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Donegal GAA thread

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Replying To Tyrion:  "Can the county board not organise someone to do the coverage for a charge. Can then stream it world wide. Or is there a ruling from headquarters that theyv the say who gets it."
Headquarters control everything...

Scenicparish (Donegal) - Posts: 1004 - 07/06/2026 16:11:18    2678528

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "I wonder did Ticketmaster do their usual act and only make river and town terrace tickets available at first?

Those were the only options I could see when I logged in shortly after 12 yesterday. When I selected 1 adult and 2 juvenile tickets and clicked Check Out, I was told that the tickets were no longer available.

I'll just have to hope another batch of tickets magically become available over the coming days, and be ready to pounce when they do.

Releasing tickets through the club is a fairer system than Ticketmaster in my opinion."
They must have done, because It was around 13:15 when I managed to get logged in (Busy at work) and I was able to order 4 Adult and 3 juvenile season tickets on my account for the Stand.

It did note that there was no designated seating, which was unusual for Championship, but Kerry game was the same, so must be a change of approach by GAA in regional games.

I'm not a fan of TicketMstr to be honest.

Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1879 - 08/06/2026 08:14:26    2678604

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well done to the Minor footballers at the weekend. I thought it was shaping up to be a final with ourselves, rectify the 12 point lead we threw away in convoy but alas it was not meant to be.

farneygael3 (Monaghan) - Posts: 697 - 08/06/2026 14:49:33    2678693

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Now the witch hunt has settled a bit on the McGuinness situation you can see the double standards.

One of the main arguments on the McGuinness issue was regardless of the severity of the physical intervention it had to be dealt with, one of the top managers can't be seen to get away with that or it will filter down through the organisation.

Ben O'Connor comes out and gives an unsporting interview, belittling the officiating, humiliating the ref and suggesting the way forward is to 'throw shapes' and 'make more noise'
Surely promoting unsporting behaviour and referee bashing is not something you want to see a top manager do either, for the same reason, so it doesn't filter down. Apparently though O'Connor is 'box office'.

I know there quite different situations but can you imagine the slating McGuiness would get if he came out after a 1 point defeat to Armagh or Kerry and gave an interview like that.
One thing I'd be pretty sure of is James Owens has had a worse week and a bigger impact on him on the back of Ben O'Connors interview than Diarmuid O'Connor did on the back of McGuinness actions.

JimB1991 (Donegal) - Posts: 194 - 09/06/2026 23:36:23    2678792

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Managed to get sorted with tickets in the end thankfully so I'll stop my whinging about that!
Looking forward to the weekend now. The weather looks like it should be ok for a change!
It is a fantastic opportunity to reach the quarter finals. Cork must not be underestimated - but with home advantage and the great performance against Kerry behind them, I'm condident we can get the job done.

As usual there is very little news coming from the camp. It could be a very exciting few weeks ahead but we'll take it one game at a time.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 10370 - 10/06/2026 10:33:03    2678826

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Replying To JimB1991:  "Now the witch hunt has settled a bit on the McGuinness situation you can see the double standards.

One of the main arguments on the McGuinness issue was regardless of the severity of the physical intervention it had to be dealt with, one of the top managers can't be seen to get away with that or it will filter down through the organisation.

Ben O'Connor comes out and gives an unsporting interview, belittling the officiating, humiliating the ref and suggesting the way forward is to 'throw shapes' and 'make more noise'
Surely promoting unsporting behaviour and referee bashing is not something you want to see a top manager do either, for the same reason, so it doesn't filter down. Apparently though O'Connor is 'box office'.

I know there quite different situations but can you imagine the slating McGuiness would get if he came out after a 1 point defeat to Armagh or Kerry and gave an interview like that.
One thing I'd be pretty sure of is James Owens has had a worse week and a bigger impact on him on the back of Ben O'Connors interview than Diarmuid O'Connor did on the back of McGuinness actions."
Here is dozy Clare from the Mayo blog. You had to get a Mayo bit in!!! Diarmuid O'Connor is a Mayo player, now Jack O'Connor is 5 time winning Kerry manager.

Ulsterchamps72 (Donegal) - Posts: 218 - 10/06/2026 11:32:34    2678849

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Replying To Ulsterchamps72:  "Here is dozy Clare from the Mayo blog. You had to get a Mayo bit in!!! Diarmuid O'Connor is a Mayo player, now Jack O'Connor is 5 time winning Kerry manager."
I believe the Diarmuid O'Connor he refers to is a Kerry midfielder who Jim McGuinness exchanged pleasantries with in Killarney at half time

greenfan (Donegal) - Posts: 775 - 10/06/2026 13:30:39    2678861

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Very poor form that the All Ireland Minor final is scheduled for 7:30 in Armagh this Saturday, doesn't give many people a chance to go and support both teams. Not often we get to underage All Ireland Finals, they deserve our support.

dgcrusader (Donegal) - Posts: 174 - 10/06/2026 15:57:14    2678881

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Replying To dgcrusader:  "Very poor form that the All Ireland Minor final is scheduled for 7:30 in Armagh this Saturday, doesn't give many people a chance to go and support both teams. Not often we get to underage All Ireland Finals, they deserve our support."
Its another example of how minor football seems to have been pushed into the background in recent years. We used to have minor games played before senior games, giving minors a chance to play in front of decent crowds, a reward for all their efforts.

greenfan (Donegal) - Posts: 775 - 11/06/2026 12:16:47    2678975

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Had a look at the Mc Cumhaill park pitch there on social media... definitely looks rough compared to O Donnell park

LKGael (Donegal) - Posts: 241 - 12/06/2026 09:16:53    2679074

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I am really looking forward to the game this weekend, hopefully the weather will improve. I was impressed with Cork in their win against Meath, it was a real quality game, some great scores from both sides. Their two inside forwards Steven Sherlock and Chris Og Jones are real top quality. It's an awful journey for the Cork supporters and not on TV either. O'Callaghan will be a big miss for them.

It will be interesting to see what team Jim starts with, probably not stray too much for the last day. Is there a chance that Ciaran Thompson will be available?

Green_Gold (Donegal) - Posts: 1945 - 12/06/2026 09:30:01    2679076

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Replying To LKGael:  "Had a look at the Mc Cumhaill park pitch there on social media... definitely looks rough compared to O Donnell park"
The problem with O'Donnell Park is that the results look rough.

themaddog (Wicklow) - Posts: 188 - 12/06/2026 11:13:15    2679098

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Replying To greenfan:  "Its another example of how minor football seems to have been pushed into the background in recent years. We used to have minor games played before senior games, giving minors a chance to play in front of decent crowds, a reward for all their efforts."
Minor football is not been pushed into the background. It has a very prominent position. In the old days if you played the first game and lost, that was it. Your year was over. Every province has a round robin which guarantees loads of games, and then you have B and C competitions (which are a load of nonsense) I think . Donegal Minor's played a load of football this year.
A lot of people are very staunch that because the games were played at a certain time for years then that's the way it should continue. That's based solely on their own attitudes, nothing to do with the betterment of football. The auld GAA fans can have very stubborn views . Best of luck tomorrow evening and again on Sunday

eoinog (Sligo) - Posts: 2474 - 12/06/2026 11:28:26    2679102

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Replying To LKGael:  "Had a look at the Mc Cumhaill park pitch there on social media... definitely looks rough compared to O Donnell park"
it's not rough at all, it looks like every new pitch looks, where the grass directly above the drains is a slightly different colour to the grass between them.

greenfan (Donegal) - Posts: 775 - 12/06/2026 11:40:02    2679104

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Replying To eoinog:  "Minor football is not been pushed into the background. It has a very prominent position. In the old days if you played the first game and lost, that was it. Your year was over. Every province has a round robin which guarantees loads of games, and then you have B and C competitions (which are a load of nonsense) I think . Donegal Minor's played a load of football this year.
A lot of people are very staunch that because the games were played at a certain time for years then that's the way it should continue. That's based solely on their own attitudes, nothing to do with the betterment of football. The auld GAA fans can have very stubborn views . Best of luck tomorrow evening and again on Sunday"
I think there's room to retain certain elements of the new system, and keep traditionalists happy.
I know the calendar can be tight, but would it even be a possibility that we could play the provincial minor finals before the senior deciders? Play the group stages as they are, but reward the minor players with a big day out on provincial final day?

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 10370 - 12/06/2026 11:49:13    2679107

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "I think there's room to retain certain elements of the new system, and keep traditionalists happy.
I know the calendar can be tight, but would it even be a possibility that we could play the provincial minor finals before the senior deciders? Play the group stages as they are, but reward the minor players with a big day out on provincial final day?"
Yep , That's one idea that could do with a bit more research. The one disadvantage I see straight away is that if you had an Ulster final between Donegal and Armagh for example it would pack Clones. Now throw in a minor game between Derry and Tyrone beforehand and then you have people complaining because they can't get tickets.
A stand alone game for the All Ireland final still doesn't sit well with me. Maybe there's a little bit of a traditionalist in me as well.

eoinog (Sligo) - Posts: 2474 - 12/06/2026 12:04:21    2679113

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "I think there's room to retain certain elements of the new system, and keep traditionalists happy.
I know the calendar can be tight, but would it even be a possibility that we could play the provincial minor finals before the senior deciders? Play the group stages as they are, but reward the minor players with a big day out on provincial final day?"
This second-tier competition has only been around for a few years, so this wouldn't even have been a discussion in the past. And that's the point the previous poster was making. The new format is providing plenty of development opportunities for young players, which is a positive.

It's not ideal, but if the game was moved to Sunday then Louth would end up in the same situation Donegal are facing. Armagh certainly isn't equidistant, so given that they chose Saturday, could Omagh not have been an option? Although I suppose Tyrone may not have wanted the venue used before their match with Mayo.

Looking at the results so far, Louth will probably go in as favourites, but minor football can be a funny game. Best of luck to the young lads.

Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 1013 - 12/06/2026 13:05:38    2679129

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "I think there's room to retain certain elements of the new system, and keep traditionalists happy.
I know the calendar can be tight, but would it even be a possibility that we could play the provincial minor finals before the senior deciders? Play the group stages as they are, but reward the minor players with a big day out on provincial final day?"
I agree with this for Ulster final.

However I wouldn't be in favour of minors playing before an All Ireland Final, for ticketing alone. If there is 2 teams in the Senior final both teams get approx. 25k tickets

If there was 2 different minor teams in the final then they would need approx. 7k tickets each thereby reducing the amount of tickets for the senior teams from 25k down to 18k.

Figures are just approximate as an example but we all saw how hard tickets were to get last year (unless you were with Naomh Padraig Uisce Chaoin), and if you add in 2 more teams then tickets will be even harder to get for the 2 senior teams playing.

dats_rite (Australia) - Posts: 21 - 12/06/2026 13:57:49    2679136

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