 318 - 09/05/2024 11:14:07    2543803

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As was said from the beginning of the season, adult club membership in Donegal dwindled due to the county board / academy saga. Not surprised Armagh were allocated more tickets, and if is because they have more adult members then that's perfectly fair.

No call to complain about a club member showing up for the first game of the season in the Ulster Final if they're paid up. Many of these will have been active in their clubs on the weekends whilst Donegal are playing. They're contributing a lot more to the success of the county and to the objectives of the organisation by volunteering their times locally at club level than by going to matches.

Only valid complaint I can see is the inconsistency in how tickets are allocated. This last two years, tickets have gone through the clubs first. This is a fair system, but there was a departure from this system over the last decade where there seemed to be a guaranteed general sale allocation, and club members weren't even getting their tickets through their club. Croke Park/Ulster GAA are dealing with an awful lot of money in terms of tickets, and spend an awful lot for the use of ticket selling platforms. They need to be more transparent with how they are managing ticket allocations as a whole, as this current game-by-game basis approach is too open to manipulation. One way or another, there's nothing on paper saying if I'm a member of a club I'm guaranteed a inter-county ticket. What happens when the next person in charge decides all tickets go through Supervalu, or Ticketmaster, or whomever they may have signed the latest sponsorship deal with?

SurelyToGod (Donegal) - Posts: 452 - 09/05/2024 11:55:05    2543811

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Replying To SurelyToGod:  "As was said from the beginning of the season, adult club membership in Donegal dwindled due to the county board / academy saga. Not surprised Armagh were allocated more tickets, and if is because they have more adult members then that's perfectly fair.

No call to complain about a club member showing up for the first game of the season in the Ulster Final if they're paid up. Many of these will have been active in their clubs on the weekends whilst Donegal are playing. They're contributing a lot more to the success of the county and to the objectives of the organisation by volunteering their times locally at club level than by going to matches.

Only valid complaint I can see is the inconsistency in how tickets are allocated. This last two years, tickets have gone through the clubs first. This is a fair system, but there was a departure from this system over the last decade where there seemed to be a guaranteed general sale allocation, and club members weren't even getting their tickets through their club. Croke Park/Ulster GAA are dealing with an awful lot of money in terms of tickets, and spend an awful lot for the use of ticket selling platforms. They need to be more transparent with how they are managing ticket allocations as a whole, as this current game-by-game basis approach is too open to manipulation. One way or another, there's nothing on paper saying if I'm a member of a club I'm guaranteed a inter-county ticket. What happens when the next person in charge decides all tickets go through Supervalu, or Ticketmaster, or whomever they may have signed the latest sponsorship deal with?"
I know that the clubs in competing counties in the All Ireland quarter and semi finals last year didn't touch tickets at all. The clubs simply emailed their members with a code, which allowed them to purchase their tickets on Ticketmaster the day before they went on general sale. I expect a similar system will be in place this year.

On ticketing, has anyone topped up their Season Ticket yet with the 3 game package for the All Ireland Group Stage matches? €50 for 3 games is good enough value considering everything else.

SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 777 - 09/05/2024 12:51:17    2543823

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"They're contributing a lot more to the success of the county and to the objectives of the organisation by volunteering their times locally at club level than by going to matches."

That depends on what club they are volunteering with. Yes they are contributing to the health of Gaelic Games but in some cases their club has made little or even zero impact on the county team. My local club hasn't had a player who has played in a senior inter county championship game in over 40 years at least.

PattyONeill (Derry) - Posts: 263 - 09/05/2024 13:05:03    2543825

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Replying To greenfan:  "Club memberships have been down in the last few years, shows that a lot of people were only joining clubs so they had access to county tickets. Loads of people got caught out this year thinking there would be no big demand for county tickets and didn't bother to become club members. Nice to see the genuine GAA club members getting the tickets."
If clubs have a problem with people joining just to get tickets then they should have refunded our payments. My local club were advertising memberships on Facebook and used "access to Derry tickets" as one of the reasons you should join. They can't advertise like that and then complain when a member requests Derry tickets.

PattyONeill (Derry) - Posts: 263 - 09/05/2024 13:16:21    2543827

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Replying To gunman:  "Just rustled up some stats.In the last 8 league and championship matches between Donegal and Armagh it is 4 wins Donegal 2 wins Armagh and 2 draws
Aggregate score Donegal 4-121 (133) Armagh 6-107(125).Average 1 point per game for Donegal.That is from 2020-2024.A lot of the games were close,2 draws and 2 1point wins for Donegal.However there were 3 outliers
2020 Ulster S/F Donegal 1-22 Armagh 0-13
2022 Q/F Donegal 1-16 Armagh 0-12
2022 Qualifier Donegal 0-16 Armagh 3-17
It is interesting when you look at the scorers from that game back in 2020
Mogan 1-2,Langan 0-3,McHugh,Brennan,McGonagle,Thompson,O'Donnell,Murphy all 0-2
McBrearty,Fara,McFadden and McClean all 0-1

R ONeill 0-7,Turbitt 0-2,Clarke 0-2,Oisin O Neill and Grimley 0-1. Apart from big personalities like Murphy and Clarke having left the scene there will be no real big changes since then."
Interesting stats, on average in Championship we have been consistently stronger than Armagh in recent years aside from that qualifier game a week after we lost to Derry in the 2022 Ulster final.
Yet I can't help but feel that Armagh are marginally stronger than us at the moment, maybe its their inside forward line that makes me think this way. Our scoring accuracy is nowhere near where it should be, which in a tight game similar to the Tyrone match might be a real issue for us.

Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1340 - 09/05/2024 13:27:13    2543833

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I think we can land another Ulster title on Sunday. Key to that will be settling down early and establishing a bit of a lead. I think if Armagh are forced to come out, then we can have joy exploiting the space left behind with our hard running game. It won't be easy but I'm cautiously confident we will do it.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9759 - 09/05/2024 14:00:25    2543839

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Replying To PattyONeill:  "If clubs have a problem with people joining just to get tickets then they should have refunded our payments. My local club were advertising memberships on Facebook and used "access to Derry tickets" as one of the reasons you should join. They can't advertise like that and then complain when a member requests Derry tickets."
Not sure what you are on about, never heard of any club having a problem with people joining, the more members they have the better. Clubs aren't complaining, its the people who aren't members of clubs who are complaining about not getting tickets.

greenfan (Donegal) - Posts: 633 - 09/05/2024 14:11:50    2543842

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "I think we can land another Ulster title on Sunday. Key to that will be settling down early and establishing a bit of a lead. I think if Armagh are forced to come out, then we can have joy exploiting the space left behind with our hard running game. It won't be easy but I'm cautiously confident we will do it."
But we will have to be careful. Armagh have had serious joy against us in the last few years by targeting the throw in at the start of each half. They have gotten goals on a couple of occasions, and we were lucky they had one in Ballybofey disallowed in 2022 at the start of the 2nd half.

SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 777 - 09/05/2024 14:15:16    2543843

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Replying To SouthOfTheGap:  "But we will have to be careful. Armagh have had serious joy against us in the last few years by targeting the throw in at the start of each half. They have gotten goals on a couple of occasions, and we were lucky they had one in Ballybofey disallowed in 2022 at the start of the 2nd half."
Yeah the battle between (I assume) Jason McGee and Rían O'Neill in the throw-ins will be an interesting subplot!

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9759 - 09/05/2024 14:26:06    2543846

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If Armagh try and create a frenzied game they could be in bother vs us. There's Goals to be got if they press us. We have serious pace from deep in Mogan, Ryan, Mc Colgan, Shane O Donnell, Mc Gonagle. Be great if Ban was back to add to that list.

TheRock2121 (Donegal) - Posts: 1208 - 09/05/2024 14:54:22    2543849

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Replying To TheRock2121:  "If Armagh try and create a frenzied game they could be in bother vs us. There's Goals to be got if they press us. We have serious pace from deep in Mogan, Ryan, Mc Colgan, Shane O Donnell, Mc Gonagle. Be great if Ban was back to add to that list."
Listening to the GAA Social podcast here and Stevie McDonnell saying that Armagh will win simply because they have better footballers than Donegal. No harm to the great man, but I would dispute that. Hope our boys go out and prove it on Sunday.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9759 - 09/05/2024 15:14:16    2543852

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Replying To PattyONeill:  ""They're contributing a lot more to the success of the county and to the objectives of the organisation by volunteering their times locally at club level than by going to matches."

That depends on what club they are volunteering with. Yes they are contributing to the health of Gaelic Games but in some cases their club has made little or even zero impact on the county team. My local club hasn't had a player who has played in a senior inter county championship game in over 40 years at least."
And even still, one day of work in that struggling club at the weekend, whether it be taking kids to a blitz, lining a pitch, or umpiring a Junior B match is more of a contribution to the well-being of the sport in the county than attending the 10 inter-county matches Donegal or Derry have played. Very little at club level should be done with the county in mind, rather the community. That's how you build a sustainable and growing culture.

SurelyToGod (Donegal) - Posts: 452 - 09/05/2024 15:27:07    2543857

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Folks this ulster final should be in Croker..do yous agree or disagree..I was there in 2004 against Armagh and was a brilliant occasion but pity about the result..as for this ulster I just waiting for Oisin Gallen to explode..I think this is his time please God.. anyway what ever the result with the Missah back at the helm I give us 3 years to win Sam..so good luck lads..let's do this..

RoryGall35 (Donegal) - Posts: 193 - 09/05/2024 15:30:56    2543858

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Replying To RoryGall35:  "Folks this ulster final should be in Croker..do yous agree or disagree..I was there in 2004 against Armagh and was a brilliant occasion but pity about the result..as for this ulster I just waiting for Oisin Gallen to explode..I think this is his time please God.. anyway what ever the result with the Missah back at the helm I give us 3 years to win Sam..so good luck lads..let's do this.."
Absolutely not. Nothing better than Ulster Final in a packed Clones in a lovely May sunny day instead of dragging supporters up to a half filled Croke Park.

Scenicparish (Donegal) - Posts: 486 - 09/05/2024 16:01:07    2543863

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Replying To greenfan:  "Not sure what you are on about, never heard of any club having a problem with people joining, the more members they have the better. Clubs aren't complaining, its the people who aren't members of clubs who are complaining about not getting tickets."
100%

Scenicparish (Donegal) - Posts: 486 - 09/05/2024 16:03:51    2543867

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Replying To RoryGall35:  "Folks this ulster final should be in Croker..do yous agree or disagree..I was there in 2004 against Armagh and was a brilliant occasion but pity about the result..as for this ulster I just waiting for Oisin Gallen to explode..I think this is his time please God.. anyway what ever the result with the Missah back at the helm I give us 3 years to win Sam..so good luck lads..let's do this.."
Don't think anyone could have predicted the demand for tickets. Donegal and Tyrone were struggling to fill Celtic Park 2 weeks ago.

greenfan (Donegal) - Posts: 633 - 09/05/2024 16:12:38    2543871

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Well disappointed...don't believe I've received a ticket that been member and thats me going to games when poor last few years....

Tom123 (Donegal) - Posts: 25 - 09/05/2024 16:14:31    2543873

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"Entry to the Hill Terrace is via Turnstiles 1-10 and 49-50 only. Juveniles are permitted to enter the Hill Terrace with a via a valid ticket and must be accompanied by an adult."

"Ulster GAA define juvenile tickets as those under the age of 16 and must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Children aged 2 or under do not require a ticket."

"Please note that flares, smoke canister and fireworks are not permitted, and anyone found in possession of a flare shall be ejected from the stadium."

Update on Ulster Gaa website.

SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 777 - 09/05/2024 16:15:10    2543874

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