National Forum

Leitrim GAA thread

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post


Replying To drumalee11:  "Just in relation to your point on having one of the smallest pools of players available.

Fermanagh who you are playing next have a smaller player pool available to them. Who are now a division 2 team.

Now I find it hard to believe that there's just better footballers in Fermanagh but one thing for sure is they are miles ahead when it comes to S&C."
I have seen a number of Fermanagh and Leitrim championship games over the past couple of years. The are like night and day in regards to pace and intensity. Fermanagh have only eight senior teams and most games are very competitive. Yep or three good games a year in Leitrim if your lucky.

Backheel (Leitrim) - Posts: 133 - 15/05/2023 18:15:25    2478795

Link

Replying To martinjoe:  "He had, as a player reached and played in All Ireland Finals under 3 different managers, including as captain, so would have seen a broad range of approaches to all aspects of preparing teams. He is a full time fitness instructor so I would have expected him to be very knowledgeable regarding S&C, cardio training etc. And while it is true he had no experience as a manager, Padraic Joyce also had very little when he took charge of a team with aspirations to win the ultimate prize. Andy was taking over a team more or less stuck in the bottom end of division 4. I suppose, and as I have pointed out before, when it comes down to it, can one really expect players in a team ranked 27 or 28 out of 32 to put in the time and effort of a player on a DIV 1 team. What must it be like for a player from Leitrim, Waterford or London, who in reality may never win a game over a couple of seasons let alone a trophy. The Tailteann Cup will certainly give counties with hunger and aspirations a platform to improve their level of ability. Sligo and Westmeath have improved from last year. As was pointed out by a Leitrim poster here after the New York game, the players are very well looked after and want for nothing. Perhaps there are lads happy to be "County Men" and take advantage of the status that may bring, I don't know. Hard to see Andy at the helm if Leitrim's season is over next weekend, even if the board still want him."
Joyce knows what it takes to win though; he has 2 All-Irelands to his name. How many has Andy?

drumalee11 (USA) - Posts: 289 - 16/05/2023 08:58:16    2478845

Link

Replying To OhtobeARossie:  "I'm hoping he gets a 10 year deal with mayo next."
One can only hope !!

Thejampot (Leitrim) - Posts: 255 - 16/05/2023 09:07:40    2478846

Link

Replying To drumalee11:  "Just in relation to your point on having one of the smallest pools of players available.

Fermanagh who you are playing next have a smaller player pool available to them. Who are now a division 2 team.

Now I find it hard to believe that there's just better footballers in Fermanagh but one thing for sure is they are miles ahead when it comes to S&C."
Hence why I said 'One of the smallest picks'.

The top 3/4 teams in Leitrim are a match for the top teams in Fermanagh it has to be said. But that's a debate for a different day.

But yes there is no doubt that Leitrim should be doing a lot better than we are hence why so many people have doubts over our current management team.

But we must be realistic. I think its very fair to say that each of them 26 players I named along with Michael McWeeney and a few more would easily get into the Leitrim squad and many would be starting.

So the reality is that Moran and Sloan are having to pick players who are 3rd or 4th choice in their positions if we had everyone available. Think of how that effects our levels of S&C and our standards at training etc.

We do seem to have got our act together a small bit with regards to the amount of Games Development Officers etc. that we have but I would not really rate those in charge of the overall coaching structures in the county. On this I think we have taken a step back since James Glancy was in charge. Its an area that can be easily addressed by the county board if they want to make tough decisions.

2022 - St Marys - Alan Flynn
2021 - Ballinamore - Dom Corrigan
2020 - Mohill - Liam Keenan
2019 - Manor - Shane Ward/Kieran Fox
2018 - Aughawillan - The McCormacks
2017 - Mohill - Pauric Davis
2016 - Aughawillan - The McCormack
2015 - Mohill - Pauric Davis
2014 - Aughawillan - Sean Pearson/Gary Donoghue


This just shows the lack of home grown coaches in Leitrim.

A quick glance as to who are over some of our Senior club teams this year:

Mohill - Eamon O'Hara (Sligo)
St Mary's - Alan Flynn (Galway)
Fenagh - The McCormacks (Longford)
Aughawillan - Cathal Murphy (Fermanagh)

So we have lost up on 30 players in the last few years from the senior Inter-county set up and we are not producing coaches that our own clubs regard as a high enough standard to manage them.


Our facilities are they up to scratch? Major money needs to be spent on the pitch in Pairc Sean. That's before you consider some of the toilet facilities etc. that are on offer. Floodlights or even a a half decent sound system seem way out of bounds for this county board.

Annaduff has been an absolute farce this year and not one word said about it. Pitches are tragic.

Ballinamore is easily the best club grounds and could host county grounds but has been reseeded and is out of use. But also needs better parking options etc.

The Ladies have been treated appallingly when it comes to pitches and had a run in with Andy Moran when trying to use the Gym facilities in Annaduff last year and there has been bad blood since.

Even the issue that is going to effect a lot of communities in the next few years hasn't been addressed by the County board. Will clubs survive - Eslin, Ballinaglera, Drumreilly, St Osnats and one or two more are teetering on the brink but there doesn't seem to be any forward planning or help being done.


A lot of hard questions need to be asked. The Observer it can be sure won't be doing it as they are just a mouth piece for the county board.

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - Posts: 297 - 16/05/2023 11:47:15    2478923

Link

Replying To Leitrim1234:  "Hence why I said 'One of the smallest picks'.

The top 3/4 teams in Leitrim are a match for the top teams in Fermanagh it has to be said. But that's a debate for a different day.

But yes there is no doubt that Leitrim should be doing a lot better than we are hence why so many people have doubts over our current management team.

But we must be realistic. I think its very fair to say that each of them 26 players I named along with Michael McWeeney and a few more would easily get into the Leitrim squad and many would be starting.

So the reality is that Moran and Sloan are having to pick players who are 3rd or 4th choice in their positions if we had everyone available. Think of how that effects our levels of S&C and our standards at training etc.

We do seem to have got our act together a small bit with regards to the amount of Games Development Officers etc. that we have but I would not really rate those in charge of the overall coaching structures in the county. On this I think we have taken a step back since James Glancy was in charge. Its an area that can be easily addressed by the county board if they want to make tough decisions.

2022 - St Marys - Alan Flynn
2021 - Ballinamore - Dom Corrigan
2020 - Mohill - Liam Keenan
2019 - Manor - Shane Ward/Kieran Fox
2018 - Aughawillan - The McCormacks
2017 - Mohill - Pauric Davis
2016 - Aughawillan - The McCormack
2015 - Mohill - Pauric Davis
2014 - Aughawillan - Sean Pearson/Gary Donoghue


This just shows the lack of home grown coaches in Leitrim.

A quick glance as to who are over some of our Senior club teams this year:

Mohill - Eamon O'Hara (Sligo)
St Mary's - Alan Flynn (Galway)
Fenagh - The McCormacks (Longford)
Aughawillan - Cathal Murphy (Fermanagh)

So we have lost up on 30 players in the last few years from the senior Inter-county set up and we are not producing coaches that our own clubs regard as a high enough standard to manage them.


Our facilities are they up to scratch? Major money needs to be spent on the pitch in Pairc Sean. That's before you consider some of the toilet facilities etc. that are on offer. Floodlights or even a a half decent sound system seem way out of bounds for this county board.

Annaduff has been an absolute farce this year and not one word said about it. Pitches are tragic.

Ballinamore is easily the best club grounds and could host county grounds but has been reseeded and is out of use. But also needs better parking options etc.

The Ladies have been treated appallingly when it comes to pitches and had a run in with Andy Moran when trying to use the Gym facilities in Annaduff last year and there has been bad blood since.

Even the issue that is going to effect a lot of communities in the next few years hasn't been addressed by the County board. Will clubs survive - Eslin, Ballinaglera, Drumreilly, St Osnats and one or two more are teetering on the brink but there doesn't seem to be any forward planning or help being done.


A lot of hard questions need to be asked. The Observer it can be sure won't be doing it as they are just a mouth piece for the county board."
Just on underage football and GDA's, we are now in the middle of May and club players aged 16 and 17 years of age have no football this year, these are our senior players in a short few years and they are being seriously let down by the county board.

GDA's need to be in secondary schools every week where large numbers of players from different clubs can be accessed, its no coincidence that Sligo underage county teams are thriving when their secondary schools teams are thriving too. We seem to be happy for our schools to be contesting Grade D & E finals while Sligo are winning A & B finals. The kids that scored the winning point in the U20 Connacht final played for Summerhill School.

Our whole process needs to start at underage in a much more hands on way in schools. Academy squads need to be increased in size. The lad who's light and shy at 15 could be the top man at 17 but could potentially be missed if he's not included in some way in an academy. Extended training squad for example.

We are pumping huge money into our senior squad maybe rightly so but in a lot of cases the horse has bolted for a lot of those players. we need to redirect funds into underage or we're on a hiding to nothing and we'll be having this conversation about our seniors for years to come.

meathbasedfan (Leitrim) - Posts: 63 - 16/05/2023 14:34:55    2478991

Link

Replying To meathbasedfan:  "Just on underage football and GDA's, we are now in the middle of May and club players aged 16 and 17 years of age have no football this year, these are our senior players in a short few years and they are being seriously let down by the county board.

GDA's need to be in secondary schools every week where large numbers of players from different clubs can be accessed, its no coincidence that Sligo underage county teams are thriving when their secondary schools teams are thriving too. We seem to be happy for our schools to be contesting Grade D & E finals while Sligo are winning A & B finals. The kids that scored the winning point in the U20 Connacht final played for Summerhill School.

Our whole process needs to start at underage in a much more hands on way in schools. Academy squads need to be increased in size. The lad who's light and shy at 15 could be the top man at 17 but could potentially be missed if he's not included in some way in an academy. Extended training squad for example.

We are pumping huge money into our senior squad maybe rightly so but in a lot of cases the horse has bolted for a lot of those players. we need to redirect funds into underage or we're on a hiding to nothing and we'll be having this conversation about our seniors for years to come."
I agree with all of that.

The GDA's themselves need direction and an overall plan from the County Board or the Main Coaching officer in the county. We probably need to target the main population bases in the county when it comes to Secondary Schools - Carrick, Ballinamore, Mohill and Manor to start with - Introduce intensive coaching, S&C and nutrition advice for these 3 schools and then roll it out to the other smaller secondary schools.

However, we need to focus on getting our homegrown coaches throughout the county trained up to a certain level so that every child or adult playing football is getting modern and up-to-date coaching on a consistent basis. That is an achievable goal as we have such a low amount of playing numbers compared to most counties. What it does take is the will, vision and money to make it happen.
St Mary's really seem to be getting it right with what they are doing at the moment which will be a
huge benefit to our county team but it also looks like they are going to dominate at all levels and age grades due to their population and now increased know-how of what they are doing which can't be great for the competition aspect of the GAA.

On the emigration aspect Ballinaglera released a letter regarding rural depopulation and planning laws etc. a few years back. It was brilliant. Leitrim Gaa and all its stakeholders need to become united and lobby all sides of the political spectrum in relation to planning laws and the lack of investment in counties such as Leitrim. If the right infrastructure/initiatives were in place, rural areas such as Leitrim could begin to thrive again due to working from home measures etc. But young people are not going to stick around unless they have a reason to do so.

Anyway apart from the hole our Inter-County team is in our Club Leagues are starting on SUNDAY - A Sunday, Jesus wept. Every other county is trying to move away from Sunday games as it is so unpopular with players and in Leitrim we put numerous rounds of our league on Sunday. Be interesting to see if any more players decide to focus on their clubs instead on the Inter-County team?

Leitrim1234 (Leitrim) - Posts: 297 - 16/05/2023 15:48:29    2479018

Link

All very valid arguments made by the last few posters instead of the usual point scoring. It's an absolute disgrace that we have no competitive games for 16-17 year olds yet this season. Doesn't look like this will happen until into June when these players will then be sitting junior cert exams. Does anyone have an ounce of common sense when it comes to logic involved with Leitrim GAA.

Champotime18 (Leitrim) - Posts: 442 - 17/05/2023 13:12:38    2479241

Link

Replying To Champotime18:  "All very valid arguments made by the last few posters instead of the usual point scoring. It's an absolute disgrace that we have no competitive games for 16-17 year olds yet this season. Doesn't look like this will happen until into June when these players will then be sitting junior cert exams. Does anyone have an ounce of common sense when it comes to logic involved with Leitrim GAA."
Impossible to believe that there has been no minor games this year for clubs! Back in my day league started in march and we were allowed the county players for it, like small wonder young lads drop away at that age when instead they could be working part time and socialize at the weekends

gaelsboy (Leitrim) - Posts: 457 - 18/05/2023 13:46:48    2479425

Link

The team that I would select against Fermanagh if all available

1. N. ODonnell
2. C. Renoylds
3. D. Wrynn
4. C. Farrell
5. J. Heslin
6. P. Maguire
7. C. McGlion
8. P Dolan
9. M diffley
10. D Rooney
11. M. Plunkett
12. Paul keaney
13. Tom prior
14. K. Bernie
15. B McNulty

changes things up abit and lots of drive and pace in the half back line. Also 2 big fielders inside to win marks and Tom prior bussing about to get breaks.

Champotime18 (Leitrim) - Posts: 442 - 18/05/2023 13:49:56    2479426

Link

Replying To gaelsboy:  "Impossible to believe that there has been no minor games this year for clubs! Back in my day league started in march and we were allowed the county players for it, like small wonder young lads drop away at that age when instead they could be working part time and socialize at the weekends"
I just dropped in on this chat as I thought you might be chatting about all matters fermanagh lol.. anyway I see your chat bout minors .. if you think your county board u17 fixtures are bad .. those of wisdom in our county board have zero fixtures for u17s until end of august early September!!!! Every year we say please wise up and every year they stand firm .. I mean the whole summer … training training training and zero competitive fixtures … Anyway here's to a good game sat eve !!

KeshGFC (Fermanagh) - Posts: 334 - 18/05/2023 14:09:51    2479432

Link

Replying To Champotime18:  "The team that I would select against Fermanagh if all available

1. N. ODonnell
2. C. Renoylds
3. D. Wrynn
4. C. Farrell
5. J. Heslin
6. P. Maguire
7. C. McGlion
8. P Dolan
9. M diffley
10. D Rooney
11. M. Plunkett
12. Paul keaney
13. Tom prior
14. K. Bernie
15. B McNulty

changes things up abit and lots of drive and pace in the half back line. Also 2 big fielders inside to win marks and Tom prior bussing about to get breaks."
I agree with pace required in the half back line. Crying out for that all year.

3rdmidfielder (Australia) - Posts: 294 - 18/05/2023 16:39:25    2479466

Link

Replying To Champotime18:  "The team that I would select against Fermanagh if all available

1. N. ODonnell
2. C. Renoylds
3. D. Wrynn
4. C. Farrell
5. J. Heslin
6. P. Maguire
7. C. McGlion
8. P Dolan
9. M diffley
10. D Rooney
11. M. Plunkett
12. Paul keaney
13. Tom prior
14. K. Bernie
15. B McNulty

changes things up abit and lots of drive and pace in the half back line. Also 2 big fielders inside to win marks and Tom prior bussing about to get breaks."
Looks like Andy is going to the young lads a go the next day. https://www.leitrimobserver.ie/news/home/1173340/moran-cant-fault-effort-but-searches-for-clinical-leitrim-edge.html?

martinjoe (Mayo) - Posts: 499 - 18/05/2023 17:37:37    2479488

Link

With the league started last night and the rest of the games tomorrow, who is managing what teams.
I am hearing alot of teams have lost players to travelling?

sparkie (Leitrim) - Posts: 60 - 20/05/2023 11:04:03    2479754

Link

Not confident about today I'd be quite fearful to be honest. Our season has fallen apart, this is the last chance to salvage something out of it. Fermanagh stung by drawing last weekend will not be complacent and will want to guarantee qualification this evening. We've problems all over the pitch and we're seriously lacking in confidence, hard to see anything but a Fermanagh win unfortunately. A season that promised so much is in danger of been over by half 7 this evening. Wishing the lads all the best

JimmyNail (Leitrim) - Posts: 182 - 20/05/2023 11:38:25    2479758

Link

Replying To JimmyNail:  "Not confident about today I'd be quite fearful to be honest. Our season has fallen apart, this is the last chance to salvage something out of it. Fermanagh stung by drawing last weekend will not be complacent and will want to guarantee qualification this evening. We've problems all over the pitch and we're seriously lacking in confidence, hard to see anything but a Fermanagh win unfortunately. A season that promised so much is in danger of been over by half 7 this evening. Wishing the lads all the best"
The league is our all ireland and everything around preparation and training should be geared towards it. Connacht and the TC are secondary. Finish the national league, let the lads back to their clubs for the club league and give the TC a rattle. Promotion would generate momentum in terms of getting fellas back onto the panel. We have to be at our peak for the league instead of building towards a hiding from our neighbours in Connacht. We have it arseways.

ThePowerhouse (Leitrim) - Posts: 104 - 20/05/2023 14:05:29    2479770

Link

Horrible stuff this evening. Football in this county is at its lowest ebb.

timeforachange (Leitrim) - Posts: 85 - 20/05/2023 19:37:20    2479815

Link

Andy must walk now. Only in Leitrim would ya get away with losing to NYC.. If we r serious about our football we can't be a place 4 lads 2 learn d trade. I'm sure he's a sound man but his results r terrible. All the lads lost to injury don't say much 4 his training methods either.

Zucker (Leitrim) - Posts: 156 - 20/05/2023 22:46:55    2479861

Link

Looks like us so called prophets of Doom were correct. Big changes required at every level. Very frustrating. I won't comment on the performance yesterday because, I don't want to upset the feelings of the players or members of the county board #bekind.

3rdmidfielder (Australia) - Posts: 294 - 21/05/2023 08:25:02    2479874

Link

Replying To 3rdmidfielder:  "Looks like us so called prophets of Doom were correct. Big changes required at every level. Very frustrating. I won't comment on the performance yesterday because, I don't want to upset the feelings of the players or members of the county board #bekind."
And slated for it by the fan boys but anyone who knows their football knows it was the wrong appointment from Day 1. We better hope and pray that the likes of Padraic Davis might be interested when the job comes up again (and if it doesn't after the Wexford game, the management team should be removed). It's time to plough our own furrow.

Square_B (Leitrim) - Posts: 844 - 21/05/2023 09:59:04    2479895

Link

Must be the only club or county team in the country who don't have a short kick out. Lump everything down the middle and generally give up possession. No chance with doing that. Think it's best for all concerned if Andy moves in after this campaign.

SeanMacDiarmada (Leitrim) - Posts: 395 - 21/05/2023 10:37:18    2479906

Link