Jimmy Cooney RIP - 23 Like(s)
I think we are all sad to read of Jimmy Cooneys death, a great career with Galway and later a referee. I think this website should just post a plain picture of him either hurling or refereeing - today should not be a reminder to his family about a basic mistake which he made in 1998 - today is about the man who hurled with club and county and was went on to referee all other games without the same attention as he got in 1998 -surely a simple photo from a team or of him in flow refereeing a game would be better than reminding all of one mistake he made in a game. Ime saying that as an Offaly man.

Fairplayalways (National) - 01/08/2023 15:37:52

Sympathy To The Ger Loughnane And His Family - 15 Like(s)
as an avid hurling man and who followed/follows all counties in our great game, its only right we should acknowledge the loss of Ger's son Conor in recent days. Life is tough and we all need to support each other in difficult times. RIP

Fairplayalways (National) - 10/02/2023 13:11:32

Garvaghy Road Flag At Roscommon V Ardmagh Game At Athletic Grounds - 11 Like(s)

Fairplayalways (National) - 19/10/2020 12:16:55

Football Is Finished - 9 Like(s)
After trying to watch Dublin V Cavan, the word "turn over" word used yet and yet again, showing that Dublin may as well go and play rugby such is the fear of loosing posession, People will come on here and say they are great and professional and all that, and they are at the game they play, but they have football destroyed, I think even with a crowd in Croke Park this evening (where the game should not be played by the way as far as I am concerned) that game was as shocking to look at as any other Dublin game...rather than loose posession, they would kick the ball the whole way back down the field, again, fair dues its within the rules, but they are as boring as hell at this stage, the referee in the main "walking" around the field such was the time he had on his hands...I hope, for the sake of football, Mayo or Tipperary win, and if this crap Dublin are offering up continues and they continue to dominate as a result, the rules need looking at, as teams are genuinely going out to try and play against them (as Cavan did) but Dublin were more interested in just getting the ball, hang onto it for the 3/4 minutes it took to get into a shooting position (hoping to be fouled if possible)...if that is football, good luck, because I and I think may more are fed up with it..fair enough Dublin have it down to an "art" as people say, but the art is as boring, and over played now..thank God no other team has mastered it or we would be finished (Cork managed luckily to beat Kerry with it this year, and tried again unsucessfully against Tipp)....hopefully soon we might get two teams who will go out and decide to play football for the first time in years, because this is finishing football...Dublin winning 6 All Irelands possibly playing that type of "football"...let them off....hopefully football will be back in the years to come...

Fairplayalways (National) - 05/12/2020 21:33:42

Dublin 10 In A Row Odds! - 6 Like(s)
If we have to look at this muck football in Croke Park for the next 4 years????...its the equivalent of the Covid lockdown...hard to stomach now to be honest...

Fairplayalways (National) - 06/12/2020 22:28:23

Anthem Protocol - 5 Like(s)
I see yet again in a time of FG in government, the anthemn is now in their sights, we are "multicultural" and a divided Island and must respect and not offend others...what a country we have become...A FG td last week calling for the anthemn to be only played at major sporting events, we dont need to hear it at the Division 3 league final in county X for example..the man making the arugument no doubt has children in private rugby playing colleges and wil hear the anthemn at these posh rugby games probably...the young fellah in the country who wont play intercounty...maybe the Division 3 football final or countyy junior final wil be his only day to represent his family and parish, and I think he (or she) should get to face the flag an hear the anthem...regarding players moving during it and near the end...my late father told me the old IRA never fully acknowledged the Amhran Na bfiann, and the shuffle just before the last line, was just sort of "we dont fully recognised the whole anthemn as Ireland is not fully free" type of thing...we will stand for it but not it all..and thats exactly what I always did as a player and even now (although we dot hear much of the anthemn over the ast 10 years of FG in Government..our society is being rapidly destroyed..no sense of Irishness or nationalism...Religion is another devicesive issue I know with the Angeles on the television is another thing gone now to be more inclusive for everyone..another issue but still..same reason "we are a changed societ"...go up the North the week of the twelfth and tell the orangemen "no bon fires or beating drums now, you are offending alot of people" ...you wouldnt get out with your life...the Irish solution to the latter is "keep your head down and let on you dont hear or see anything"....anway...dont start me..play our anthem for all sporting events for adult grade game at the very least...its nothing to be ashamed of...we are too worried about every other culture at the expense of our own...

Fairplayalways (National) - 01/06/2021 21:57:23

Performance Of The Decade! - 5 Like(s)

Fairplayalways (National) - 15/08/2021 00:20:33

RTE And This Constant "Henry Shefflin Is The Greatest Hurler Of All Time To Many" - 4 Like(s)
Joanne Cantwell yet again let off the above line again tonight, its thrown out every few weeks...whats the obsession with this from her in particular...yes, he is ONE of the best hurlers ever who happened to be a member of an exceptional bunch of Kilkenny players in an exceptional era..but he isnt the best hurler ever..TJ Reid is a better all round hurler to me and is there a good few years now and is ultra consistent..Henry had bad games too people seem to forget...DJ Carey was a better hurler skill wise than Sheffflin, played in good and bad Kilkenny teams and pulled Kilkenny along in bad days too...Henry has the medals as the era was ultra sucessful for Kilkenny...DJ hadnt but still has his few medals...Henry was an exceptional hurler for sure...was the best ever though..come on...and saying "to many he was the best ever"...not true..to some ok..but not many..Eddie Keher & Frank Cummins..equal players who never even won an All Ireland...Ollie Canning, Joe Cooney for example, Tony Browne, John Mullane, Ciaran Carey, Andrew O'Shaugnessy...Jimmy Barry Murphy, John Fenton (a long sucessfull career - never had a poor game), James Shanahan and Johnny Callinan, Sean Stack not to mention more recent Clare players....Brian Lohan, Seanie McMahon two to the best hurlers I ever seen...just Henry was great yes..but wasnt the greatest by a long shot...

Fairplayalways (National) - 30/05/2021 23:45:58

Deliberate Tearing Of An Opponents Jersey -Should Be A Red Card Offence - 4 Like(s)

Fairplayalways (National) - 16/09/2021 12:00:55

Tackling Youngters And All Bullying And Gaa Can Help With It - 4 Like(s)
without rehashing or personalising any case, we will have seen here where Joe Canning visited that young chaps family in Cavan whom lost his life as a result of bullying. A lovely and very fitting touch by Joe Canning, and another Galway hurler is also invovled with promotiing positive mental health. With these in mind, wouldnt it be nice to see the GAA at all intercounty games, both teams stand armlinked or breif gesture (similar to taking the knee in soccer but not necessarily that) and the reason being calling for and end to bullying and encourage those affected to reach out to someone in their club or other for assistance. I am only sticking this together here off the cuff but no doubt you will get my line of thought...highlight that bullying isnt acceptable in any sphere of life and that GAA players are there as peers etc. in fighting it or somethiing like that. Hoepfully the anoraks wont come on and say bullying has nothing to do with Sport, bullying is in every walk of life, and are young are the most vulnerable and and wouldnt it be nice to see intercounty players stand in solidarity in fighting it etc..

Fairplayalways (National) - 27/01/2022 11:43:54

Munster Hurling Final - 4 Like(s)
I had to laugh when our own former referee Brian Gavin said Aaron Gillane should have walked for his swing back on Chris Barrett...at least Gillanes reaction was that, a reaction...Tommy Walsh lost the plot during a melee and swung his hurling in a chopping fashion at a Tipperary player back in the day, and missed he Tipperary player but hit Gavin, cutting his eye/nose area, Gavan only gave a card and said after "he (Walsh) didnt mean to hit me"....I rest my case......Kilkenny got away with alot under Gavan a few more referees....Ide say they clapped their hands when they seen him down to ref their games....interestingly when the rules were reviewed then on dangerous play/borderline play, the Kilkenny dominance ended...dont get me wrong, they were the best team I seen for longivity, but they did get away with alot...referees were afraid of them I used to think...

Fairplayalways (National) - 23/07/2021 13:50:19

County Colours And Jersey Designs Now Adays - 4 Like(s)
county jerseys changing over the years.....for example, Clare were traditionally a yellow shirt with a full blue hoop, not now...Wexford had purple waist up upto chest level then gold/yellow for top half with a purple collar...not now..I could go on..some teams have even dropped a colour in these new ultra designs, Meath were green and gold when I was a child, they are primarily green now with gold trim...Donegal and Kerry had the same jersey when I was growing up..now Donegal is mainly yellow with green shoulders and trim..I have an old 1980s Offaly jersey and the quality and the colours are so real, I have a fairly recent one and the quality is so different, the green is now traffic light green as opposed to the grass green shade of the 1980s...anyone else think the old jerseys were nicer looking...

Fairplayalways (National) - 19/03/2021 13:48:37

Great U21 Players Who Never Made Longterm Senior Impact Both Codes - Last 30 Years - 4 Like(s)
heres another little thing to go at..great u21's whom never or played a season or two Senior and then disapeared...

Fairplayalways (National) - 19/05/2020 18:15:26

All Ireland Final Ticket Prices - 4 Like(s)

Fairplayalways (National) - 15/08/2019 14:02:33

Ned Flynn - Westmeath And Midlands Radio 3 (MR3) - RIP - 4 Like(s)
the voice of Ned will be missed by many around the midlands..from Offaly games MR3 go to Westmeath, where Ned mentions the large and the not so large little clubs in all codes and all levels, from Mullingar to to Castletowngeoghan and Castletown Finea, Brownstown, Delvin and St. Lomans and Cricklewood (pronounced wrong probably by me) etc...only he could report on them in such a way even though as an outsider you would not ever know about these clubs but regardless of competition, Ned was detailed in his commentary and reporting and the names would stick in your mind..Condolences to his family and colleagues in MR3, he will be missed from the Radio.

Fairplayalways (National) - 11/04/2021 16:07:09

No Back Door In Football...Fair? - 4 Like(s)
I don't think its fair. Most who know my posts know I do advocate for return to old knockout championship from time to time but I watched Sligo, Waterford, Carlow, Clare and Wicklow among others knocked out and gone last week and more gone this weekend...does the football championship have to be played off so quickly???..I think its very harsh considering hurling has a second chance...it should be the same for both games whatever is in place..

Fairplayalways (National) - 05/07/2021 00:25:14

Football Is Finished - 4 Like(s)
thanks all for getting this post up to such high numbers, I thought it would be left and a few Dubs would berate me for criticizing their style of play, the majority agree with my views...how anyone thinks thats good to look at is beyond belief...I was watching Mayo and Tipp today...something glaringly obvious struck me watching Mayo play a similar but a wee bit more attractive brand of Dublin football (not much but they dont pocket the ball for as long)..take Dublin out of Croke Park for these big games, no that will not happen and we all know why, but Dublin are getting nearly (if not all) their championship games in Croker Park, sure that cannot be fair for one thing, and another, how can a team like Cavan, having played in much smaller venues upto now be expected to come into a pitch the size of Croke Park, and beat a team whom are used to the size of Croke Park, sure kick passing etc. cannot be executed accurately on a constistent basis during a game if its your first time playing there...yes, Mayo and Tyrone have played there a good few times, but its nearly always against Dublin whom are able to beat them, so playing one match there a season and getting beaten, is not the same as "Mayo and Tyrone are used to playing in Croke park" ...they are not...I was looking back over the early rounds of the championship from this year and other years, and for any mediocre team to be picked up, and lobbed into Croke Park to play Dublin, sure its totally unfair and must really be overwhelming to be honest...Let Dublin play their games away from HQ, see will they have all the space and time to play keep ball in Navan, Portaoise, or Newbridge or other, yes they are good enough to win away from home, but I am convinced the games would be alot closer and Dublin wouldnt have it all their own way...whats going on now is a farce...with no crowds this championship was an excuse for getting Dublin out of Croke Park with no supporters, but all the games are pencilled in for HQ as if we are all supposed to be thrilled with that or something (if you support Dublin fine)...Dublin V Cavan with no supporters should have been played in Navan or Mullingar or somewhere...these big stadiums been built and used for the home team to justify their existence is not to used to disadvantage teams from outside the capital...

Fairplayalways (National) - 06/12/2020 22:18:37

No Fans Allowed On Croke Park Pitch - 4 Like(s)
while we know its health and safety, but what a pity the Limerick supporters were not allowed onto the pitch yesterday...interesting to see if the same rule will be "upheld" after the football final...

Fairplayalways (National) - 20/08/2018 13:18:07

Harry Ryan (Clara & Kilkenny) - 3 Like(s)

Fairplayalways (National) - 26/11/2020 23:39:28

Football Is Finished - 3 Like(s)
Once the ball is kicked out from the keeper - unless a save from the opposing team - the ball cannot be played back to the goal keeper inside the 21....once the ball crosses halfway line..it CANNOT be be passed back into the defensive half by the attacking team...I wont impose a shot timer, but DUblin had the ball for 2 minutes 50 seconds at the start of the 10 minutes (at the start of second half) without the black carded player, they were not playing any football, just keeping the ball away from Mayo to prevent them scoring...boring and rediculous football considering they are not doubt the best in the business when they go and attack, and that is the killing part....Cluxton taking way way too much time looking to find a loose man when kicking out the ball too..watch back and almost every single kick out he kicked the ball out after a considerable delay the ref standing waiting for him... possible rule: ref blows whistle for kick out kick must be taken without delay, I wouldnt put a time on it as it gets too techical, but a keeper (winning the game by the way) looking around at his ease UNTIL a player gets free to pass it to (NOT kick it out to) is not at all fair and sporting...need I say Ime fed up with this type of football...Dublin done a few "Ronaldo's" too with a few of the clashes, players grabbing their faces when they were hit in the chest etc. but recovering quickly when Dean Rock had the ball in hand to kick the free NOT from where the "foul" occurred....in fairness Gooch always took frees from incorrect area too...heres to next year and more rubbish "football" tactics wise....

Fairplayalways (National) - 19/12/2020 23:28:22