What will happen with div4?

After reading an independent article where they report that four players from each of the div4 clubs have met the GPA to voice concerns at radical league changes that will see their games and intercounty involvement in general changed.

I have to say the proposals im seeing from croker about cutting down the games they play i would not agree with, i agree with regional leagues and so on but not cutting the intercounty games, i genuinely believe in amalgamated intercounty teams. But who are we in antrim, or they in tipp, kk or cork to decide what should happen in leitrim hurling? What can be done what do these countys want to happen?

I think anyway, the idea of summer long regional leagues, donegal/sligo/leitrim league, fermanagh/tyrone/cavan/longford league, but this wont solve the fact that only two clubs exist in longford and fermanagh? Or that only 6/7 exist in tyrone and so on.

I would like to see a report back from the GAA development officers in the counties what have they done to create new clubs? for example, in fermanagh there are around 20 football clubs, two senior hurling and one more at juvenile hurling, if we were to create a further two clubs in the next ten years by promotion and coaching in fermanagh by our paid employees! IE in kinawley on a saturday morning and enniskillen gaels on a sunday morning, in the schools two days a week promoting these new clubs etc, this would see a new club surely.

Two year ago i rejuvenated a camogie club in belfast, one i was told was dead wood, i seen a big area, under age football for girls and boys, this year they entered an u12 camogie team first time in 6 years, a great feat they also have an u16 team this will cement them as a club for the next 20 years probably and so long as the work a juvenile and primary school initiatives continue they will continue for years to come, i have seen and been involved in the same with pearses gac rejuvenation of hurling, which now feilds teams at u10,12,14 and 16, going from not feilding a hurling team in 15 years only 6 years ago, this is some going.

This is what our paid officials should be doing, along with recruiting volunteers, from the football side of things to help out and get trained as hurling coaches, i know in fermanagh for example, the two senior hurling clubs have representatives from around 5 different football clubs, so these people are your starting block.

What are these paid people doing? This is simplistic stuff, maybe its not the traditional game but they have to sell them still, i dont think creating a hurling club or two in fermanagh or any of the other counties could be that hard, especially as in the 1980s fermangh had two divisions of senior hurling, these teams have now fallen by the wayside due to neglect of hurling.

I think its do able and this is the way to do it, we still need their senior teams to be playing games, the way i would see that is that we create a junior and junior b all ireland at county level, starting with group stages in march taking a break in may and june, finishing up with quarter finals in july august, with the finals on together with the u21 hurling final in one of the major stadiums. The difference would be instead of simply playing each other week in week out, they would be up along with the juniors of KK, Tipp, Antrim etc the more traditional hurling counties. Only an idea but i think we need to look at the problem as a whole rather than something that can be solved purely by changing leagues or creating new underage hurling teams.

ANy thoughts? especially those from these counties? Also anyone in these counties know what is actually being done to promote hurling by the paid development officers?

On a slightly unrelated topic I always thought Nickey Brennan's decision to move the Ring/Rachard cup finals was an awful smack in the face for the counties involved and undid a lot of the good work done by Sean Kelly in this regard....There seems to be little effort from the likes of Cooney and Brennan before him to do much for those outside of the big counties

I saw a picture of the bould Nicky slopping out the dressing rooms before the Kilkenny footballers game last weekend!

Jayo Cluxton wrote:I saw a picture of the bould Nicky slopping out the dressing rooms before the Kilkenny footballers game last weekend!

Nickey with an E, Jayo....Just like future All Star Nickey O'Connell spells it....

The Puke wrote:

Jayo Cluxton wrote:I saw a picture of the bould Nicky slopping out the dressing rooms before the Kilkenny footballers game last weekend!

Nickey with an E, Jayo....Just like future All Star Nickey O'Connell spells it....

Sorry P - I was talking about Nicky Byrne from Westlife .....

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

The Puke wrote:

Jayo Cluxton wrote:I saw a picture of the bould Nicky slopping out the dressing rooms before the Kilkenny footballers game last weekend!

Nickey with an E, Jayo....Just like future All Star Nickey O'Connell spells it....

Sorry P - I was talking about Nicky Byrne from Westlife .....

He must be slumming it for a TV3 reality tv show

The Puke wrote:He must be slumming it for a TV3 reality tv show

Nah .... it was really Nickeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!

The Puke wrote:On a slightly unrelated topic I always thought Nickey Brennan's decision to move the Ring/Rachard cup finals was an awful smack in the face for the counties involved and undid a lot of the good work done by Sean Kelly in this regard....There seems to be little effort from the likes of Cooney and Brennan before him to do much for those outside of the big counties

Very true puke, i thought sean kelly done more for hurling than any other president in the last 126 years, wonder what the next one will do.

North Side Gael wrote:

The Puke wrote:On a slightly unrelated topic I always thought Nickey Brennan's decision to move the Ring/Rachard cup finals was an awful smack in the face for the counties involved and undid a lot of the good work done by Sean Kelly in this regard....There seems to be little effort from the likes of Cooney and Brennan before him to do much for those outside of the big counties

Very true puke, i thought sean kelly done more for hurling than any other president in the last 126 years, wonder what the next one will do.

Sean Kelly was a very progressive administrator, and a gentleman to boot...Have had the pleasure to have met him on more than one occasion and is very much an alright sort....

Thought the chapter in his book about the Colin Lynch affair summed up the man

Colin Lynch? Who had to resort to thuggery because he couldn't hurl? a scumbag.

Good footballer mind you.

The Puke wrote:[
Sean Kelly was a very progressive administrator, and a gentleman to boot...Have had the pleasure to have met him on more than one occasion and is very much an alright sort....Thought the chapter in his book about the Colin Lynch affair summed up the man

A noble turn of phrase.....His alright sortedness was never in doubt......

Met him many times - lovely man - and unlike many of that era and stature, vry progressive ....

Tyrone hurlers won division 4 - a second week of success for the hurlers after the minors won the Ulster Minor Hurling League 2 final last weekend. well done to all concerned good to see the small ball making some further progress in the county

I see Cavan have pulled out of the championship, shame to see but given the lack of numbers it must be tough.....

Amalgamations in theory could be a decent idea but that is in theory, given that they would be relying on a relatively small number it is hard to see county boards setting aside money for it and given it can be hard enough to get lads to commit now further travel for training is hardly going help, not to mention it could well be a logictical nightmare.....no disrespect to the smaller sides but even if they were amalgamated it is hard to see them getting to a standard where they would be able to compete even with the likes of Antrim, Down, Laois, Carlow etc....

It is not a problem with a quick solution and even with the best frameworks and money being thrown at it would probably take a couple of generations before any real benefit of it would be derived.....Fact of the matter is that Football is the dominant sport in most of Ireland and if a young lad of 16 from Louth/Cavan/Donegal wherever is proficient at both codes he is nearly always going to choose dominant/more successful one....Same way a young lad in the same position is Clare, Tipp, Limerick, Waterford will opt for the hurlers....