Replying To Chops: "Why? Mullingar is the county town. Apart from Galway (Tuam, Salhill and sometimes Ballinasloe for hurling), and maybe Kerry (Tralee and Killarney) what other county alternates between 2 towns for league and championship games?? Athlone stadium is very dilapidated and unsuitable for county games. Roscommon is a long county from north to south and it has all matches in the Hyde Padraig Pearses to Boyle is 80km nobody complaining that games should be either end of the county instaed of the middle. Cork use Pairc Ui Caoimh and Pairc Ui Rinn which are in Cork city only couple of kilometers apart. Laois play all counhty games in Portlaoise, Longford use Pearse park and nowhere else. Why should Westmeath do any different?"
Longford used Clonguish literally this week for the U20 game against ourselves.
Replying To Chops: "Why? Mullingar is the county town. Apart from Galway (Tuam, Salhill and sometimes Ballinasloe for hurling), and maybe Kerry (Tralee and Killarney) what other county alternates between 2 towns for league and championship games?? Athlone stadium is very dilapidated and unsuitable for county games. Roscommon is a long county from north to south and it has all matches in the Hyde Padraig Pearses to Boyle is 80km nobody complaining that games should be either end of the county instaed of the middle. Cork use Pairc Ui Caoimh and Pairc Ui Rinn which are in Cork city only couple of kilometers apart. Laois play all counhty games in Portlaoise, Longford use Pearse park and nowhere else. Why should Westmeath do any different?"
You mentioned Hyde Park and Pearse Park, no issue if all county games were in Cusack Park but they aren't. Kinnegad and Loman's have great facilities absolutely no doubt about it. But our U20s in a B competition now is an ideal opportunity to share the load; I'm fairly sure Tubberclair for example under lights this week would provide a tighter and better atmosphere than Kinnegad or Loman's will; they have no problem training in these places along with Bunbrosna and Multyfarnham but yet won't play games there. Wouldn't it be a huge occasion for Multyfarnham to host or Castledaly. They had a huge crowd for a senior challenge this year. I just cannot understand how people can't grasp the support issues when it's in front of people's eyes.
Has anyone copped onto the biggest flaw in Westmesth gaa at the moment ? The biggest one I see is westmeath age groups are 14/16/18, so when this year's county minors finish this year unless they are playing in div1 with their club they will be left to rot in div3 4 minor club games. If we change our age groups to 13/15/17 at least the strong county player can play ul with his adult team and no I am not trying to open the argument on the bases of small clubs not having numbers etc. Another option bring back the combined teams and improve the standard that all club players play at .
Replying To Chops: "Why? Mullingar is the county town. Apart from Galway (Tuam, Salhill and sometimes Ballinasloe for hurling), and maybe Kerry (Tralee and Killarney) what other county alternates between 2 towns for league and championship games?? Athlone stadium is very dilapidated and unsuitable for county games. Roscommon is a long county from north to south and it has all matches in the Hyde Padraig Pearses to Boyle is 80km nobody complaining that games should be either end of the county instaed of the middle. Cork use Pairc Ui Caoimh and Pairc Ui Rinn which are in Cork city only couple of kilometers apart. Laois play all counhty games in Portlaoise, Longford use Pearse park and nowhere else. Why should Westmeath do any different?"
Donegal play in Ballybofey (centre of the county), Letterkenny (the biggest town and more convenient for the north of the county) and Ballyshannon in the south. That's seniors, twenties and minors.
Replying To coffey: "Has anyone copped onto the biggest flaw in Westmesth gaa at the moment ? The biggest one I see is westmeath age groups are 14/16/18, so when this year's county minors finish this year unless they are playing in div1 with their club they will be left to rot in div3 4 minor club games. If we change our age groups to 13/15/17 at least the strong county player can play ul with his adult team and no I am not trying to open the argument on the bases of small clubs not having numbers etc. Another option bring back the combined teams and improve the standard that all club players play at ."
Agreed; how more people don't see this is mad. 15/17 was working very well, the rubbish about drop off rates is just that, a young lad who doesn't wish to play is only giving an extra year and then gone anyway. You look at our county 20s, so many of them yet to play adult level for their club and we wonder why they struggle against better teams. Just a matter of time before someone names maybe one or two players in the entire county who are dual players rather than the majority.
Replying To Chops: "I was literally referring to senior. And Clonguish is literally 4km from Pearse Park hardly the opposite end of the county."
Nobody has ever said that senior games shouldn't be in Mullingar. But the fact no underage games even at B level aren't brought outside Athlone or Kinnegad is frustrating. Bunbrosna have done fabulous work on their grounds and I'm sure our minors in their second tier competition could easily play there, same goes for Multyfarnham, Castledaly or Tubberclair as example.
Replying To panamasam: "Donegal play in Ballybofey (centre of the county), Letterkenny (the biggest town and more convenient for the north of the county) and Ballyshannon in the south. That's seniors, twenties and minors."
I'd forgotten Donegal and Monaghan use Inishkeen aswell as Clones