When Offaly went down the Duignans of the world were saying let them go down, regroup, win matches and get back into the Liam McCarthy by June.
TDH
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You reap what you sow. I donât think Offaly have won a game on consequence at minor or under 21 level in the last 10 years.
Iâd wouldnât be surprised to see Kildare or Meath overtake them in Leinster in the next 10 years.
Kildare should be half decent at hurling
Think Paudie Butler said before that when Croke Park went to every county offering help with hurling development Offaly were the only county to reject the offer.
The proof is in the pudding now
Offaly do train hard. They just have a lack of decent hurlers. Some of their team are very average club hurlers. The pick is tiny and the county board are dinosaurs
Are the clubs not producing hurlers at all or what?
Seanie Johnston transferring back to Cavan had grave implications for Kildare hurling.
His defection after a stellar opening (8 minutes) set them back 10 years.
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Still reliant on the Galway and Tipp border areas?
County final last year was a cracker. Nearly all the best players were on their mid 30s.
The traditional hurling clubs are very rural and struggle for numbers. Birr and Banagher donât seem to do anything underage. No idea why. Tullamore and Edenderry both are football first
Gaa in Offaly need to do more in the National schools, hook them there and youâve some chance.
Leave it to chance in some clubs and youâre fucked.
Underage being won by villages around Tullamore these days. Kilcormac the one club consistently delivering talent. Areas you mentioned producing very little underage.
Agree completely. Birr school used to be a good production line which seems to have dried up.
I know itâs not the biggest County but ffs it isnât that small either. Plenty of talent there if they made an effort.
When you see what Westmeath & Kildare ( Kerry & Antrim too ) it is laughable how bad itâs got.
The Joe Mc is coming home
Offaly for the Lory
The hurling numbers are tiny. Kildare and Antrim would have way bigger numbers underage. Westmeath and Carlow success is admirable considering their player base. Offaly were always fairly useless and overperformed dramatically for about 20 years.
How big an influence did Bord Na Mona jobs and relative prosperity have on those 80s teams?
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Moneygall knew
Is that a rhetorical question?
Wasnât around in the 80s so really couldnât give a fuck about Offalyâs plight. GAA is better investing in the growing counties bordering Dublin like Kildare, Meath and Wicklow now and seeing what is creates 20 years from now.