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Westmeath Hurling thread - 2 Like(s)
Replying To preddan: "great comeback for minor team, great win, well done all" Very strong wind but we had no luck in first half creating three goal chances but between bad luck and good defending didn't convert any.
In the second half we were completely dominant outscoring Offaly in Birr by 14 points. But what was even better was the battling qualities shown. It wont be easy playing so many games one after the other especially with ao many dual players but this team can compete.
II hold my hand up, I questioned why so few of the county finalists werent playing but everyone who played today were excellent.
jobber (National) - 11/04/2026 16:47:46
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Football Championship 2026 - 1 Like(s)
Replying To brayballer: "For all the talk about Ulster ,I think Leinster and Connaught are more competitive this year and Munster although maybe weak still have two teams stronger than Donegal.Kerry destroyed Donegal last year and Cork beat Donegal the previous year." Kerry are still number 1, but there's no world in which you can say Cork are better than Donegal at the moment. You're only on the wind-up with that.
Donegal are top-2 in most people's books at the moment. Whether Cork beat them in 2024 is irrelevant. Cork can be a handful on their day, but they're still inconsistent. They lost by 20 points to Derry a weeks ago. Donegal are at a different level.
WanPintWin (National) - 11/04/2026 12:21:25
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Trumps Conflict - What Influence Will It Have On The GAA - 1 Like(s)
Replying To suckvalleypaddy: "The GAA could use Croke park more this summer with double or triple headers. Extra trains and buses could be useful to mitigate against expensive road trips also. It will still be expensive on families but it might help. I'm just not optimistic about the trouble in middle east getting sorted. Thank God for GAA +" This is certainly something practical that the GAA should do and by all means with different codes etc. We will have to see how this suitation plays out over the next month or so.
Square_B (National) - 11/04/2026 15:13:54
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Westmeath Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Dazzler30: "Whats the point in westmeath GAA at all if we've no amibition. Is everyone always going to be happy going through life as a westmeath fan with no major trophies its that lack of ambition that has led to only 1 leinster in 140 years but men ike kenny mckinley know what it takes to win major trophies and hes instilling that in this current excellent crop of players" We're a small county, small population and we're a dual county to boot. It's rather realistic I'm afraid to assume that it might be a while before a breakthrough. We've appeared in 5 Leinster Senior football finals and 1 Senior hurling final and won 1 from 6.
2 of those football finals were washouts too in 2015 and 16. Admittedly, we were up against arguably the greatest football team of all time, but that's it. The standard of Leinster football outside of Dublin was never lower than in the past 2 decades. No All Irelands were won by a Leinster team bar Dublin in that timeframe. Realistically, we were the best of the rest at that time.
It's a bit premature to say we're on the road to another Senior Leinster success just yet. The Mullingar CBS win was great. Hopefully it's a sign of a good underage team capable of doing something at minor or u-20 level. Hopefully they go on and do well and make a Leinster final and we'll see what happens then.
Ambition is great to have but everyone has ambitions of winning something. To make it really happen, we need a conveyor belt of talent coming through over a sustained period. Teams like Dublin have quality and quantity coming through the whole time. We haven't the numbers so making better quality out of what we have is the only thing we can do. The Centre of Excellence is the right idea. Then hopefully wins like Mullingar CBS's won't be just flashes in the pan.
RadioactiveTan (National) - 11/04/2026 17:52:00
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Non-Gaa Forum - 1 Like(s)
#Commodore.
The threads getting messed up and getting confusing, so Ill start again.
I dont want exact equality of wealth. I want equality of opportunity. Im not as wealthy as I could be, but that was my choice. Im happy with the choices I made.
I realise the importance of education, and Ive made sure my children have gone to schools which reflect the importance I put on education. I've positively encouraged them to remain in school until they do their leaving certs. Ive told them that I dont mind if they go on to 3rd level education, get a job which provides job specific training and a career path, or do an apprenticeship. What Ive told them Im not doing is paying for their food while they lie on my sofa at the age of 25.
Some children come from disadvantaged backgrounds and dont get this encouragement at home. And certainly dont get it from their peer group.
As a country it seems we just conveniently forget these lads.
And thats not equality of opportunity as far as I see it.
As regards what the state can do, more money needs to be spent on parent education in disadvantaged areas, and contacts with youth and social workers pointing out the different life choices that can be made. Im 100% certain that most of the people in those areas are entirely unaware of the grants you speak of.
Maybe this obscuring of information is, as you say, motivated by a perceived need to be careful with taxpayers money. But thats a shortsighted and false economy. If you reduced the "cant work, wont work" section of society by 50% say for talks sake, you will save far more on DSP payments than the cost of 3rd level grants and increased numbers of social and youth workers. And thats before taking into account the increase in tax revenue from the 50% that will then be working. You will also save a fortune in other types of social services to do with rehabilitation, from crime and drug and alcohol misuse, law and order expenses, court expenses, and prison expenses.
Viking66 (National) - 11/04/2026 18:05:08
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Wexford Hurling Thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To ElGranSenor: "Draw probably a fair result in the U20 game
Thought O'Brien was quiet enough for most of the game but he showed his class late on with the goal and the assist
Carley did well enough, good ball-winner, Dempsey did a good job winning the ball too although needs to look for the pass rather than going for the score
Not much between us and Kilkenny, Dublin are probably around the same level as us, it's just that Galway are streets ahead of everyone in Leinster
Kildare game is knockout for us now, basically a Preliminary QF, lose that and we'd also have to play one or two games to qualify for Leinster next year, I think
We're 23 points behind KK on score difference so we'd need them to lose to Galway and for us to beat Kildare and for the combined winning margins to be greater than 23 points
That game falls behind the first two Leinster SHC games so Galway will probably be resting both Niland and Rabbitte, they still have a lot of depth and quality though" Galway have the best 19 year old hurler in Ireland, Aaron Niland and the supporting cast of Jason Rabbitte etc are top class too, all prominent with Galway senior team this year too.
Similar to Tipp last year with Darragh McCarthy, Sam O Farrell and Oisin O'Donoghue.
It makes a massive different to an un20 team to have senior county hurlers on it.
Hard to look past Galway for the un20 All Ireland.
Past hurler (National) - 11/04/2026 19:48:50
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Does Anyone See Past Limerick Winning The Hurling All Ireland? - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Doylerwex: "You're not wrong there. The same amount of championship silverware as Galway in that period. Just not the big one for us sadly.
I am pleased that you joined our championship and managed to increase your standards to the level of Leinster counties to get Joe his medal though. Fair play." It's not a 'Leinster standard' really since 1999. It was 'the KK std'. That was the standard required to avoid elimination v the cats.
Pope_Benedict (National) - 11/04/2026 21:36:54
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Non-Gaa Forum - 1 Like(s)
Some children come from disadvantaged backgrounds and dont get this encouragement at home. And certainly dont get it from their peer group.As a country it seems we just conveniently forget these lads, and that's not equality of opportunity as far as I see it.
I get your point about lack of encouragement at home and from peers, but at Secondary schools, they have dedicated teachers that talk to each class and also talk to students individually about what they want to do after school and what paths are available. This isn't only for 3rd level education, its career guidance, where depending on what they student is interested in, they provide the guidance on how to pursure that, even if its an apprenticeship or working in bar.
As regards what the state can do, more money needs to be spent on parent education in disadvantaged areas, and contacts with youth and social workers pointing out the different life choices that can be made. Im 100% certain that most of the people in those areas are entirely unaware of the grants you speak of.
I won't disagree, I have no doubt based on what you are saying, that career guidance teachers in some areas are either not covering all students or the ball is being dropped by those schools. That's a major failure, because making young students aware of the different paths and options available to them should be a priority. You raise a good point about making parent aware, that is something that needs to be considered, because my own parents had no idea and never encouraged 3rd level, because they feared they couldn't afford it for me until I presented the options to them.
You will also save a fortune in other types of social services to do with rehabilitation, from crime and drug and alcohol misuse, law and order expenses, court expenses, and prison expenses.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19177 - 11/04/2026 18:05:08
I don't fully agree, I know a people who had the same opportunities as me, who made a choices to either leave school before or after Leaving Cert and not pursue any further education despite the options and funding available. That was personal choice, not lack of equality.
Commodore (National) - 11/04/2026 22:21:50
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Does Anyone See Past Limerick Winning The Hurling All Ireland? - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Pope_Benedict: "It's not a 'Leinster standard' really since 1999. It was 'the KK std'. That was the standard required to avoid elimination v the cats." If Kilkenny had of been playing in Munster in the noughties they wouldve won most of the Munster Championships in that decade. It was an exceptionally good team.
Viking66 (National) - 12/04/2026 10:57:00
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