Carlow are near evens with the bookies to make the final of the Joe McDonagh which guarantees them a televised game against potentially Kilkenny or Tipperary. If they win the McDonagh final they are guaranteed 4 games next year, including against Galway, Kilkenny and Wexford with 2 of them in Carlow. Iād have thought teams like Carlow have never been as close to getting some real high profile games, rather than an annual beating on a Saturday evening that gets 30 seconds coverage on the Sunday Game.
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Carlow won the Christy Ring Cup last year to gain re-admission to the Leinster Championship and Liam McCarthy Cup proper.
Old rules
Unfortunate but this is genuinely better
I think you are off on this one Geoff
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Hurling isnāt like any other sport in the world I know of which is very close to being extinct but is almost a religion in some areas. It isnāt ideal but the Gaa badly needs to keep going in the likes of Offaly and hope they come back like wexford have. Thereās little point in kerry being humilated by the likes of tipp, cork and limerick and whoever four weeks on the trot. Itāll turn lads away. If they could build a second tier of Carlow, Westmeath, kerry, Laois, Antrim and Kildare and hope over 15-20 years at least two those are able to compete. It would be great if tg4 covered these games on Saturday during the summer when there isnāt as much sport on. Geoff is miles off the mark here.
Offaly were shite for decades. Then came good and for a couple of decades were the Brazil of hurling
Laois used to get within a puck of the ball of AI champs like Kk, in not just league, but championship hurling
at one point in the mid 80s, Waterford were losing to Mayo in div3 and getting beaten by a cricket score ever June in their one championship match a year.
even Galway were barely scrapping by the likes of London in the early 70s, and winning AIs a decade later.
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Thatās the thing.
You have to look 15-20 years ahead.
There is no reason whatsoever they cannot create a championship if real note with 16 decent teams.
With so many football only (really) counties nobody in bottom 16 will be too put out.
We have to disolve provinces though. In all spirts. Not worth all fuck anymore
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Theyāve created a structure which has minimised the number of teams competing in the top tier and by making Offaly and Waterford (the two teams with the smallest pick in both provinces) play on four consecutive weekends has completely fucked them over. Offaly were out on their feet against Wexford on Saturday, God knows what Waterford will be like by Game 3 & 4.
7 games in the hurling Championship after 17 June after 20 games in 5 weeks with a casualty ward of injuries for every county is really doing a lot to promote hurling.
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Geoff is using a lot of bad words
I wonder if heās on the beer, after carlowās win yesterday
Itās only a three year trial? Thatās not much of a consolation to county teams in the here and now who all things going well would have had realistic ambitions of winning an All Ireland.
7 games to play off in the hurling championship after 17 June whereas thereāll be 35 games still to be played in the football championship from 17 June onwards.
Counties with large contingents of third level students on their panels are even more disproportionately hampered having to play every week from mid May to early June as college exams are only finishing up now.
Effectively no hurling at the best time of the year for hurling after a glut of games in mid winter in late January and February and in May and early June.
Enjoy the leinster Final then
Weāre doing this one for Dicey
GAA Football All Ireland Senior Championship Round 1
Saturday June 9
Meath v Tyrone, Pairc Tailteann, Navan, TBC
Wexford v Waterford, Innovate Wexford Park, 2pm
Derry v Kildare, Owenbeg, 3pm
Wicklow v Cavan, Joule Park, Aughrim, 6pm
Offaly v Antrim, Bord Na Mona OāConnor Park, 6pm
Limerick v Mayo, Gaelic Grounds, 6pm
Westmeath v Armagh, TEG Cusack Park, 7pm
Sunday June 10
London v Louth, McGovern Park, Ruislip, 2pm
**E.T if necessary and Winner on the Day in all fixtures.
Tyrone and Meath on TV?
No Munster hurling
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Its a hurling overdose at the moment
2pm on a Saturday afternoon, there will be about 40 people at this, itās going to be epicā¦
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Whatās Connolly been up to? Thereās a WhatsApp doing the rounds apparently
I got said Whatsapp last night. Apparently he was on a bit of a rampage in Portugal
Up to his old tricks