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Longford GAA thread

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I guarantee you, if Carrick had to of beaten Slashers, we wouldn't be hearing a peep from Eugene.

Frank74 (Longford) - Posts: 235 - 19/08/2026 11:28:18    2690409

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Listed to Eugene's interview on Shannonside, ended by saying people would have viewed Carrickedmond as sitting ducks for relegation but they have proved that wrong. Hardly true when in 2024 they were in a relegation final and lost but like many others stayed up on appeal. 2 years later and back in a relegation playoff having lost 4 from 4. Hardly a strong case for a team being above the intermediate grade, good luck to them if they stay up but they need to take their medicine if they cannot win the relegation playoffs. Its down to the many years of appeals from entitled clubs and lack of backbone at co board that we landed on a bloated senior championship

gladiator (Longford) - Posts: 50 - 19/08/2026 11:42:21    2690416

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Replying To gladiator:  "Listed to Eugene's interview on Shannonside, ended by saying people would have viewed Carrickedmond as sitting ducks for relegation but they have proved that wrong. Hardly true when in 2024 they were in a relegation final and lost but like many others stayed up on appeal. 2 years later and back in a relegation playoff having lost 4 from 4. Hardly a strong case for a team being above the intermediate grade, good luck to them if they stay up but they need to take their medicine if they cannot win the relegation playoffs. Its down to the many years of appeals from entitled clubs and lack of backbone at co board that we landed on a bloated senior championship"
Listened to the interview yesterday myself and to be honest I'm quite surprised Eugene came out publicly and said what he said. He is a man with huge football knowledge and is highly regarded across the county. However, I think there are times where you are best keep your opinions to yourself and this was one of those times considering the controversy surrounding Carrickedmond staying up in 2024 despite losing the relegation play off. I agree with what another poster said here regarding these comments would not have been made if Carrickedmond had gotten through to the quarter finals. Obviously, they are not relegated yet and have a fighting chance of staying up. But in fairness if you lose four group games out of four and fail to escape the relegation series then you probably do deserve to go down to intermediate and earn your place back up at Senior.

BadgerDog (Westmeath) - Posts: 32 - 19/08/2026 14:39:51    2690453

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Replying To B&G:  "If we do indeed go to 10 teams. Two groups of 5. I hope that it will not be Top t in each group in QF. This will remove competitiveness with 4 from 5 qualifying. They should have group winners in semi final and second and third in each group in a QF. Then bottom 2 teams in each group in relegation playoff.

Perhaps with bottom team relegated and Intermediate champions coming up. The team who finishes second bottom in relegation playoff play Intermediate runner up This will introduce more risk in senior relegation playoff."
Agree with all, apart from the Intermediate runners up getting a play off to go senior.
You should have to win a championship to go up.
I would look at the leagues and give the team who finishes second in those, a chance to win a play off against the second bottom team of the higher league.

Frank74 (Longford) - Posts: 235 - 19/08/2026 15:09:49    2690464

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Replying To B&G:  "If we do indeed go to 10 teams. Two groups of 5. I hope that it will not be Top t in each group in QF. This will remove competitiveness with 4 from 5 qualifying. They should have group winners in semi final and second and third in each group in a QF. Then bottom 2 teams in each group in relegation playoff.

Perhaps with bottom team relegated and Intermediate champions coming up. The team who finishes second bottom in relegation playoff play Intermediate runner up This will introduce more risk in senior relegation playoff."
I reckon they will stop at 10 and not reduce further. I can see arguments for keeping it at 10 as going lower takes out any quarter final stage completely. In the 10 scenario, I agree that top in each group should push on to semi-final with second and third playing it out to decide who plays them in that semis. Having 4 from a group of 5 going thru doesn't drive teams to be competitive throughout the group stage IMO - much better to have 3 of 5 from each going thru. The bottom team from each group then play in relegation final to decide who goes down.

Problem is clubs have to agree to that and stick with it, even when they end up in that relegation final.

We will all be in that final at some point with a smaller championship size. Normalising going down and coming back up will be good for football in the county as it will keep intermediate competitive too and mix things up more regularly. Intermediate has had lots of tight games in recent years, but the measure of whether it is competitive in any real sense comes when we face our peers in Leinster, and we score very poorly on that front at the moment.

Eugene is entitled to his view, and he is a man I respect and who has more than earned the right to have a view on it too. I just don't agree him on this. Nothing wrong with a mix of views I suppose, or robust and respectful debate on it.

LongfordgaaAbú (Longford) - Posts: 692 - 19/08/2026 15:20:48    2690466

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just a take on the level of football in the likes of longford leitrim , i think its time longford look into developing a college or a third level inststitue in the county it can be seen the success sligo with atu and westmeath with tus athlone are now having at underage. If a college was to be built in longford or along the outskirts like drumlish or ballinalee it would do wonders for the county

Avensis2012 (Leitrim) - Posts: 12 - 20/08/2026 10:23:57    2690551

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Im going to express my opinion fully on what I think the structure of Longford Championship Football should be.
So we have 21 first teams in Longford, therefore the most logical thing to do is 7 teams Senior, 7 teams Intermediate and 7 Teams Junior. All the second string teams to go into Reserve Championships A, B and C.

My Championship would be as follows:
Senior Championship- Killoe, Clonguish, Colmcille, Abbeylara, Slashers, Mullinalaghta, Dromard.

Intermediate Championship: Granard, Carrickedmond, Rathcline, Ardagh Moydow, Cashel, Grattans, Connollys.

Junior Championship: Mostrim, Ballymahon, Drumlish, Killashee, Ballymore, Kenagh, Legan.

Sportrex (Longford) - Posts: 25 - 20/08/2026 12:41:00    2690591

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I've said for a long time it should be 3 championships with 8 teams.
I know a few have said 3 championships of 7 teams, but I think the uneven number would cause issues.
If you had 8 senior, 8 Intermediate, then 5 sole junior with 3 senior B teams.
If there isn't at least one of those 5 sole junior clubs able to win the junior ahead of a senior B team, then they don't deserve to be playing Intermediaate!

My breakdown would be:

Senior: Clonguish, Killoe, Colmcille, Dromard, Abbeylara, Granard, Slashers and Mullinalaghta or Ardagh Moydow

Intermediate: Mullinalaghta or Ardagh Moydow, Carrickedmond, Rathcline, Connollys, Cashel, Ballymahon, Grattans and Mostrim

Junior: Fr. Manning Gaels, Killashee, Ballymore, Kenagh, Legan, Clonguish B, Killoe B and one other Senior B team.

Frank74 (Longford) - Posts: 235 - 20/08/2026 13:15:51    2690605

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Replying To Frank74:  "I've said for a long time it should be 3 championships with 8 teams.
I know a few have said 3 championships of 7 teams, but I think the uneven number would cause issues.
If you had 8 senior, 8 Intermediate, then 5 sole junior with 3 senior B teams.
If there isn't at least one of those 5 sole junior clubs able to win the junior ahead of a senior B team, then they don't deserve to be playing Intermediaate!

My breakdown would be:

Senior: Clonguish, Killoe, Colmcille, Dromard, Abbeylara, Granard, Slashers and Mullinalaghta or Ardagh Moydow

Intermediate: Mullinalaghta or Ardagh Moydow, Carrickedmond, Rathcline, Connollys, Cashel, Ballymahon, Grattans and Mostrim

Junior: Fr. Manning Gaels, Killashee, Ballymore, Kenagh, Legan, Clonguish B, Killoe B and one other Senior B team."
I would probably prefer that model. It would mean two groups of four, so each team would have 3 group games, and to avoid almost everyone going thru to knockout, you need top 2 going thru to semi-finals just as you have in IFC today. So a team would have maximum 5 games in Championship if they reach the final, which is only 1 more than the old days of knockout football. That might get pushback. Maybe the whole thing is overengineered today, and a shorter c'ship with three group games, semi-finals and final might get it all played off by mid September and in better weather and might be just fine for everyone involved.

LongfordgaaAbú (Longford) - Posts: 692 - 20/08/2026 20:21:19    2690680

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Replying To Frank74:  "I've said for a long time it should be 3 championships with 8 teams.
I know a few have said 3 championships of 7 teams, but I think the uneven number would cause issues.
If you had 8 senior, 8 Intermediate, then 5 sole junior with 3 senior B teams.
If there isn't at least one of those 5 sole junior clubs able to win the junior ahead of a senior B team, then they don't deserve to be playing Intermediaate!

My breakdown would be:

Senior: Clonguish, Killoe, Colmcille, Dromard, Abbeylara, Granard, Slashers and Mullinalaghta or Ardagh Moydow

Intermediate: Mullinalaghta or Ardagh Moydow, Carrickedmond, Rathcline, Connollys, Cashel, Ballymahon, Grattans and Mostrim

Junior: Fr. Manning Gaels, Killashee, Ballymore, Kenagh, Legan, Clonguish B, Killoe B and one other Senior B team."
Largely agree here Frank except I would leave the junior at 5 teams. Each team play each other once with the top team straight to the final and 2 versus 3 in a semi final. All club second/third teams need to be kept in a separate reserve championship and league (similar to Cavan) to avoid the farcical scenes of this year's Division 2 happening again, which they will.

liosbreac6265 (Longford) - Posts: 298 - 21/08/2026 09:27:10    2690708

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Replying To LongfordgaaAbú:  "I would probably prefer that model. It would mean two groups of four, so each team would have 3 group games, and to avoid almost everyone going thru to knockout, you need top 2 going thru to semi-finals just as you have in IFC today. So a team would have maximum 5 games in Championship if they reach the final, which is only 1 more than the old days of knockout football. That might get pushback. Maybe the whole thing is overengineered today, and a shorter c'ship with three group games, semi-finals and final might get it all played off by mid September and in better weather and might be just fine for everyone involved."
I agree, 2 groups of four with yes just top two making QF. Bottom 2 in each group playing off for Relegation.
While there maybe less matches, there will be better quality and bring crowds back as there would be something on the line every match.
In group phase, do what they do in some counties.
Round 1, Make a draw for it.
Round 2, Two winners from Round 1 play each other and two losers play each other*
Round 3, Remaining fixtures.
*If one match ends in a draw in Round 1, then complete a draw for Rounds 2 & 3.
That way there are unlikely to be dead rubber matches in Round 3.

What we need is better quality matches which will boost attendances, increase entertainment and of course produce a better quality player for the county team.

It will also mean that our teams particularly the Intermediate and Junior champions been able to compete in Leinster which is not the case now.

B&G (Longford) - Posts: 441 - 21/08/2026 09:52:34    2690713

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For senior if it is going to be 10 then surely 2 x groups of 5, seeded groups based on previous years semi finalists, top team in each group straight to a semi final, 2 v 3 from each group in the quarter finals, team four doesn't progress or threaten with relegation while team 5 in each group play a relegation final with one another.

DelaneyCup2026 (Westmeath) - Posts: 32 - 22/08/2026 10:52:07    2690858

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Ardagh Moydow v Rathcline: Rathcline to win
Ardagh Moydow have given a seriously good account of themselves in their first three games and arguably should be safe from relegation, could have beaten Dromard and Abbeylara. Got a bit of a lesson from a seasoned Killoe team in round 4 but playing a weaker opposition here in Rathcline. Just hasn't happened for Rathcline this year and they are heading for the relegation play offs. The question is do they want to try and bring Ardagh Moydow into that battle or do they fancy themselves if they were to meet Mullinalaghta again. I think they will be looking to try and win this one as they might see Ardagh Moydow as an easier game in relegation than the men from The Laurels and I think they will do enough to win this weekend.
Dromard v Killoe: Killoe to win
Both teams have a chance here to top the group so neither will be holding back. Killoe seem to have nearly everyone back now and I think are starting to come good at the right time. Dromard will be no pushover though and could mathematically still end up in the relegation series if they lose and other results go against them. Killoe to win narrowly.
Mullinalaghta v Abbeylara: Abbeylara to win
Local derby and games like this take on a life of their own. Seen Mullinalaghta twice this year and it was actually the two games they lost. They didn't impress me at all and I think a good year for them will be if they get to a quarter final and avoid the relegation series. Also looks like Mackey and James McGivney will be unavailable. Mullinalaghta dont have the depth to deal with such losses and I think Abbeylara will win this to secure 1st place. Seen Abbey against Killoe and I was quite impressed with them. They are the only team unbeaten in this group.
Longford Slashers v Granard: Granard to win
A win here guarantees Granard at least second place and I think they will get over the line in this one. Slashers had a good start to the championship and I thought they might push on but they are a long way off the top teams. Granard have a good young side and I think they could get to a semi final.
Clonguish v Colmcille: Clonguish to win
Clonguish could be caught for top spot here if they don't win, although I think it is unlikely. Clonguish have been really impressive so far and have been the most impressive team I have seen so far. Having said that, they seem to always fly the group and then the knockout games are where they trip up. Clonguish have scored heavily and averaged 23 points a game so far, while only conceding an average of 14 points. Colmcille earned their wins over Carrickedmond and Slashers and got nothing easy. Clonguish by my reckoning have only used 21 or 22 players in their three games and I wouldn't expect many changes to their team for this game as their junior team are going well and have a serious chance of winning their championship.

BadgerDog (Westmeath) - Posts: 32 - 25/08/2026 16:10:16    2691271

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