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Donegal GAA thread

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Fair enough, a good response. My fear would be though that once the door is opened a trickle could become a flood.
I don't know if you heard Dan Shanahan's recent interview. He won a junior B hurling title with his club in Waterford and he was as proud as punch. I think this elitist attitude goes against what the GAA originally stands for. Maybe I'm being old-fashioned but I just think transfers to other clubs, especially within a county should really be the exception rather than the rule.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9510 - 02/09/2024 16:28:58    2568070

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Replying To peiledoir20:  "Lad, I'd stop there if I were you.

You're comparing apples and oranges. Just leave it."
A bit like your 'be the bigger club' comparison so.

Al_Maguire (Donegal) - Posts: 257 - 02/09/2024 17:25:22    2568087

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Burt will now be playing the Down champions in the Ulster club senior on account of Setanta winning the intermediate last year. More than likely to be Portaferry. Serious test for a Donegal club.

Rolo2010 (Donegal) - Posts: 740 - 02/09/2024 17:25:39    2568089

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I see the Abbey VS are entered into the MacRory Cup this year, that's quite the achievement and it will be interesting to see if they can be competitive.

ThroughTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 41 - 03/09/2024 22:03:28    2568321

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Replying To Commodore:  "I don't agree that my argument goes against the very ethos of the GAA,

Look I'm not against parochial club system, It is very special if a player can go win a Senior Club title or All Ireland title with his home parish club. I do think players should be free to move if they want to move, they shouldn't be held against their will.

Like I know clubs where maybe 3 or 4 families dominate the running of the club, they dominate the committees and even the coaching roles and quite often alienate good intelligent capable people/players who in more unbiased circumstances would make a club stronger. As a result they lose connection with the club, become estranged and disillusioned, yet for players in that boat, they are basically trapped by the "ethos of the GAA" and that is what I don't like.

People should be free to move, The majority will not want to uproot and move, and if they do, questions need to be asked of the club they are leaving."
In an ideal world you may be correct, but in the real world there aren't all the willing volunteers it takes to make sure that a few families/people don't monopolise clubs. Sometimes those few people are the reason the club may still be in existence.
I'm not saying that's the best way but if those types of people weren't involved then we might only have half the clubs we currently have in the county.

The club allegiance came into my mind yesterday when I read the piece in Donegal live from the Sean Mac Cumhaills u16 manager. Mac Cumhaills had a panel of 36 and fair play to them but given that the two secondary schools that serve the Finn Valley are based in Stranorlar it means that loads of good young footballers are being drawn to the twin towns. If they are good footballers they will be sought by the stronger club and If you follow your logic they will move and in all likelihood some of their mates will also move which will rob their home clubs of badly needed players and it will increase the Mac Cumhaills panel by a lot of players.

Don't say it's about keeping young lads playing GAA, this isn't helping all young lads get football it only helps the better players who can make the top grade while the lesser players in Mac Cumhaills go further down the pecking order and the smaller clubs find it really difficult to field.

This would also be the case for Letterkenny and all the towns where the secondary schools are based

If players can move wherever they want it will end up like the Donegal league with incentives being offered for players to move wherever they want to the highest bidder with no loyalty to the clubs and coaches who have put so much time and effort to develope them as footballers.

As an organisation we already have other sports to compete against so we don't need to have to compete from within our own ranks.

Whateveryourhavingyourself (Donegal) - Posts: 56 - 03/09/2024 23:07:18    2568330

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I see Pettigo aren't fielding this weekend against Convoy in the Junior A, up as postponed on the website. Robert Emmets done similar a few weeks ago. What's people's thoughts on this? Are they just going to pick and choose who they want to play in the Junior A in the future or drop back down to the reserve championship to try and win an easier championship? Team's like that will never get any better if they don't want to play the bigger team's in the Junior A.

dgcrusader (Donegal) - Posts: 42 - 04/09/2024 11:52:41    2568385

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Replying To Whateveryourhavingyourself:  "In an ideal world you may be correct, but in the real world there aren't all the willing volunteers it takes to make sure that a few families/people don't monopolise clubs. Sometimes those few people are the reason the club may still be in existence.
I'm not saying that's the best way but if those types of people weren't involved then we might only have half the clubs we currently have in the county.

The club allegiance came into my mind yesterday when I read the piece in Donegal live from the Sean Mac Cumhaills u16 manager. Mac Cumhaills had a panel of 36 and fair play to them but given that the two secondary schools that serve the Finn Valley are based in Stranorlar it means that loads of good young footballers are being drawn to the twin towns. If they are good footballers they will be sought by the stronger club and If you follow your logic they will move and in all likelihood some of their mates will also move which will rob their home clubs of badly needed players and it will increase the Mac Cumhaills panel by a lot of players.

Don't say it's about keeping young lads playing GAA, this isn't helping all young lads get football it only helps the better players who can make the top grade while the lesser players in Mac Cumhaills go further down the pecking order and the smaller clubs find it really difficult to field.

This would also be the case for Letterkenny and all the towns where the secondary schools are based

If players can move wherever they want it will end up like the Donegal league with incentives being offered for players to move wherever they want to the highest bidder with no loyalty to the clubs and coaches who have put so much time and effort to develope them as footballers.

As an organisation we already have other sports to compete against so we don't need to have to compete from within our own ranks."
I don't agree about the school location having an impact, as most MacCumhaill players are all located and from the Ballybofey/Stranorlar area. Glenfin and Red Hughes (Killygordon) are only 4-5 miles outside the Twin Towns, and I only recall one player from Red Hughers back in the 2000's transferring to MacCumhaills, I don't recall players from further afield who attended either St Columbas or Finn Valley College (Formerly SVS).

Urban relocation is probably a bigger factor, families moving into Ballybofey, Letterkenny or Buncrana from smaller villages due to the lack of housing in the rural areas. Look at Letterkenny, huge population of ~20,000 and only two GAA clubs. I'm sure GAA membership could be significantly bigger than what it currently is in Letterkenny if the town had more clubs.

There are safeguards that could be put in place around transfer to protect rural smaller clubs, such as limitations on the number of players who can transfer each year. But I think there should be some flexibility allowed for Elite athletes who want to play at a higher level.

Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1193 - 04/09/2024 12:10:13    2568388

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Replying To dgcrusader:  "I see Pettigo aren't fielding this weekend against Convoy in the Junior A, up as postponed on the website. Robert Emmets done similar a few weeks ago. What's people's thoughts on this? Are they just going to pick and choose who they want to play in the Junior A in the future or drop back down to the reserve championship to try and win an easier championship? Team's like that will never get any better if they don't want to play the bigger team's in the Junior A."
A cop out from both clubs and hard on Convoy as they have no game for the 2nd time. Although they would probably get a harder game against their own reserve team than they would of the pick of Pettigo and Emmets.

I their respective finals last year Pettigo had a squad of 25 and Emmets had a squad of 26. But they can't field 15 just a year later? And yet both these clubs wonder why they are going no where.

peiledoir20 (Donegal) - Posts: 1003 - 04/09/2024 13:13:32    2568401

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Replying To peiledoir20:  "A cop out from both clubs and hard on Convoy as they have no game for the 2nd time. Although they would probably get a harder game against their own reserve team than they would of the pick of Pettigo and Emmets.

I their respective finals last year Pettigo had a squad of 25 and Emmets had a squad of 26. But they can't field 15 just a year later? And yet both these clubs wonder why they are going no where."
Probably better that Convoy A and Convoy B play with each other then, superpower that they are. It'll be interesting to see how they get on against neither Muff or Carndonagh if they meet them.

Whateveryourhavingyourself (Donegal) - Posts: 56 - 04/09/2024 22:23:24    2568495

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Replying To dgcrusader:  "I see Pettigo aren't fielding this weekend against Convoy in the Junior A, up as postponed on the website. Robert Emmets done similar a few weeks ago. What's people's thoughts on this? Are they just going to pick and choose who they want to play in the Junior A in the future or drop back down to the reserve championship to try and win an easier championship? Team's like that will never get any better if they don't want to play the bigger team's in the Junior A."
Teams like that???.
We have to accept that not all teams are at the same standard or next or near equal standard so it's not unreasonable for those teams to lose interest in a competition that they have no chance of winning. My own club and Lifford are in the same boat.

Getting hammered every game doesn't help "teams like that".

If we only offer the answer of,
keep playing the strong teams and get hammered and that'll make you improve but if you don't field to get hammered then that's not fair to the bigger clubs
We aren't acknowledging the problem or looking for an answer.

Whateveryourhavingyourself (Donegal) - Posts: 56 - 04/09/2024 22:53:03    2568498

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Replying To Whateveryourhavingyourself:  "Probably better that Convoy A and Convoy B play with each other then, superpower that they are. It'll be interesting to see how they get on against neither Muff or Carndonagh if they meet them."
They're far from a superpower but at least they have the liathroidi to field in a derby championship game.

peiledoir20 (Donegal) - Posts: 1003 - 05/09/2024 08:17:18    2568517

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Replying To peiledoir20:  "A cop out from both clubs and hard on Convoy as they have no game for the 2nd time. Although they would probably get a harder game against their own reserve team than they would of the pick of Pettigo and Emmets.

I their respective finals last year Pettigo had a squad of 25 and Emmets had a squad of 26. But they can't field 15 just a year later? And yet both these clubs wonder why they are going no where."
Such a disrespectful post. Clubs like pettigo and emmets are struggling to keep the clubs going. Emmets have to compete with soccer from now on and pettigo if there missing a few don't have the numbers. It's obvious that you dont understand the working of a small club.. have you ever any positive things to say.

rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2553 - 05/09/2024 08:25:45    2568519

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Replying To rorysboys:  "Such a disrespectful post. Clubs like pettigo and emmets are struggling to keep the clubs going. Emmets have to compete with soccer from now on and pettigo if there missing a few don't have the numbers. It's obvious that you dont understand the working of a small club.. have you ever any positive things to say."
Emmetts aren't the only club competing with soccer 'from now on' as you say. What about three weeks ago when they refused to field in a big local derby against Convoy? But with 'soccer to compete' with this weekend they will be able to field against Newtown. Where's the logic in that?

Nothing to do with soccer. As the original poster said these clubs are picking and choosing what games they play which ruins the overall integrity of the competition.

Cloughaneely hadn't a hope of beating Glenties in the opening round of the Senior Championship but still had the self respect to at least field and give it a go.

peiledoir20 (Donegal) - Posts: 1003 - 05/09/2024 10:20:07    2568532

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Replying To Whateveryourhavingyourself:  "Teams like that???.
We have to accept that not all teams are at the same standard or next or near equal standard so it's not unreasonable for those teams to lose interest in a competition that they have no chance of winning. My own club and Lifford are in the same boat.

Getting hammered every game doesn't help "teams like that".

If we only offer the answer of,
keep playing the strong teams and get hammered and that'll make you improve but if you don't field to get hammered then that's not fair to the bigger clubs
We aren't acknowledging the problem or looking for an answer."
Is an answer to this, and to the problem with reserve football, to increase the number of divisions, Div 1B becomes Div 4, 2B becomes Div 5, 3B becomes Div6 and the current Div4 for 3rd teams becomes Div7?
Allow teams to go up/down and find their level? It would ultimately result in more competitive games when it all settles down.
Increase the championships too, rather than Senior B,C and Intermediate B,C. Maybe these teams go to Junior B, C, D, E or however many is required. Again, creating more competitive games?

donegalgael-12 (Donegal) - Posts: 9 - 05/09/2024 11:00:18    2568540

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Replying To peiledoir20:  "They're far from a superpower but at least they have the liathroidi to field in a derby championship game."
I can understand your a convoy man and want the best for your club and that's fair enough. But you have said yourself your going to get a better game between your As & Bs rather than playing weak teams so you should be happy.

In fairness I haven't a clue why neither club fielded against you and I'm sure neither do you. One thing I'm certain of is it was for their own issues and nothing to do with your club as I'm sure your club doesn't mean that much to either Robert Emmets or Pettigo, and I don't think anyone could call Pettigo v Convoy as a derby.

My own club are scraping to field but that's our issue and the competition structures rather than anything to do with a certain opposition.

Liathroidi and Convoy players are best not mentioned in the one sentence otherwise it could be back to the legal eagles again like the last liathroidi issue.

Whateveryourhavingyourself (Donegal) - Posts: 56 - 05/09/2024 11:11:10    2568543

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Michael Langan now going to miss the SFC knockouts, massive blow for St. Michaels who would have fancied a cut off any team especially at the bridge. It seems that a lot of teams who have one or two big county men to bring them on have suffered pretty devastating injuries this championship, McGee, McCole and now Langan off the top of my head.

NPadraigAbu (Donegal) - Posts: 81 - 05/09/2024 11:13:56    2568546

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Replying To Whateveryourhavingyourself:  "I can understand your a convoy man and want the best for your club and that's fair enough. But you have said yourself your going to get a better game between your As & Bs rather than playing weak teams so you should be happy.

In fairness I haven't a clue why neither club fielded against you and I'm sure neither do you. One thing I'm certain of is it was for their own issues and nothing to do with your club as I'm sure your club doesn't mean that much to either Robert Emmets or Pettigo, and I don't think anyone could call Pettigo v Convoy as a derby.

My own club are scraping to field but that's our issue and the competition structures rather than anything to do with a certain opposition.

Liathroidi and Convoy players are best not mentioned in the one sentence otherwise it could be back to the legal eagles again like the last liathroidi issue."
Convoy aren't my club, shows what know. As for calling Convoy Pettigo a derby again that was you. The derby I mentioned was Convoy Emmets.

As you know there is plenty of soccer in Lifford too, but I would put good money on the they will field against Moville this weekend even though both teams are out of the championship and have nothing to play for. It won't be easy (and isn't for a lot of smaller clubs) but at least they'll do it and won't take the easy option.

peiledoir20 (Donegal) - Posts: 1003 - 05/09/2024 11:22:43    2568550

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Replying To Whateveryourhavingyourself:  "Probably better that Convoy A and Convoy B play with each other then, superpower that they are. It'll be interesting to see how they get on against neither Muff or Carndonagh if they meet them."
I didn't mean it in an ignorant way, just think they should be trying to compete with the bigger teams of the Junior A. It wasn't so long ago that the likes of yourselves and Emmetts were hammering Convoy in the Junior. Also don't think Convoy are up to much in both grades this year, their reserves only won one game in the Championship so far, they seemed to have lost a good few from previous teams. Seniors were very poor against Carn in the league final and that was without Conor O Donnell also. Can't look past Carn for the Junior A, think they are a good bit ahead of the rest. Next up Muff, Naomh Ultan and Convoy.

dgcrusader (Donegal) - Posts: 42 - 05/09/2024 11:29:43    2568553

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Replying To Whateveryourhavingyourself:  "I can understand your a convoy man and want the best for your club and that's fair enough. But you have said yourself your going to get a better game between your As & Bs rather than playing weak teams so you should be happy.

In fairness I haven't a clue why neither club fielded against you and I'm sure neither do you. One thing I'm certain of is it was for their own issues and nothing to do with your club as I'm sure your club doesn't mean that much to either Robert Emmets or Pettigo, and I don't think anyone could call Pettigo v Convoy as a derby.

My own club are scraping to field but that's our issue and the competition structures rather than anything to do with a certain opposition.

Liathroidi and Convoy players are best not mentioned in the one sentence otherwise it could be back to the legal eagles again like the last liathroidi issue."
No need for that last comment at all. Very spiteful comment, you're obviously a very bitter man, grow up a bit.

dgcrusader (Donegal) - Posts: 42 - 05/09/2024 11:33:51    2568554

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Replying To NPadraigAbu:  "Michael Langan now going to miss the SFC knockouts, massive blow for St. Michaels who would have fancied a cut off any team especially at the bridge. It seems that a lot of teams who have one or two big county men to bring them on have suffered pretty devastating injuries this championship, McGee, McCole and now Langan off the top of my head."
Massive loss you're spot on. Langan is off travelling to Thailand from what I've heard.

dgcrusader (Donegal) - Posts: 42 - 05/09/2024 11:34:41    2568555

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