keane
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Posts: 1,267
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Post by keane on Oct 22, 2021 19:49:41 GMT
Probably won't be new to anyone but The Bloodied Field is a superb GAA book. Domestique by Charlie Wegelius (cycling) and The Game by Ken Dryden (ice hockey) are two other random sports books that everyone should have the pleasure of reading.
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 22, 2021 19:59:48 GMT
Probably won't be new to anyone but The Bloodied Field is a superb GAA book. Domestique by Charlie Wegelius (cycling) and The Game by Ken Dryden (ice hockey) are two other random sports books that everyone should have the pleasure of reading. The Bloodied Field is stunning. 'The Hurlers' by Paul Rouse about the first All Ireland Hurling final is up there with it. I had no idea how much the IRB usurped the GAA shortly after it was set up. A few months after the first all ireland hurling final between Galway and Tipp, the Galway goalkeeper was evicted out of his cabin by the local landlord and lived with his family on the side of the road. JJ Barretts book on how the GAA helped heal the civil war wounds is another. They would be my top 3 GAA books.
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horsebox77
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Our trees & mountains are silent ghosts, they hold wisdom and knowledge mankind has long forgotten.
Posts: 2,036
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Post by horsebox77 on Oct 22, 2021 20:57:45 GMT
Forged in Green and Gold is a good historical book but ya JJ Barrett’s is a class above all.
One simple gaa book, which i invariably flick through in the off season called “can you manage” by Tim Healy, for any aspiring gaa coach I think this is a golden nugget
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2021 22:28:55 GMT
I would rank the recent Kerry bios as follows Jacks, donaghy, Galvin, tomas, gooch, Mahoney, Kennelly, Daragh’s Jack was a clear no 1 helped by the fact he was the first one out with a book and also he had the best ghost writer Donaghys was very honest whereas galvins was good but a little self indulgent and needed a good editor to rein him in. The rest are fairly forgettable, some interesting bits in most of the, but a lot of it was fairly cliche stuff with little insight offered.
Daragh’s as others have said was the worst. I think Ewan Mackenna was the ghost writer and he was fairly scathing afterwards about it and Daragh’s attitude towards it.
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mossie
Fanatical Member
Posts: 2,577
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Post by mossie on Oct 22, 2021 23:54:41 GMT
Darragh’s was pure tripe, Tomas’s was ok I though, as was Coopers, Donaghy’s and the keys to the kingdom by Jack were good enough reads as well. Paul’s, I thought was deeper, but I suppose seeing as he himself wrote it as opposed to a ghost writer one could see why. Cody’s was a let-down. Mickey Harte’s was a great read, that was one autobiography, I couldn’t put down. So, seven books from the 2000’s team, Paul, Darragh, Tomas, Donaghy, Cooper, Jack O’Connor and now Aidan O’Mahony. Anyone else find it strange that from the Golden Years only Pat Spillane< Paidi and Deenihan put pen to paper, and I though Deenihan’s was a hard read. Considering the likes of Jacko, Bomber Mikey and Óige etc… I’m surprised the figures aren’t reversed, with seven for the Golden Years and three from the 2000’s. 7 is too many from that era, interest wanes Paul Galvin's was the best I felt. He had a bit of extra to the rest of the lads - late blossom as a senior inter county starter, the hurling background and hurling success at club level and all ireland b level with kerry under 21 , the varous controversies You left out Mick ODywer's book from the golden era! Across the county bounds, I always felt that there was a book to be had on Jimmy Barry Murphy, superstar of the 1970s\1980 perhaps the greatest dual man of all
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Post by Ballyfireside on Oct 23, 2021 12:59:45 GMT
Darragh’s was pure tripe, Tomas’s was ok I though, as was Coopers, Donaghy’s and the keys to the kingdom by Jack were good enough reads as well. Paul’s, I thought was deeper, but I suppose seeing as he himself wrote it as opposed to a ghost writer one could see why. Cody’s was a let-down. Mickey Harte’s was a great read, that was one autobiography, I couldn’t put down. So, seven books from the 2000’s team, Paul, Darragh, Tomas, Donaghy, Cooper, Jack O’Connor and now Aidan O’Mahony. Anyone else find it strange that from the Golden Years only Pat Spillane< Paidi and Deenihan put pen to paper, and I though Deenihan’s was a hard read. Considering the likes of Jacko, Bomber Mikey and Óige etc… I’m surprised the figures aren’t reversed, with seven for the Golden Years and three from the 2000’s. I agree on Galvin, Donaghy, colm Copper and Mickey Harte. Jacks book was compulsive too. Christy o Connor of Clare had a great book from the perspective of the club hurler. Some poor ones by Darragh, Brendan Cummins, Charlie Carter, Gee Mick MOM's is a classic, though in fairness I only began to appreciate it when I twigged how wise he really is behind all the, well, Ó Muircheartaighology, Ó Muircheartaighism .. whatever you want to call it. Funny the underlying meaning of Muircheartaigh is Navigator, Sea worthy & Crafty, so he is a a true blood IMO and it is also a Kerry name, so a Brendan Moriarty would have a big weight on his/her shoulders! I suppose it also depends on what you are looking for and as they say one man's treasure is another man's trach. The stand out characteristic to me is that he was universally trusted and that is about the highest compliment one could pay anyone. Just look at a few other 'pillars' in society, they'd sell their granny and I've seen 'em doing worse - widows and orphans would be fair game to them. To be trusted is a license to succeed and Mícheál was able to command phenomenal resources to get some really great things done. He has an amazing cruising speed, all on low revs. I'd like to read someone else's account of him, a Biography as opposed to his Autobiography and not that there would be anything untoward but as he'd say himself, 'an taobh eile' - I'd say it couldn't be but flattering.
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 26, 2021 10:23:00 GMT
PM O’Sullivan: Do Kilkenny possess a succession plan? Or are they living on past glories?
MON, 25 OCT, 2021 - 18:10 PM O'Sullivan PM O’Sullivan Kilkenny hurling stands in a downbeat place.
I was out and about after last Sunday’s senior semi-finals. People were underwhelmed, putting it politely, by the standard on view, after Ballyhale Shamrocks and O’Loughlin Gaels reached the county final.
No one was advancing too many fresh names for a striped intercounty jersey. The idea that Kilkenny will not win a Senior All-Ireland during the 2020s is twisting like ivy around local conversations.
That obvious topic, Henry Shefflin’s decision to take on managing Galway? People shake their head, lost for wryness. From what I hear, there exists no animosity towards the Ballyhale native. Disappointment and frustration, yes, but his name is not being held to a flame.
What people want to know? Whether the County Board possess a succession plan.
Or have they become a Mary Celeste, a ghost ship adrift on past glories? I hope not.
Here is a simple fact. Kilkenny hurling, when Brian Cody was appointed manager in late 1998, had been without a Senior All-Ireland for five seasons. As of late 2021, Kilkenny hurling lies without a Senior All-Ireland for six seasons. The present situation is now objectively worse than the late 20th-century situation.
Like any sensible person, I am grateful to Brian Cody for his immense input into the GAA via St Patrick’s De La Salle BNS, James Stephens, and Kilkenny. He remains a volunteer in the very best sense of the term. He represents the organisation’s best traditions. No one, in all likelihood, will ever exceed his contribution not just to Kilkenny hurling but to hurling, full stop. Cody begins his 24th season as senior manager in 2022.
I intensely dislike public house conversations where the whole place has a problem for every solution. ‘Get rid of this lad, get rid of that lad…’ Ye know the drill, the self-confident ease with which complicated questions are brushed aside. The slash and burn merchants, at the counter, could solve many an energy crisis if only their hot air could be harnessed.
Learn more
But realities do need to be faced. Henry Shefflin’s move to Galway merely emphasises an existing problem, not a difficulty tucked out of sight around the corner. One of the best players on view last Sunday, a young James Stephens figure, left Kilkenny’s senior panel in 2021 because of the supposedly poor atmosphere.
Again, once the club action is over, there will be half a dozen to ten exits from the panel of 26 that lost to Cork last August in an All-Ireland semi-final. Are there hurlers of the requisite standard to fill this gap? Doubtful. Nor will this process entirely be natural wastage through age profile. I am told one player, now in his prime, is contemplating retirement out of the same concern about atmosphere.
Does the County Board possess a succession plan? I do know Henry Shefflin is their preferred successor to Brian Cody. If so, how did this swerve to Galway transpire? What did they expect the man to do? Just hang around?
iTunessoundcloudspotify There is a counterfactual version of recent hurling history. Within this scenario, Derek Lyng succeeds Cody for the 2018 season. The tactical decision to send centre back Kieran Joyce chasing Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher around midfield in 2016’s senior final, denuding Kilkenny’s full back line, gets seen for the madness it was.
Seen plain, likewise, is the fiasco against Wexford in 2017’s Leinster Championship.
A quarter fit Pádraig Walsh was picked on edge of square, resulting from 2016’s full back line being filleted against Tipperary, but lined out at centre forward. What did the attackers on Kilkenny’s bench that day draw from this decision? That a quarter fit Walsh counted as the better option up front?
There are decent reasons to feel Kilkenny should have embarked, four seasons ago, on the necessary transition from unparalleled success to more prosaic achievements.
There would still be serious challenges but that difficult moment would be behind the county. I believe Kilkenny would have done as well under a new manager from 2018 onwards as proved the case under their current manager. The team might even have done a touch better. Which or whether, the atmosphere factor would have been addressed. As matters stand, there is no guarantee on when Brian Cody will step back. Henry Shefflin’s logic seems solid. Pared to its core, this logic is a twofold bet. First off, that he is more likely to win Leinster (and maybe All-Ireland) with Galway than with Dublin.
Kilkenny are on the way down and Wexford are probably heading in the same direction. Meanwhile Dublin are hardly significantly on the way up. I hope I am wrong about Kilkenny but this view is now majority opinion in the county.
Winning the Leinster final twice with Galway over the course of a three-year stint is quite possible. This scenario would deliver two automatic All-Ireland semi-final appearances. If Limerick keep winning Munster, any such semi-final would be perfectly winnable. Get into two senior finals and there is a decent chance to pinch one.
Second of all, Shefflin was never going to succeed Davy Fitzgerald in Wexford. No outsider will ever manage Cork or Tipperary. There is no vacancy for the foreseeable future in Clare, Limerick or Waterford. Besides, Munster would be harder to win than Leinster. So the choice, in top tier, was Dublin or Galway.
Courage remains the only sure source of momentum. Henry Shefflin has acted in bold and courageous fashion. There are no guarantees but he will have weighed up possibilities to the last milligram. His Galway cupboard might stay bare. Fair enough. But he discerns a value bet.
The fact that he is willing to make this wager says far more about the current state of play in Kilkenny than it does about Galway’s immediate future.
MORE KILKENNY GAA ARTICLES
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Post by Ballyfireside on Oct 26, 2021 13:01:58 GMT
On the subject of books I was talking to a laddo who is penning 'Compulsive Lawyers' - he made some comment re the key being to 'write what you know' and which, is lets say well known.
Still him a solicitor has me a biteen confused - sure butter shouldn't melt in their mouths? It all reminds of that one 'Under The Mattress' - now there's one written by a fella who knew all about his chosen subject. Someone said he should have changed the name to 'Under The Bed' because there wasn't enough room under the mattress but low and behold hadn't another latchico already used that title, and sure we couldn't have two of 'em under the bed!
Ballythefireside Quote of The Day - Stick to the knitting, unless of course you want to stitch us up.
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Post by thehermit on Oct 26, 2021 23:05:17 GMT
PM O’Sullivan: Do Kilkenny possess a succession plan? Or are they living on past glories? MON, 25 OCT, 2021 - 18:10 PM O'Sullivan PM O’Sullivan Kilkenny hurling stands in a downbeat place. I was out and about after last Sunday’s senior semi-finals. People were underwhelmed, putting it politely, by the standard on view, after Ballyhale Shamrocks and O’Loughlin Gaels reached the county final. No one was advancing too many fresh names for a striped intercounty jersey. The idea that Kilkenny will not win a Senior All-Ireland during the 2020s is twisting like ivy around local conversations. That obvious topic, Henry Shefflin’s decision to take on managing Galway? People shake their head, lost for wryness. From what I hear, there exists no animosity towards the Ballyhale native. Disappointment and frustration, yes, but his name is not being held to a flame. What people want to know? Whether the County Board possess a succession plan. Or have they become a Mary Celeste, a ghost ship adrift on past glories? I hope not. Here is a simple fact. Kilkenny hurling, when Brian Cody was appointed manager in late 1998, had been without a Senior All-Ireland for five seasons. As of late 2021, Kilkenny hurling lies without a Senior All-Ireland for six seasons. The present situation is now objectively worse than the late 20th-century situation. Like any sensible person, I am grateful to Brian Cody for his immense input into the GAA via St Patrick’s De La Salle BNS, James Stephens, and Kilkenny. He remains a volunteer in the very best sense of the term. He represents the organisation’s best traditions. No one, in all likelihood, will ever exceed his contribution not just to Kilkenny hurling but to hurling, full stop. Cody begins his 24th season as senior manager in 2022. I intensely dislike public house conversations where the whole place has a problem for every solution. ‘Get rid of this lad, get rid of that lad…’ Ye know the drill, the self-confident ease with which complicated questions are brushed aside. The slash and burn merchants, at the counter, could solve many an energy crisis if only their hot air could be harnessed. Learn more But realities do need to be faced. Henry Shefflin’s move to Galway merely emphasises an existing problem, not a difficulty tucked out of sight around the corner. One of the best players on view last Sunday, a young James Stephens figure, left Kilkenny’s senior panel in 2021 because of the supposedly poor atmosphere. Again, once the club action is over, there will be half a dozen to ten exits from the panel of 26 that lost to Cork last August in an All-Ireland semi-final. Are there hurlers of the requisite standard to fill this gap? Doubtful. Nor will this process entirely be natural wastage through age profile. I am told one player, now in his prime, is contemplating retirement out of the same concern about atmosphere. Does the County Board possess a succession plan? I do know Henry Shefflin is their preferred successor to Brian Cody. If so, how did this swerve to Galway transpire? What did they expect the man to do? Just hang around? iTunessoundcloudspotify There is a counterfactual version of recent hurling history. Within this scenario, Derek Lyng succeeds Cody for the 2018 season. The tactical decision to send centre back Kieran Joyce chasing Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher around midfield in 2016’s senior final, denuding Kilkenny’s full back line, gets seen for the madness it was. Seen plain, likewise, is the fiasco against Wexford in 2017’s Leinster Championship. A quarter fit Pádraig Walsh was picked on edge of square, resulting from 2016’s full back line being filleted against Tipperary, but lined out at centre forward. What did the attackers on Kilkenny’s bench that day draw from this decision? That a quarter fit Walsh counted as the better option up front? There are decent reasons to feel Kilkenny should have embarked, four seasons ago, on the necessary transition from unparalleled success to more prosaic achievements. There would still be serious challenges but that difficult moment would be behind the county. I believe Kilkenny would have done as well under a new manager from 2018 onwards as proved the case under their current manager. The team might even have done a touch better. Which or whether, the atmosphere factor would have been addressed. As matters stand, there is no guarantee on when Brian Cody will step back. Henry Shefflin’s logic seems solid. Pared to its core, this logic is a twofold bet. First off, that he is more likely to win Leinster (and maybe All-Ireland) with Galway than with Dublin. Kilkenny are on the way down and Wexford are probably heading in the same direction. Meanwhile Dublin are hardly significantly on the way up. I hope I am wrong about Kilkenny but this view is now majority opinion in the county. Winning the Leinster final twice with Galway over the course of a three-year stint is quite possible. This scenario would deliver two automatic All-Ireland semi-final appearances. If Limerick keep winning Munster, any such semi-final would be perfectly winnable. Get into two senior finals and there is a decent chance to pinch one. Second of all, Shefflin was never going to succeed Davy Fitzgerald in Wexford. No outsider will ever manage Cork or Tipperary. There is no vacancy for the foreseeable future in Clare, Limerick or Waterford. Besides, Munster would be harder to win than Leinster. So the choice, in top tier, was Dublin or Galway. Courage remains the only sure source of momentum. Henry Shefflin has acted in bold and courageous fashion. There are no guarantees but he will have weighed up possibilities to the last milligram. His Galway cupboard might stay bare. Fair enough. But he discerns a value bet. The fact that he is willing to make this wager says far more about the current state of play in Kilkenny than it does about Galway’s immediate future. MORE KILKENNY GAA ARTICLES
My God, isn't eaten bread soon forgotten?
The Cats are simply experiencing the long downturn that comes after any once in a generation team breaks away. If they think anyone could do much better than Cody has done this past decade they are deluding themselves. Despite most of that team moving on after 2011, Cody wrangled three more All Ireland's in 4 years!
He's now managing a group where almost every player with an AI medal is gone, a squad that by Kilkenny standards is fairly ordinary and yet's his won 2 Leagues and 2 Leinsters since 2018. He knocked out the Limerick machine in 2019 and pushing Cork to extra time this year was a classic display of every Cody's team's innate force of will.
Long ago I got very weary of the Cats constant success and I've usually found myself shouting against them just because of that. But there's part of me now that would love to see Cody get them another title just to show up some of these Kilkenny ingrates.
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 27, 2021 8:48:03 GMT
PM O’Sullivan: Do Kilkenny possess a succession plan? Or are they living on past glories? MON, 25 OCT, 2021 - 18:10 PM O'Sullivan PM O’Sullivan Kilkenny hurling stands in a downbeat place. I was out and about after last Sunday’s senior semi-finals. People were underwhelmed, putting it politely, by the standard on view, after Ballyhale Shamrocks and O’Loughlin Gaels reached the county final. No one was advancing too many fresh names for a striped intercounty jersey. The idea that Kilkenny will not win a Senior All-Ireland during the 2020s is twisting like ivy around local conversations. That obvious topic, Henry Shefflin’s decision to take on managing Galway? People shake their head, lost for wryness. From what I hear, there exists no animosity towards the Ballyhale native. Disappointment and frustration, yes, but his name is not being held to a flame. What people want to know? Whether the County Board possess a succession plan. Or have they become a Mary Celeste, a ghost ship adrift on past glories? I hope not. Here is a simple fact. Kilkenny hurling, when Brian Cody was appointed manager in late 1998, had been without a Senior All-Ireland for five seasons. As of late 2021, Kilkenny hurling lies without a Senior All-Ireland for six seasons. The present situation is now objectively worse than the late 20th-century situation. Like any sensible person, I am grateful to Brian Cody for his immense input into the GAA via St Patrick’s De La Salle BNS, James Stephens, and Kilkenny. He remains a volunteer in the very best sense of the term. He represents the organisation’s best traditions. No one, in all likelihood, will ever exceed his contribution not just to Kilkenny hurling but to hurling, full stop. Cody begins his 24th season as senior manager in 2022. I intensely dislike public house conversations where the whole place has a problem for every solution. ‘Get rid of this lad, get rid of that lad…’ Ye know the drill, the self-confident ease with which complicated questions are brushed aside. The slash and burn merchants, at the counter, could solve many an energy crisis if only their hot air could be harnessed. Learn more But realities do need to be faced. Henry Shefflin’s move to Galway merely emphasises an existing problem, not a difficulty tucked out of sight around the corner. One of the best players on view last Sunday, a young James Stephens figure, left Kilkenny’s senior panel in 2021 because of the supposedly poor atmosphere. Again, once the club action is over, there will be half a dozen to ten exits from the panel of 26 that lost to Cork last August in an All-Ireland semi-final. Are there hurlers of the requisite standard to fill this gap? Doubtful. Nor will this process entirely be natural wastage through age profile. I am told one player, now in his prime, is contemplating retirement out of the same concern about atmosphere. Does the County Board possess a succession plan? I do know Henry Shefflin is their preferred successor to Brian Cody. If so, how did this swerve to Galway transpire? What did they expect the man to do? Just hang around? iTunessoundcloudspotify There is a counterfactual version of recent hurling history. Within this scenario, Derek Lyng succeeds Cody for the 2018 season. The tactical decision to send centre back Kieran Joyce chasing Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher around midfield in 2016’s senior final, denuding Kilkenny’s full back line, gets seen for the madness it was. Seen plain, likewise, is the fiasco against Wexford in 2017’s Leinster Championship. A quarter fit Pádraig Walsh was picked on edge of square, resulting from 2016’s full back line being filleted against Tipperary, but lined out at centre forward. What did the attackers on Kilkenny’s bench that day draw from this decision? That a quarter fit Walsh counted as the better option up front? There are decent reasons to feel Kilkenny should have embarked, four seasons ago, on the necessary transition from unparalleled success to more prosaic achievements. There would still be serious challenges but that difficult moment would be behind the county. I believe Kilkenny would have done as well under a new manager from 2018 onwards as proved the case under their current manager. The team might even have done a touch better. Which or whether, the atmosphere factor would have been addressed. As matters stand, there is no guarantee on when Brian Cody will step back. Henry Shefflin’s logic seems solid. Pared to its core, this logic is a twofold bet. First off, that he is more likely to win Leinster (and maybe All-Ireland) with Galway than with Dublin. Kilkenny are on the way down and Wexford are probably heading in the same direction. Meanwhile Dublin are hardly significantly on the way up. I hope I am wrong about Kilkenny but this view is now majority opinion in the county. Winning the Leinster final twice with Galway over the course of a three-year stint is quite possible. This scenario would deliver two automatic All-Ireland semi-final appearances. If Limerick keep winning Munster, any such semi-final would be perfectly winnable. Get into two senior finals and there is a decent chance to pinch one. Second of all, Shefflin was never going to succeed Davy Fitzgerald in Wexford. No outsider will ever manage Cork or Tipperary. There is no vacancy for the foreseeable future in Clare, Limerick or Waterford. Besides, Munster would be harder to win than Leinster. So the choice, in top tier, was Dublin or Galway. Courage remains the only sure source of momentum. Henry Shefflin has acted in bold and courageous fashion. There are no guarantees but he will have weighed up possibilities to the last milligram. His Galway cupboard might stay bare. Fair enough. But he discerns a value bet. The fact that he is willing to make this wager says far more about the current state of play in Kilkenny than it does about Galway’s immediate future. MORE KILKENNY GAA ARTICLES My God, isn't eaten bread soon forgotten? The Cats are simply experiencing the long downturn that comes after any once in a generation team breaks away. If they think anyone could do much better than Cody has done this past decade they are deluding themselves. Despite most of that team moving on after 2011, Cody wrangled three more All Ireland's in 4 years! He's now managing a group where almost every player with an AI medal is gone, a squad that by Kilkenny standards is fairly ordinary and yet's his won 2 Leagues and 2 Leinsters since 2018. He knocked out the Limerick machine in 2019 and pushing Cork to extra time this year was a classic display of every Cody's team's innate force of will. Long ago I got very weary of the Cats constant success and I've usually found myself shouting against them just because of that. But there's part of me now that would love to see Cody get them another title just to show up some of these Kilkenny ingrates.
I am the same. KKs games are easily the best to watch now. The KK v Wexford game was a classic in 2021 and the KK v Cork game was great too. Cody used to say that character was what he looked for most in a player. They have that in spades now too but great players were replaced by good players so character alone isnt enough. The wheel has turned for KK just like it did twice for Kerry in the past 40 years and as it did for Tyrones great team. Tipp too are on the slide now too. Will it happen to Dublin football is the fascinating question? How can it you would say with huge population, huge money and great organisation?
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Post by thehermit on Oct 27, 2021 18:13:23 GMT
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Post by veteran on Oct 27, 2021 18:49:17 GMT
I read the Davy Fitzgerald comments on the RTÉ website . You may recall that Paul Galvin earlier in the year said that Davy did not want to share the centre of excellence in Ferns . Davy said on the website that suggestion is 100% untrue but then goes on to say that he will not say anything bad about Paul . Well, suggesting that a person is 100% untruthful on a topic surely constitutes saying “something bad” about a person. Of course that is par for the course for Davy who brought the art of speaking out through both corners of the mouth at the same time to a new level. One of his frequent post match classics was “ I’m not going criticise the referee but you all saw what happened” .
Instinctively, I believe Paul’s version of the story.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2021 19:55:23 GMT
I read the Davy Fitzgerald comments on the RTÉ website . You may recall that Paul Galvin earlier in the year said that Davy did not want to share the centre of excellence in Ferns . Davy said on the website that suggestion is 100% untrue but then goes on to say that he will not say anything bad about Paul . Well, suggesting that a person is 100% untruthful on a topic surely constitutes saying “something bad” about a person. Of course that is par for the course for Davy who brought the art of speaking out through both corners of the mouth at the same time to a new level. One of his frequent post match classics was “ I’m not going criticise the referee but you all saw what happened” . Instinctively, I believe Paul’s version of the story. 100% untrue isn't bad when it comes to Daveys percentages veteran, if he said it was 110% untrue then Paul would have a problem.
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 28, 2021 15:29:54 GMT
On Monday morning we woke up in Ballinamore with a smile Tommy Conlon
Our refusal to accept defeat again characteristic of the steely self-reliance that Leitrim folk embody
“Last night I had a pleasant dream,” sang Larry Cunningham famously in the 1960s, “I woke up with a smile.” And apparently it wasn’t Zsa Zsa Gabor that Larry had been dreaming about. It was Lovely Leitrim.
Last Sunday I bumped into a fellow Ballinamore man an hour before the county final in Carrick-on-Shannon. He hadn’t had any dreams the night before, pleasant or otherwise, because he hadn’t slept a wink with the nerves. Most of us didn’t sleep many winks Sunday night either. But we definitely woke up with a smile Monday morning. We were senior county champions for the 21st time. It was the town’s first title since 1990. The famine had nearly killed us. The celebrations would nearly kill a few of us too.
In time-honoured fashion the squad hopped up on the back of Joey Smith’s lorry, outside Beirne’s filling station in the suburbs of Edentenny. It was around 8pm; darkness had fallen. The long day’s journey into night was about to begin. A great cavalcade of cars fell in behind the lorry. With lights flashing, horns blaring and flags flying, they made their triumphant procession through Ardrum, Aghadark, across the bridge over the Shannon-Erne Waterway, down Main Street, up High Street and onto St Felim’s Square at the top of the town.
On Main Street, Stan Smyth came out of his Siopa Ól and handed up a few crates to our conquering heroes, caps off the bottles for ease of access. It brought a flashback to this observer. In 1986 my teammates and I were making a similar procession when Michael Martin, the late and fondly remembered hotelier, rushed out the front doors of his premises and handed up two massive bottles of champagne as we went on our merry way.
But that was then and this was now. And the now was what mattered. More than three hours earlier, the same hordes who were out on the streets had been out on the field at Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada, just moments after the referee sounded the final whistle. The match had finally broken Ballinamore’s way with four minutes left in regulation time. Niall McGovern drilled home the game’s only goal.
It had been on a knife edge from throw-in. In truth it could have gone either way. Mohill, the defending champions and a team that has delivered a golden era for their club, played high class football. Their middle-third diamond of centre half-back, midfield and centre half-forward, was seriously impressive. Keith Beirne at 11 kicked some breathtaking scores off left and right foot. It was like watching Matty Forde.
Our boys hung tough. Darren Maxwell between the sticks kept us alive with three blinding saves on goal-bound shots. Everywhere we grafted. Then we grafted some more. Our veterans in the full-back line, Liam Ferguson and Mattie Murphy, came up with a series of critical interventions. In front of them, Wayne McKeon produced a monstrous performance, doing the nuts and bolts in defence, pinging sumptuous deliveries into the forward line, converting frees and then in the 55th minute, crowning it all with a sliced shot from over 45 metres. “Draíochtúil!” declared Seán Óg de Paor on TG4 commentary as it sailed between the posts.
Credit and thanks must go to TG4 for making the decision to televise the match live. We don’t get much attention in Leitrim. With a 32,000 population we don’t expect much and we long ago learned to live with being orphaned in the grander scheme of things. As far as I can see, it has bred not resentment but a sort of steely self-reliance. Definitely not self-pity, just a kind of dignified resilience and an understated decency.
For the aforementioned county final in 1986, friends of mine, a couple from Tipperary’s verdant pastures, decided to make the trip. The match was in Cloone. They joined the triumphant cavalcade back from Cloone that evening to Ballinamore — country roads all the way. They had a whale of a time that night as the town went full Mardi Gras. The following week I met them in Dublin. An image from the day had stayed with them: it was the small, scrubby, rushy fields, some of them flooded, some of them with cocks of hay marooned in the water and turning black from the bottom up. “I could have cried when I saw it,” said the chap. “I had no idea that there was farming like that in Ireland.”
So if the land doesn’t breed prosperity, it breeds stoicism, determination, an essential work ethic and — not unrelated — a fondness for country music. A fair amount of cunning wit and black comedy too. You’d need it in them parts, to be honest. There’s nearly nothing that can’t be mined for a quip or a yarn. Then everyone gets on with making a living. In other words, we tip away in Leitrim as best we can and don’t pass much remarks on the fact that nobody passes much remarks on us. We’re doing okay; could be better, could be worse; we’re keeping it kicked out all the same.
But with TG4 coming to town, and not forgetting Marty Morrissey for RTÉ too, we didn’t quite know whether to be flattered or anxious about it. To repeat: we’re not used to any class of a spotlight shining down on us. As it turned out, in the county’s showpiece game, the two teams conspired to put on an exhibition of all that is good in Gaelic football. They did us proud.
It happened to be Ballinamore’s day. Most of those players had suffered a traumatic defeat in the 2019 final. If there was any difference at all between the teams, it was perhaps a refusal on the part of our lads to accept defeat again. They would not countenance it. Maybe that is what got them over the line. At the second water break the message from the manager, Dom Corrigan, was simple and emphatic: keep playing, keep playing, keep playing.
When McGovern’s shot rattled the net, I saw Birdie Burns in front of me jumping up and down like a young buck. Ollie Honeyman beside me opened the tap too and let out a few yelps. Gunter Logan and Beezer McKiernan down a few steps from us were as happy as sandboys. The shed was full of Ballinamores. They unleashed the old town war cry, “Come on Cannaboe!”
In our youth we’d have heard the likes of Christy Gallogly and Pat Mallon and Eddie Matt Turbitt shout it too, all of them gone to their eternal reward. The wheel keeps turning.
I can remember clear as day cracking up laughing one Sunday morning down at our home pitch. It was a horrible day of weather. Motivation among the players was not at an all-time high. My brother was reluctantly bending his back to pick up a ball — very reluctantly. He succeeded only in toeing it on a few feet in front of him. Down he went a second time, only to toe it on a few feet more. In between various oaths and imprecations from supporters ordering him in no uncertain terms to bend his f*****g back, I heard Eddie Matt roar: “D’you want a creel for it, Willie?”
And because I’m a sentimental old fool, I thought on Sunday night of Christy and Pat and Eddie Matt and all those who had gone before us, marked with the sign of faith, as they say in Mass. And marked forever by us for their undying faith in town and team. I thought too of Jimmy Clyne, who played on the first Ballinamore side to win the championship, in 1913, and who died on the western front of World War One in 1915. And we thought also of friends absent on the day but who will hopefully be there for other days, Andy Duffy and Barney Breen among others.
When the match was over, there was nothing left to do but get onto the field and let the good times roll. There we met several people whom we hadn’t seen in years. Scattered to all parts of Ireland, they had heard the homing signal bidding them to come back for the day that was in it. And they duly responded, like a migratory species returning to their original breeding ground. Emotions were unloaded. There was much manly hugging and meaty backslapping — and that was just the women. The men embraced tenderly and lovingly whilst whispering sweet nothings to each other. All things were possible in those sublime minutes. There were tears, many tears, at the ending of such a long wandering in the wilderness.
I made a beeline for Liam Ferguson. Now 35, married with three kids and teaching in Dublin, he had finally reaped the harvest in his 19th season as a senior player. Nineteen years of travelling up and down every weekend, to every training session and crushing setback. Sport doesn’t always do justice. But sometimes it does. It did justice to Ferguson on Sunday. McKeon and Murphy and Shane Moran too — all the veterans who kept coming back for more.
The players decanted from the back of Joey’s lorry at St Felim’s Square and made the short walk into the arms of their loved ones and the cheering throngs outside Gay Prior’s bar.
In Ireland there is constant worry about the decline of small towns, the rural economy and local pubs. If there is a licensed premises that can be said to embody the ideal of the public house as community hub and centre of local life, it is Prior’s of Ballinamore. Gay, the proprietor, has rendered for over 40 years service to his community that can never be quantified. He has been a bedrock of support for the team during all that time too. How sweet it was to see his own son Tom, scorer of two vital points, return triumphant to the bosom of his family and friends and neighbours, one of the conquering heroes.
They are made men now. Their photo will go up on the wall. They are the best of us. They are young but you could sense from them their desire to be part of something bigger than themselves. They are plugged into the tradition; they have become part of the line of succession. Last Sunday they reached back into the past and connected with the men of 1913 and all the champion teams since.
Inside it was mayhem. Prior’s was a house of happiness from front to back. Everywhere you looked, literally everywhere you looked, people were smiling and laughing and at peace with themselves. It was a beautiful sight. Outside a DJ was playing tunes. Outside they were dancing on the street. I might have thrown a few shapes myself when the Nolan Sisters treated us to their immortal version of I’m In the Mood for Dancing. It wasn’t Larry Cunningham but you can’t have everything.
With the break of day beckoning, I stumbled down High Street with the brother. Back down at the bottom of the town, you could still hear the music; you could hear the joy and the laughter and the energy of renewal carrying on the night wind. It echoed to us all the way home. It echoed into the past and will echo into the future.
On Monday morning we woke up with a smile. We were all young again. We were 21 again. Happy 21st birthday, Ballinamore.
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Post by mitchelsontour on Oct 29, 2021 18:34:19 GMT
A new jersey is on the horizon in the spring. I do hope that the country board engage with Paul again to design it and stay well away from the O'Neills design team. Mickmack thanks for posting that article about the Letrim county final sums up what the GAA is all about.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2021 19:38:32 GMT
On a new Jersey. I hope they do not engage with Galvin. Imo the rusty and black Jersey was the worst I've ever seen. I remember Mayo fans calling us "black and tans" during league final in 19 and they were nt far wrong. Plenty of top designers without having to go there. that mustard yolk was desperate, I remember being above in McHale Park i think it was 2018 when our tean arrived out in it and there was literally shocked gasps, I can't remember if I clapped the boys out to the field or not. Saying that, I was very impressed with the black goalie Jersey and I invested but I'm sorry I didn't buy another 1, I looked on line but couldn't find anymore of them unfortunately.
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Post by mitchelsontour on Oct 29, 2021 20:18:13 GMT
I was just think of the traditional green and gold one he created which should never have been altered.
I had forgotten about that horrid away one.
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Post by sullyschoice on Oct 29, 2021 20:46:02 GMT
On a new Jersey. I hope they do not engage with Galvin. Imo the rusty and black Jersey was the worst I've ever seen. I remember Mayo fans calling us "black and tans" during league final in 19 and they were nt far wrong. Plenty of top designers without having to go there. that mustard yolk was desperate, I remember being above in McHale Park i think it was 2018 when our tean arrived out in it and there was literally shocked gasps, I can't remember if I clapped the boys out to the field or not. Saying that, I was very impressed with the black goalie Jersey and I invested but I'm sorry I didn't buy another 1, I looked on line but couldn't find anymore of them unfortunately. The black one is class
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horsebox77
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Our trees & mountains are silent ghosts, they hold wisdom and knowledge mankind has long forgotten.
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Post by horsebox77 on Oct 29, 2021 21:34:51 GMT
The away purple was class from 2009, I remember a friend of mine in a sportshop in Tralee telling me hid phone was hopping the Monday morning with queries.
By all accounts there was no initial plan for public sale but it transpired to be one of the most profitable for the county and O'Neills.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2021 21:56:12 GMT
that mustard yolk was desperate, I remember being above in McHale Park i think it was 2018 when our tean arrived out in it and there was literally shocked gasps, I can't remember if I clapped the boys out to the field or not. Saying that, I was very impressed with the black goalie Jersey and I invested but I'm sorry I didn't buy another 1, I looked on line but couldn't find anymore of them unfortunately. The black one is class they brought out an updated version of that black Jersey with squares all over it and in fairness it nearly gave me vertico to look at it.
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Post by john4 on Oct 29, 2021 22:45:59 GMT
Could never figure out why we got rid of this jersey so quickly. I think this one was the nicest we've had in a long number of years. Hate the latest one.
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horsebox77
Fanatical Member
Our trees & mountains are silent ghosts, they hold wisdom and knowledge mankind has long forgotten.
Posts: 2,036
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Post by horsebox77 on Oct 29, 2021 23:00:11 GMT
Think the long sleeved 1990 one is the nicest we have ever produced. Being trying for years to get my hands on one but they like hens teeth.
Next best is Paul's version, that shade of green and gold as opposed to yellow was a seriously nice jersey.
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Post by sullyschoice on Oct 29, 2021 23:46:40 GMT
There is a version of the mustard one with a dogs tooth pattern on it. It may be a ladies version.....awful
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2021 8:38:50 GMT
There is a version of the mustard one with a dogs tooth pattern on it. It may be a ladies version.....awful I saw it and it's desperate, I'd buy a fair bit of Kerry gear but I couldn't buy that mustard yolk. The Mayo away 1 this year looked awful as well looked like they had a black jacket on over a dublin Jersey.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2021 8:42:56 GMT
Could never figure out why we got rid of this jersey so quickly. I think this one was the nicest we've had in a long number of years. Hate the latest one. View Attachment that's the best by a long shot, I wonder will we ever go back to Addidas? and also now that counties are allowed to put sponsors on their sleeves will we go down that road?
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Post by Mickmack on Oct 30, 2021 11:56:53 GMT
A new jersey is on the horizon in the spring. I do hope that the country board engage with Paul again to design it and stay well away from the O'Neills design team. @ Mickmack thanks for posting that article about the Letrim county final sums up what the GAA is all about.[/b] No bother. I thought it was a brilliant article.
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Post by Ballyfireside on Oct 30, 2021 12:31:29 GMT
Think the long sleeved 1990 one is the nicest we have ever produced. Being trying for years to get my hands on one but they like hens teeth. Next best is Paul's version, that shade of green and gold as opposed to yellow was a seriously nice jersey. An ex ref was telling me wan about the long sleeves era - apparently there was this big bull of a FB who used to get his ludeen/luidin into a handy wee forward laddo's cuff, and tow and tug him around the field. So the next time you criticise a ref, remember what laddo's get up to. The colour mattered little to the wee man in tow I dare say, be it 'Galvin Mustard' or 'Bertie's Canary Yellow' he was wearing!
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Post by southward on Nov 4, 2021 9:01:20 GMT
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mg72
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Post by mg72 on Nov 4, 2021 12:26:06 GMT
He'll be a huge loss to Mayo.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2021 15:35:18 GMT
He'll be a huge loss to Mayo. an unreal loss, country teams need all their best players to challenge the dubs.
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