National Forum

Superclubs

(Oldest Posts First)

Considering the demise of Parnells and the relevations that they were paying players to play in the Dublin County championship (which is likely not an isolated situation), should all urban clubs be limited to selecting players living in their specific locality only.

More so, should the county boards in Dublin, Antrim, Cork etc - take steps to ensure this stuff doesn't happen

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1479 - 27/06/2025 12:45:10    2621486

Link

Replying To tirawleybaron:  "Considering the demise of Parnells and the relevations that they were paying players to play in the Dublin County championship (which is likely not an isolated situation), should all urban clubs be limited to selecting players living in their specific locality only.

More so, should the county boards in Dublin, Antrim, Cork etc - take steps to ensure this stuff doesn't happen"
Didn't a high profile player in your own county move to a more high profile club from his own down the road not so long ago?

boxtyburgerbuns (Leitrim) - Posts: 420 - 27/06/2025 13:17:41    2621503

Link

Replying To tirawleybaron:  "Considering the demise of Parnells and the relevations that they were paying players to play in the Dublin County championship (which is likely not an isolated situation), should all urban clubs be limited to selecting players living in their specific locality only.

More so, should the county boards in Dublin, Antrim, Cork etc - take steps to ensure this stuff doesn't happen"
Parnells were not a super club at all. A super club would most likely have handled being newly rich better. They did as you say try to effectively buy a county football championship and that team was run almost as a separate entity! Most of their teams were at lower level -and almost all football.

As member of a small club I would all be in favour of limiting them to some extent - through schools if that was possible - but in general it is impossible to run Dublin on parish basis.

Even going back to early years the big clubs like Faughs, O'Tooles, Commercials, Kickhams, Geraldines etc were made up of people from all parts of city and country. Many of them were linked to trades - Commercials/bar trade; Gerladines/Guinesses etc.

BarneyGrant (Dublin) - Posts: 3672 - 27/06/2025 13:28:06    2621509

Link

3 Super clubs in Limerick City - Na Piarsaigh , Monaleen & Mungret with huge numbers of players , administrators & sponsors and are winning most underage titles . Na Pairsaigh in hurling putting out 3 teams at many ages and often all 3 teams win on the same night .
Meanwhile many rural clubs are struggling to field teams at all ages and even at adult , most rural clubs need to amalgamate or else face irrelevance in the near future , lots of underage amalgamations need to happen at adult level as well to have any hope of putting out teams not to mind winning anything going forward .

OpenStand (Limerick) - Posts: 758 - 27/06/2025 14:30:20    2621527

Link

Replying To boxtyburgerbuns:  "Didn't a high profile player in your own county move to a more high profile club from his own down the road not so long ago?"
Vaughan I'm sure you are referring to which is correct.

I hate those sort of transfers more than likes of say Darcy Walsh hennelly Barrett who are a long way from home

A young lad had to transfer in Kerry too in order to improve IC prospects

I've seen a number of dubs transfer to clubs outside Dublin recently.

Likely we will see a super club in likes of Meath Kildare Louth soon

jm25 (Galway) - Posts: 1604 - 27/06/2025 15:11:15    2621543

Link

Replying To OpenStand:  "3 Super clubs in Limerick City - Na Piarsaigh , Monaleen & Mungret with huge numbers of players , administrators & sponsors and are winning most underage titles . Na Pairsaigh in hurling putting out 3 teams at many ages and often all 3 teams win on the same night .
Meanwhile many rural clubs are struggling to field teams at all ages and even at adult , most rural clubs need to amalgamate or else face irrelevance in the near future , lots of underage amalgamations need to happen at adult level as well to have any hope of putting out teams not to mind winning anything going forward ."
I know little of Limerick City but is it not fair to blame Na Piarsaigh for example for becoming so strong when for a long time they were the ones putting the effort into expanding hurling in the city? Surely they ought not be punished for that?

I'd say same about Crokes and Ballyboden and Na Fianna here. Was a time when the areas they are in and even the schools were a desert for hurling. They have been helped by expansion of city of course but deserve huge credit.

Lots of small clubs remained small because they didn't bother their backsides. Stark but true.

BarneyGrant (Dublin) - Posts: 3672 - 27/06/2025 15:55:44    2621563

Link

Replying To OpenStand:  "3 Super clubs in Limerick City - Na Piarsaigh , Monaleen & Mungret with huge numbers of players , administrators & sponsors and are winning most underage titles . Na Pairsaigh in hurling putting out 3 teams at many ages and often all 3 teams win on the same night .
Meanwhile many rural clubs are struggling to field teams at all ages and even at adult , most rural clubs need to amalgamate or else face irrelevance in the near future , lots of underage amalgamations need to happen at adult level as well to have any hope of putting out teams not to mind winning anything going forward ."
As a Mungret Man, All I can say is that this club has taken years to get its act together and I would say is only now finally starting to realise its potential after decades of hard work. All the work is being done on in the club, on the ground by local people, parents and volunteers raising money and building facilities to give their children, grand children and clubmates the best possible chance to thrive. This Super club narrative implies that there is some big benefactors pumping money and resources in this is not the case. We put our club together with little or no help from anyone outside the member and we wont pass any apologies for the success that is starting to come.

People also forget there is huge competition for players with other sports. Within a few kilometres of the Mungret Club house we have 3 AIL Rugby Clubs (Garryowen, Old Crescent and Young Munster), 3 decent Junior Soccer Clubs (Mungret Regional, Regional United and Breska Rovers), various Hockey clubs, Tennis clubs and Golf etc.

I can fully appreciate the difficulties some rural clubs have fielding teams and keeping players etc. We were a small village club outside the city ourselves not that long ago and we took many a beating from neighbouring clubs in both the city (like Old Christians, Claughaun, St. Patrick) and the county (Patrickswell, Ballybrown, South Liberties and Kilmallock). So if we have a bit of Success at any level (Men or Women, Boys or Girls) we are going to enjoy it now.

LimerickandProud (Limerick) - Posts: 182 - 27/06/2025 16:57:01    2621579

Link

Replying To LimerickandProud:  "As a Mungret Man, All I can say is that this club has taken years to get its act together and I would say is only now finally starting to realise its potential after decades of hard work. All the work is being done on in the club, on the ground by local people, parents and volunteers raising money and building facilities to give their children, grand children and clubmates the best possible chance to thrive. This Super club narrative implies that there is some big benefactors pumping money and resources in this is not the case. We put our club together with little or no help from anyone outside the member and we wont pass any apologies for the success that is starting to come.

People also forget there is huge competition for players with other sports. Within a few kilometres of the Mungret Club house we have 3 AIL Rugby Clubs (Garryowen, Old Crescent and Young Munster), 3 decent Junior Soccer Clubs (Mungret Regional, Regional United and Breska Rovers), various Hockey clubs, Tennis clubs and Golf etc.

I can fully appreciate the difficulties some rural clubs have fielding teams and keeping players etc. We were a small village club outside the city ourselves not that long ago and we took many a beating from neighbouring clubs in both the city (like Old Christians, Claughaun, St. Patrick) and the county (Patrickswell, Ballybrown, South Liberties and Kilmallock). So if we have a bit of Success at any level (Men or Women, Boys or Girls) we are going to enjoy it now."
Lot of good points and best of luck to the three clubs , it's a demographic matter for rural clubs especially as you go out the county ,some clubs like Ballybrown , Ahane , Murroe have decent population as well inside the greater limerick city belt and Newcastle west the county's biggest town is doing good stuff but many other places particularly in the west of the county are slowly if not quickly dying and will need to consolidate or forget about it . The days of a club in every parish are not sustainable in modern ireland

OpenStand (Limerick) - Posts: 758 - 27/06/2025 17:55:58    2621594

Link

Replying To jm25:  "Vaughan I'm sure you are referring to which is correct.

I hate those sort of transfers more than likes of say Darcy Walsh hennelly Barrett who are a long way from home

A young lad had to transfer in Kerry too in order to improve IC prospects

I've seen a number of dubs transfer to clubs outside Dublin recently.

Likely we will see a super club in likes of Meath Kildare Louth soon"
Naas for example..

Bon (Kildare) - Posts: 2411 - 27/06/2025 18:07:39    2621600

Link

I forgot to mention Limerick - it wasnt that long ago that most limerick clubs were coughing up for outside managers
https://www.hoganstand.com/county/limerick/article/index/160296#google_vignette

Since Na Fianna started paying players and won their first Leinster Club title in 1999. Dublin clubs have played in 19 of the 25 (13 of the last 14) Leinster Club finals (winning 16 and 10 of the last 12).

Prior to that Dublin Clubs were in 13 of 24 (winning 7).

Kilmacud are the big difference maker and with 5000 members are now bigger than Leitrim (54 adult teams).

With Kilmacud (3000 players) and Ballinteer (3000 members) vying for a 15 acre site in South Dublin. Surely it would make sense for Dublin GAA to start another club on that site, rather than allow either of the local super clubs get even bigger.

Regardless of how big each club gets, they can still only field 15 players in the senior championship - allowing them stockpile (and discard) reserve players cant be good for anyone.

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1479 - 27/06/2025 19:11:55    2621622

Link

You need a group of people to start a club. GAA can't just invent one. There are a few niche small clubs. Mostly south side. One for Conradh and other Gaeilgeoirí, a gay club, a few ones for country lads living here etc.

Good idea and they seem to do well. Don't think new parish clubs as rivals to big boys woukd appeal to many.

BarneyGrant (Dublin) - Posts: 3672 - 27/06/2025 20:35:08    2621635

Link

Replying To tirawleybaron:  "I forgot to mention Limerick - it wasnt that long ago that most limerick clubs were coughing up for outside managers
https://www.hoganstand.com/county/limerick/article/index/160296#google_vignette

Since Na Fianna started paying players and won their first Leinster Club title in 1999. Dublin clubs have played in 19 of the 25 (13 of the last 14) Leinster Club finals (winning 16 and 10 of the last 12).

Prior to that Dublin Clubs were in 13 of 24 (winning 7).

Kilmacud are the big difference maker and with 5000 members are now bigger than Leitrim (54 adult teams).

With Kilmacud (3000 players) and Ballinteer (3000 members) vying for a 15 acre site in South Dublin. Surely it would make sense for Dublin GAA to start another club on that site, rather than allow either of the local super clubs get even bigger.

Regardless of how big each club gets, they can still only field 15 players in the senior championship - allowing them stockpile (and discard) reserve players cant be good for anyone."
What about the 6178 members of Castlebar and the 8376 members of Balina?

Onion_Sack (Dublin) - Posts: 322 - 27/06/2025 21:07:28    2621643

Link

Problem with "super clubs" is talent can get lost in the numbers. The bigger population centers generally dominate and that's always been the way. Just take a look at the Mayo senior championship roll of honour and you'll find the two biggest towns (Castlebar and Ballina) miles ahead of everyone else in county titles.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11666 - 27/06/2025 22:32:07    2621654

Link

Replying To Bon:  "Naas for example.."
I only know Naas from the hurling side of things but in that regard I have to give them every credit. Very dedicated and visionary people in that club that have raised the standard and they deserve every success. And as far as I'm aware they have very few dual players which is the way things need to be if a club is to be successful at both codes. They have the population but in that regard Maynooth, Celbridge, and possibly a couple of other towns should be challenging them strongly in both codes more than they are, if it was just about population.

PoolSturgeon (Galway) - Posts: 2042 - 27/06/2025 23:02:50    2621655

Link