The GAA thread - part deux

Have only read the extract from the Sunday Times and not the book. I thought it was noticeable that when discussing the drink problems some of the Kerry lads had in later life Paidi ? S? didn’t get a mention. It was all Paudie O’Mahoney and John Egan. There is mention of ? S? drinking in New York one time as a player but it seems like they glossed over his later drinking escapades - possibly because he’s still involved in the game nationally. No mention of his run-in with thepiedpiper either.

Quite possibly he did for that reason, he also never mentioned Paidi’s time as a boy in blue (not a dub mind, the other boys in blue) and his alleged ‘consenual retirement’ from them in Newcastle West in Limerick before he went and bought a pub in Ventry.

Kenneally also bought a pub as did two Dublin players (Cullen and one other).

Cracking anecdote about Egan and O’Se lining up to go out on the field for one of the Finals, Paidi was wound up like a horny bull chasing heifers in heat, Egan laid back as fook, so Egan turns to Paidi and asks him ‘Where we going out after the match?’. Alas its probably a story that epoitimises Egan even with his classy skill as a corner forward.

Blatantly robbed from rival website:

BBC rugby presenter writing in the Telegraph the day after the Hurling Final.

Clash over cash looms at venue of ?Bloody Sunday?
By John Inverdale

A lot of you reading this may well be at Croke Park in Dublin in the spring to see Ireland play England in the Six Nations Championship. (The rebuilding of Lansdowne Road is, it?s safe to assume, in the very capable hands of the many thousands of Polish builders who are presently in the Irish capital.) The band will strike up God Save the Queen and most of you will bellow “send her victorious” with greater lung-power to mark a historic sporting occasion, unaware perhaps that of all the songs written, it?s the most unlikely to be performed at that particular arena.
Croke Park was the scene of Bloody Sunday in November 1920 when during a Dublin-Tipperary hurling match, British police auxiliaries entered the stadium, and in response to the deaths of several of their colleagues earlier, fired shots which led to at least a dozen people, among them Michael Hogan, the Tipperary captain, losing their lives. As if that was not enough, the ground?s famous terracing is called Hill 16 having been originally made from the rubble left after the Easter Rising in 1916.
So while a lot of sports stadiums may boast of having rich histories, Croke Park is different ? it?s not just been part of Irish history, it?s helped shape it.
Well, I went to Croke Park on Sunday for the All-Ireland hurling final, and rest assured that those of you who visit the ground for the first time next year are in for a real treat. With the possible exception of the Millennium Stadium, it will be the finest rugby arena I?ve been to.
And while Sunday was not about rugby, it evoked memories of another age when 83,000 packed a stadium to watch players run themselves into the ground, and receive precisely nothing in return.
Hurling is like no other sport, if for no other reason than it goes back as far as 400 AD. And after watching Sunday?s final between Cork and Kilkenny, it comes as no surprise to realise that it was banned during the 13th century for being too violent. You can be sure they didn?t have crash helmets in those days.
I couldn?t even begin to explain the rules. All I can tell you is that the fitness levels are extraordinary and the skill levels greater, and it provides as good a spectacle as you could hope. Which is why you suspect that problems lie ahead for the Gaelic Athletic Association.
Because 83,000 people paid probably not far short of ?5 million (?3.4
million) to be at Croke Park on Sunday, and the winning Kilkenny team went home as heroes to have a few beers, party the night away and then return to the day job on Monday as policeman, teacher, farmer, sales rep and self-employed JCB operator. Does this sound familiar?
The 83,000 who will watch Ireland play England will pay a lot more, but the profit and loss account will read rather differently. The O?Driscolls and Wilkinsons of an altogether different sporting world are millionaires in their own right, but their forefathers such as Jeremy Guscott and Ollie Campbell will know exactly how the men of Cork and Kilkenny will have felt at the weekend. That?s why rugby?s levee had to break in the end. The guys who provide all the entertainment ultimately want some of the return.
And with the GAA finally opening the doors of their home to professionalism, albeit by force of circumstance, you wonder if it?s only a matter of time before one of the last bastions of amateur sport finally gives in. The gaelic authorities are not paupers. They bought Croke Park for a pittance nearly a century ago and they?ve spent ?260 million making it the magnificent stadium it is now.
And by way of an example, take Kilkenny?s Henry Shefflin. I can?t tell you much about him except that he was beyond brilliant on Sunday. Think O?Driscoll at his mesmeric best. However, Shefflin is sitting at his desk today remembering the glory but concentrating on the world of credit finance because that?s the reality of life for the best that hurling has to offer.
But will the next generation be so accommodating?
If all the big matches in Irish sport, whether with round or oval ball, start heading for Croke Park, it can surely only be a matter of time before someone takes a hurly to the GAA and starts demanding a slice of the action

Good article WoW - he seems to have made a decent effort at reading his history anyway to be fair to him.

Tickets for sunday going for minimum of ?400 on ebay.

Fooking touts!!! They should be burned alive at half time.

I’m waiting with fingers crossed for a ticket to the Hill, and these cunts are making small fortunes, makes my blood boil!!

[url=http://cgi.ebay.ie/All-Ireland-football-final_W0QQitemZ140026198085QQihZ004QQcategoryZ58740QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem]http://cgi.ebay.ie/All-Ireland-football-final_W0QQitemZ140026198085QQihZ004QQcategoryZ58740QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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[url=http://cgi.ebay.ie/Premium-Level-All-Ireland-Football-Final-Ticket-GAA_W0QQitemZ170027690712QQihZ007QQcategoryZ106600QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem]http://cgi.ebay.ie/Premium-Level-All-Ireland-Football-Final-Ticket-GAA_W0QQitemZ170027690712QQihZ007QQcategoryZ106600QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Kerry team named:

Diarmuid Murphy (Dingle)
Marc ? S? (An Ghaeltacht), Michael McCarthy (Kilcummin), Tom O’Sullivan (Rathmore)
Tom?s ? S? (An Ghaeltacht), Seamus Moynihan (Glenflesk), Aidan O’Mahony (Rathmore)
Darragh ? S? (An Ghaeltacht), Tommy Griffin (Dingle)
Sean O’Sullivan (Cromane), Declan O’Sullivan (Capt) (Dromid Pearses), Paul Galvin (Finuge)
Colm Cooper (Dr. Crokes), Kieran Donaghy (Austin Stacks), Mike Frank Russell (Laune Rangers)

Subs:
Kieran Cremin (Dr. Crokes), Eoin Brosnan (Dr. Crokes), Darren O’Sullivan (Glenbeigh/Glencar), Eamonn Fitzmaurice (Finuge), Bryan Sheehan (St. Marys), Mossie Lyons (Castleisland Desmonds), Brendan Guiney (Listowel Emmets), Ronan O’Connor (St. Michaels/Foilmore), Padraig Reidy (Scartaglin), Paul O’Connor (Kenmare), Killian Young (Renard), Ronan Hussey (Sneem), Kieran O’Leary (Dr. Crokes), Aod?n Mac Gearailt (An Ghaeltacht), Adrian O’Connell (St. Michaels/Foilmore)

Disappointed to see Brosnan dropped, he didnt deserve it, a bad move, imo. His direct running would have torn holes in the Mayo defence. Declan O’Sullivan meanders too much and doesn’t look up enough to give the fast ball into the full forward line, whereas Brosnan does. I also hope its not a political decision (O’Sullivan is team captain) and happens to be from the same club as Jack O’Connor.

Then again time will tell…

Ciarrai Abu

[quote=WhyOhWhy ]
O’Sullivan is team captain[/quote]

O’Connor was probably worried about the omens of having 13 as captain, as you said at the top.

[quote=iamthelaw ]

Piseogs as they call em in Kerry.

A piseag is a superstition/omen…

Maybe Jack reads this website, surely he’s not clarkeycat or steamboatsam?

You got me http://www.thefreekick.com/board/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif

Then, since i have your ear, drop Deccy O’Sullivan and put Brosnan back in, I’ll be expecting an announcement soon >:(

Nerves kicking in.
Got my ticket for the Hill (I hope they washed it after the dubs being there), might have second.
Disappointed with Brosnan being dropped.
D O’Sullivan needs to get at least 1-7 for me to get over my disappointment.
We are the better team.
Its Moynihans last game in a Kerry jersey (bar a replay).
Saturday and Sunday boozing plans being made.
Is MacDonald injured or not?
Can Donaghy keep his form?
Surely Mayo can’t improve on the Dubs match.
If we go 7 points up in the second half, we wont lose the match.
Is it Mayo’s fooking destiny to win it?
Why is always against Kerry, that teams destined to win it, meet?
If Darragh O’Se rules midfield, then match will be won by Kerry.
How can Mayo stop the supply of quality ball into the Kerry full-forward line?
1 player on Kerry senior team from my club, 3 others on panel.
2 players on Kerry minor team from my club, 2 others on panel.
I hope Galvin doesnt get sent off.
Roll on our 34th All-Ireland Senior football title (I hope)
Best of luck to the Minors too against the Rossies.

Lost of issues, lots of questions, all will be answered by 5 O’Clock on Sunday the 17th of September

[url=http://tickets.search.ebay.ie/all-ireland_Sporting-Events_W0QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfromZR2QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQga10244Z10425QQsacatZ10052QQsbrsrtZd]http://tickets.search.ebay.ie/all-ireland_Sporting-Events_W0QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfromZR2QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQga10244Z10425QQsacatZ10052QQsbrsrtZd

Prices are going through the roof!!, Must be a lot of rich Mayo people coming home.

I could get a mortgage payment, if I sold my second ticket at those prices, but I wont cos I’m not a cunt (well ticketwise anyway), I’ll sell it a face value to a Kerryman on sunday (dont agree with birds going to important matches like this… ;D ;D ;D) or use it a bargaining tool in Coppers on saturday night!!

[Its September and the only person posting in the GAA thread is a Kerryman, how appropriate http://www.thefreekick.com/board/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif]

I actually thought that earlier too!

The hurling kept my attention but with being away in Manchester I haven?t really been aware of the football build up. I don?t have a clue who?s going to win this one but I hope Mayo do themselves justice. After the performance against Dublin it would be an absolute shame for them (and neutrals) if the game was over as a contest after 20 minutes like in 2004.

You?d have to make Kerry favourites based on both their Armagh and Cork performances and their greater experience of winning big games but I wouldn?t discount Mayo either. A lot will rest on McGarrity in midfield ? if he can gain the upper hand there and get the ball from there into McDonald?s hands then they have a great chance.

Any GAA member selling tickets on ebay should be banned from receiving tickets in future. There are few people worse than touts.

[quote=WhyOhWhy ]
Nerves kicking in.
Got my ticket for the Hill (I hope they washed it after the dubs being there), [/quote]

A note of caution: a ticket that has been washed might look like a forgery - better off going in with it dirty.

[quote=therock67 ]

Arf arf arf ;D ;D ;D ;D

Agree, they should be shot at half-time!

If Kerry play to the best of their ability, we’ll win. If Mayo can win good clean midfield ball and stop the supply to the Kerry Full Forward line, they’ll win.

Move to the cliche thread i’d sya!!!

Anyone see the new NIVEA ads in the papers? There really is no hope for Wexford at all. He loves live music but his last gig was over a year ago. What a tool!

David O?Connor, 24, centre back

?I listen to my i-pod, it keeps me in a good frame of mind.?

For relaxed skin David trusts NIVEA FOR MEN rehydrating moisturiser for 24hr moisturisation. It protects dry skin and alleviates tightness, protecting against harmful UVA and UVB rays out on the pitch.

David loves live music. The last gig he went to was U2 in Croke Park.

National or local media Bandage? Have to say I’ve never heard of the lad - is he a hurler or a footballer?

He?s a hurler, don?t know why it says centre back because they stick him corner back in the hope this will limit the damage he causes. The ad was in The Sunday World the other day, a few other players were in it too. ?Alleviates tightness? is pretty apt considering how shocking his marking usually is.

Think he plays for Wexford alright, bit of a no mark. Big chap, slow to run and pretty limited alround. Horrific picture too btw. Wexford have no hope next year.