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Westmeath Hurling thread - 2 Like(s)
Replying To jobber: "Extraordinary reply. So according to you Its bananas to start a hurling team in an area with a population of 6000. As for playing with Raharney name me the Kinnegad players on the blues team.Kinnegad has a soccer team but no hurling!!!
This sums up the negative attitude towards hurling thats prevalent in official circles right now. What have the board done to help Castledaly? Answer little or nothing.
I made the point it will be difficult to start but if the will was there in an area with a 6000 population thats growing it is doable." Your overall sentiment is correct. It is very difficult to start a new club, and even harder to identify where one could realistically be established in Westmeath.
Kinnegad may be an option, but it might require a challenging shift in attitudes within what is traditionally an exclusively football focused club and community if the other posts here referencing that matter are accurate. Other possible areas might be the Bunbrosna-Shandonagh-Moyvore triangle or the Kilbeggan-Moate axis.
I believe any new club would need to start at underage level, which requires a few "lightning rods" with huge self efficacy, ideally people already involved in hurling who have children that might play locally and who can attract others to the initiative. Beyond that, substantial parental buy-in is key to maintain momentum and build numbers over time and my experience is that this is not an easy task.
I have been involved in club mergers, start-ups, and sustaining / growing new teams, and it is a massive challenge. It's exacerbated if your own child drops out as you are committed and you can't back out.
If Westmeath is serious about expanding hurling into new areas, it would likely require a long-term county board development commitment, including a number of paid coaches working constantly in primary schools and helping to establish club coaching structures in the target regions. That support would need to be sustained for at least 7-10 years to give local volunteers a realistic chance of success.
There are good examples in Sligo, where hurling lagged for many years but successful start-up clubs were developed and sustained from underage through to senior level. Those experiences show that progress is possible, but only with patience, consistent support, and a long-term strategy.
Iveagh (National) - 07/06/2026 20:59:05
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Carlow GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Replying To CarlowJuniorB: "Laois's last hurling came in 1949 and football was 2003. It was the 40s before that. Only 2003 can be talked about really, claiming relevance of anything that old is a bit strange. Even stranger to see a cork and kilkenny person here coming to gloat about a laois win. Very very strange." I've a Laois mam, my second county. I was glancing through and the Leix BS which has gone for 100 years caught me.
Laois have won those. Do Tipp, Kilkenny, Cork not count their All Irelands anymore??
As for the Kilkenny poster, Eddie Onion must have annoyed him before.
The_Pebble (National) - 07/06/2026 21:29:11
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Carlow GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Replying To Onion Breath: "But you're not really neutral are you? Sum total of zero posts about Cork but a sudden interest in Carlow and Leix!" Laois man sorting out Eddie Onion ;)
https://youtube.com/shorts/gtVJX8sKR4E?is=vYGYTm73rJ4wGliB
The_Pebble (National) - 07/06/2026 21:29:48
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Hurling Championship 2026 - 2 Like(s)
Replying To hlynch12: "Galway were favourities yesterday. Beating Dubs was their All Ireland." No it wasn't...
ColmFlaherty (National) - 07/06/2026 21:36:20
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Carlow GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Replying To The_Pebble: "I've a Laois mam, my second county. I was glancing through and the Leix BS which has gone for 100 years caught me.
Laois have won those. Do Tipp, Kilkenny, Cork not count their All Irelands anymore??
As for the Kilkenny poster, Eddie Onion must have annoyed him before." Don't know why the Leix stuff caught you off guard, you're looking for logic in a rivalry.
Laois have won those but using them as a stick to beat other counties is pointless. It's like us lording it over Wicklow who haven't won a title before. 2003 being the only title in living memory compared to 1949 for laois or 1944 for us.
CarlowJuniorB (National) - 07/06/2026 22:01:25
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Hurling Championship 2026 - 2 Like(s)
Replying To hlynch12: "Galway were favourities yesterday. Beating Dubs was their All Ireland." didn't you have your own county beaten before the final whistle yesterday?
Maroonatic (National) - 08/06/2026 13:51:07
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Galway Hurling thread - 2 Like(s)
Great day up in Croker on Saturday. I did get the feeling before the game that Galway talent wise are just on another level to Dublin and that played out. Some great performances. Daithi an absolute warrior
Special mention to Whelan also. One of his finest days in a Galway jersey when you consider workrate, link play etc with 5 points on top. Delighted for him after many of his own countymen wrote him off earlier this year, including some on this forum saying he shouldn't even start!
Kinvara (National) - 08/06/2026 12:52:18
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Leitrim GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To moros: "Any sign of Gantricks. He seems to have gone missing. I'm a bit worried about him. Love to all." He's probably still meeting with them " few shrewd Leitrim football men " trying to figure where all those 12,000 tickets went..... they certainly weren't in Pairc Sean on Saturday.
Yellaman (National) - 08/06/2026 16:19:36
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Carlow GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To The_Pebble: "Laois have 9 Senior Leinster Titles, 6 in football, 3 in hurling, fact. My grandfather was on the 1949 side, my mam's father. That's fact. Carlow have in 1944 football. Go figure." Laois's last hurling came in 1949 and football was 2003. It was the 40s before that. Only 2003 can be talked about really, claiming relevance of anything that old is a bit strange. Even stranger to see a cork and kilkenny person here coming to gloat about a laois win. Very very strange.
CarlowJuniorB (National) - 07/06/2026 20:36:58
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More Than One Anthem At Inter County Matches ! - 1 Like(s)
Replying To sourmilk93: "What's the difference between London and Fermanagh? Its the same anthem for both England and Northern Ireland.
Why mention playing God save the King for London matches and not mention Derry, Tyrone, Armagh, Fermanagh. Down or Antrim?" yawn
KeshGFC (National) - 08/06/2026 14:57:07
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More Than One Anthem At Inter County Matches ! - 1 Like(s)
Replying To yew_tree: "American anthem always played when New York play home or away. I've zero issue with it." except that it reflects our usual double standards
SixtiesKid (National) - 08/06/2026 13:27:02
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Westmeath Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Be a sea of maroon in the stand/terraces anyways (more Wm fans you would think), i'd imagine they'll have us in the green kit and Galway will don white
Lakeman93 (National) - 08/06/2026 13:04:22
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Westmeath Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Captainfantastic: "Strange all the provincial champions are away in 1st draw since their completion.
WH, Rosie's, Armagh and Kerry.
Some reward for winning it.
Surely there should be some reward for winning it - home advantage in this round.
Bet ye more big counties will take the Donegal route/ attitude next year." Couldnt agree more. Fair enough provincial finalists got home draw in Round 1. But no advantage for winners. Privincial champs should be kept apart in Round 2A or 2B and given home advantage. Galway should have had no complaints if we were drawn away v Westmeath or Armagh in Round 2.
anotheralias (National) - 08/06/2026 12:35:56
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Monaghan GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To farneygael3: "I think a progressive step is to appoint the current minor management team to the under 20 roles next year. Maybe Buggy as manager. It's important to start to bring this current crop through be it a 2/3 year project" They'll be the next senior management ticket, the cycle starts once again.......
ConyersHill04 (National) - 08/06/2026 12:34:29
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Dublin GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Fionn: "Gutted with that result tbh.
Going in at HT 1-15 to 1-11 down after playing against the wind, I, and most of those around me on the Hill, felt that we were in a good place.
But to only score 4 points (excluding the penalty and 2 very late goals in injury time) was shocking. FT 4-29 to 4-15.
Rushe and Crummey both going off injured, early in the 2nd half were major blows to our chances but you can't expect to win a game of hurling with such a low scoring return in the 2nd half.
Galway definitely learned from our meeting a few weeks ago, but why oh why did we persist with the long high ball. Galway won most of the high balls, and most of the scraps for the loose ball.
Yes we gifted them their goal in the first half and another couple of points. We also fluffed 3 goal chances, but I did not expect us to be over powered like that in the 2nd half.
The main positive was seeing so many Dublin fans come out to cheer on the Dubs in front of an attendance of 46,463 (the Leinster rugby semi final in the Aviva only had 15,346 attendance).
On a side note - I think Brian Hayes will get an All Star this year. He is phenomenal. Although at times he tried to take on and beat the whole Galway team. ;o)
But hats off to Galway.
Next up for the Dublin Hurlers is an All Ireland 1/4 Final v Clare.
Surely we can't play that poorly again.??????" Based on the smugness of Daly and CO last night you might even turn them over.
You certainly have our support as good Leinster Hurling people.
SixtiesKid (National) - 08/06/2026 12:15:31
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Dublin GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To BarneyGrant: "Team named for Saturday. Rushie and O'Donnell start in place of Bellew and McHugh.
Seán Currie on subs. First time out this year." Are you still trying to recover Barney.?
;o(
Fionn (National) - 08/06/2026 12:03:34
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Galway Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To WonTon5: "Went is Matty Thompson back?" He is back training i believe
Galway2001 (National) - 08/06/2026 11:25:19
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Football Format Changes Discussion - 1 Like(s)
Lads still debating the pros and cons of provincial championships. I'm 10 years saying there should be no provincials and we should have one main competition that runs from Spring to August. Split into 3 tiers with promotion and relegation.
And the blooding players thing is overstated. Managers pretty much know who is good enough and who isn't based on club form, training and in house games and challenge matches. Provincials are a money racket. End of story.
TheFlaker (National) - 08/06/2026 11:12:50
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More Than One Anthem At Inter County Matches ! - 1 Like(s)
Replying To tirawleybaron: "Cleary, they should have been playing New York , New York by Frank Sinatra" enjoy God save the King at your next championship meeting with London then !
KeshGFC (National) - 08/06/2026 11:03:49
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Wicklow GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Wicklow will travel to Antrim in the next round of the Tailteann Cup. Firstly, it is encouraging to see Wicklow getting to the latter stages of this competition especially as there is more talk about introducing a third tier competition. I don't understand why there is an obsession with introducing a third tier and I certainly don't want Wicklow to be in any such competition. I think this is the third consecutive year Wicklow have reached the quarter final in the Tailteann cup. Hopefully we can match last year's progress when we reached the semi-final of the competition. If Wicklow are to reach the semi-final they'll need to beat Antrim away which is something our footballers have struggled to do in recent years. Back in February of this year; we lost to Antrim by seven points. Final score Antrim 2-18 - Wicklow 1-14. Is this team in better form than in February and can this team turn around a seven-point defeat and win up there? If we are to win up there then we need Kevin Quinn, Eoin Darcy and others playing to their maximum. Watching the game on Sunday, I think three of our forwards are definite starters: Eoin Darcy, Kevin Quinn and Padraig O'Toole. I think John Carlin is also a starting forward. Based upon the game plan I think Oisin wants Christopher O'Brien to starting but I'd be tempted to start both Mark Kenny and OIsin McGraynor. I think if we are to win in Antrim then we'll need to produce a big performance and I think our forwards might be the key to such a victory. Best of luck to players and management next weekend.
wicklowsupport (National) - 08/06/2026 10:44:31
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