The exodus has started I see, and Donegal the worst hit county with 40 players heading stateside !!

The only people to blame are the Donegal County board , these lads can all head stateside for the summer and prob still not miss a championship game , cause they dont play summer football in Donegal anymore !!!

Every club gets hit with this in every county but Donegal are worst affected, but could you honeslty blame player going especially when they have no championship football to look forward to.

HurlerOnTheFenc (Mayo) - Posts: 282 - 06/06/2014 12:05:32    1598989

How could you train for 9 months of the year and then your meaningful mathces are squeezed into a month. the GAA dont have a clue how to organise regular games. The games are brilliant but the organizers want the games to be very short and sweet.
The boys goin to the states are dead right. better looing women. good work, better weather and great craic for a young fella. half them might never come back

Fishermantom (Limerick) - Posts: 569 - 06/06/2014 12:20:14    1598996

Would most of these lads not be in College and are off on the J1 for the summer? If so, more power to them. Hell of a summer over there. Most of them probably can't get summer work here anymore anyway.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11230 - 06/06/2014 12:40:44    1599005

Ye you can't blame young people for heading to America for the summer, it's something I regret not doing when I was a student and had absolutely no responsibilities. The hills of Donegal are beautiful no doubt but a summer in America ain't bad either.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 06/06/2014 12:47:36    1599009

Ours was thinking of heading over for 3 months for the better climate and to get away from the marching season. In the end the PP promised to reduce it by at least 5 minutes of a Saturday evening/Sunday morning and add in a bit more sitting. Was enough to persuade it to stay this year but think we will be faced with the same problem next sumnmer.

Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 4058 - 06/06/2014 12:54:48    1599013

Anyone seriously expecting a young lad to stay here for the summer to play club football is off their rocker.

Good luck to anyone who does go, I hope more go infact, this is a problem for the GAA to look at and solve and it will only come to a head when clubs pull out of county championships etc over it which seems to be the way it is going.

GetOverTheBar (Tyrone) - Posts: 1388 - 06/06/2014 12:57:44    1599016

I seen the list of sanctions in the yesterday's paper and the majority of these lads are young lads heading on J1 and I wouldn't blame them. It's one of the best experiences of your life that I would encourage any young lad to do if they have the chance. For years I didn't do it because of football commitments and after I went I regretted not doing it years earlier. It also gives them a chance to make a few pound that they wouldn't be able to do if they stayed in Donegal for the summer

HandballRef (Donegal) - Posts: 520 - 06/06/2014 13:23:33    1599033

06/06/2014 12:05:32
HurlerOnTheFenc
County: Mayo
Posts: 184

The only people to blame are the Donegal County board , these lads can all head stateside for the summer and prob still not miss a championship game , cause they dont play summer football in Donegal anymore !!!

Let's not let facts get in the way of a rant!!

Of course there is football in Donegal over the summer with league games every Sunday & the only way there won't be championship football by September is if Donegal reach the AI final which is unlikely.
More power to them for heading away for a couple of months over the summer, it's what being young is all about!!

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 06/06/2014 13:40:10    1599042

"Students head to the US on J1 Visa" - Shock horror!

Fair play to them, I had the time of my life there!

The only ones who will ever complain about students are the ones who are jealous they have never had the craic of being one!

Regards,

Snufalufagus....Laochra Gael

Snufalufagus (Dublin) - Posts: 8100 - 06/06/2014 13:46:17    1599046

Its across the board , one club I know of in Dublin lost 7 players last week to the states , not aware if it was to play or just summer work for college lads ,
At a certain age its a fact that kids are going to get itchy feet , but decisions are made so much easier by the shortsightedness of county boards .

Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 06/06/2014 14:10:31    1599060

best of luck to all lads going over for the summer.
great way to get a bit of life education (if example go to new york and can actually see new york beside yonkers)
if its like kerry the players will only miss 2/3 county league games at home

woops (Kerry) - Posts: 2073 - 06/06/2014 14:24:06    1599072

hey guys dont get me wrong , fair play to them they are young , its part of life !! thats what im saying who could blame them , especially the way they are treated when it comes to championship football in some counties, its happening here in Mayo also

HurlerOnTheFenc (Mayo) - Posts: 282 - 06/06/2014 14:40:01    1599085

HurlerOnTheFenc
County: Mayo
Posts: 185

1598989
The exodus has started I see, and Donegal the worst hit county with 40 players heading stateside !!

The only people to blame are the Donegal County board , these lads can all head stateside for the summer and prob still not miss a championship game , cause they dont play summer football in Donegal anymore !!!

Every club gets hit with this in every county but Donegal are worst affected, but could you honeslty blame player going especially when they have no championship football to look forward to.

Compared to many other years it is no different this year. Donegal has a huge tradition of emigration. Going away on a J1 hardly constitutes the end of the world. I would also say not to play favorites with your facts. If you look at many other counties, they are facing the same club problem as is in donegal at the moment. I think that you are just looking to start a thread to amuse yourself to be honest.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 06/06/2014 15:25:56    1599121

Can I tell you something boys , I'm going back around 1970 and about 20 of us from the same part met in a pub in Birmingham and none of us were over 21. Now we were not on a visa or summer holiday work, no most of us were gone forever.
But don't blame the Donegal county board , in my view they were right to suspend the Co championship. Look what has happened in Tyrone ( C Clarke) and Monaghan( c McManus) On thr bright side I can see them all arriving into Dublin Airport the Friday before the All Ireland.

SamOnErrigal (Donegal) - Posts: 1427 - 06/06/2014 15:48:15    1599132

Hurler - yes the Donegal County Board are to blame for centuries of emigration to our people. In fact , Jim McGuinness should bare bare the brunt for decades of economic wilderness in the northwest. Good look to the lads !

TheRightStuff (Donegal) - Posts: 1688 - 06/06/2014 16:46:42    1599175

Part of life, growing up, moving on. Why we worry so much about the ones going! They are sorted, its the ones left behind. And similarly with coaches moaning about losing players, well just find younger ones and jUST get on with it.

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4896 - 06/06/2014 17:18:35    1599190

Every young person, if afforded the opportunity, should travel. I never had a full time job on these shores until I was 25 mainly due to education and travel. When you get settled into the routine of work and family commitments come along time passes by and opportunities are fewer. As such more power to these young people.

Naysayer (Antrim) - Posts: 2071 - 06/06/2014 17:57:29    1599212

New York for the Summer? God be with the days!!

Miler (Mayo) - Posts: 1015 - 06/06/2014 18:32:12    1599220

The exodus has started I see, and Donegal the worst hit county with 40 players heading stateside !!

The only people to blame are the Donegal County board , these lads can all head stateside for the summer and prob still not miss a championship game , cause they dont play summer football in Donegal anymore !!!

Every club gets hit with this in every county but Donegal are worst affected, but could you honeslty blame player going especially when they have no championship football to look forward to.

Any little excuse to have a go at Donegal and the Mayo boys are straight in. We might listen to your advice when you win something.

HEREBENJI (Donegal) - Posts: 421 - 06/06/2014 19:43:01    1599262

herbie read all posts again and take that chip off your shoulder.

Miler (Mayo) - Posts: 1015 - 07/06/2014 19:08:00    1599512