No offence meant toward Antrim GAA team or supporters. Best of luck in their march forward to join with top teams. They are victims of same repressive administration as the rest of GAA rank and file players and supporters.

After reading below and other comments from fans who were in Ballycastle, can' help but blv this calls into question the entire value system of GAA "Powers That Be". Amatuer players who put in in countless hours of rigorous preparation away from the the limelight of Sunday afternoon venues and glamour of TV, DESERVE BETTER than this reckless endangerment of playing in the muck. "We are not responsible for the weather" is not an acceptable excuse.

>>>
Comments from Limerick Manager re Ballycastle Test.."

The Treaty County came through a tough test against Antrim to win by 0-23 to 1-12 and the Limerick manager reflected: "The pitch was difficult, conditions were difficult and the trip is difficult as it's a good result and I'm very happy.

"The breeze was strong, the ball got stuck in the mud a number of times as well, it was difficult for the referee too and in fairness to the lads, their effort and attitude was excellent and I'm delighted with an eight-point win.

"The goal put them right in the hunt but the lads responded well, we got back down field and got a couple of points straight away and kicked on from there."

Ryan added: "I'd have taken your hand off for a win this morning. I knew it was going to be difficult. Anyone who hasn't been here, Ballycastle is tough, the pitch is tight, conditions were hard, not ideal for hurling"
<<<<

Addiionally , (back to my comments). the dragging of players from Cork, Limerick, Donegal on Monday might to face rigid tribunals of CCC , GAC and other contrived panels which do nothing more let delegates and players "flap their wings until they tire " and go home, should no longer be acceptable to players, supporters or fans of GAA community. (Limerick Minor treatment re Hawk Eye comes to mind here.) There are numerous others.


TIME FOR CHANGE...Where DO WE START ? Welcome comments...

PatOLogical (Limerick) - Posts: 1355 - 23/02/2015 14:41:11    1695988

PatOLogical...fair enough, dragging amateur players from all over the country to tribunals and CCCC meetings and so on is unreasonable. The players have jobs after all. And lets face it, most decisions are made before the players attend the meetings, and there's little chance of such decisions being reverse.

But your 'point' about the Antrim-Limerick game is a random rant. The players had tough conditions to play in...so what? Do soccer players stop playing because its a bit muddy? What about rugby players? Should cross country runners abandon ship if its rained the night before a big race?

And do you have a constructive solution to this 'problem'? I don't see a way around it, you can't run the national league off in the summer for obvious reasons. If the pitch is unplayable, the referee is going to call the game off, simple as that.

Ballboy (Dublin) - Posts: 88 - 23/02/2015 15:30:19    1696012

Pat im assuming you have never been to Ballycastle's pitch. Its as good a playing surface as any in ireland for hurling.

Unfortunately given that its right on the coast the weather in that part of the world can be unpredictable to say the least. So in the middle of Feb what else would you expect?

Im assuming you watched the Dublin Kilkenny game, Nowlan park was certainly no bowling green either and there was certainly a lot of fumbling and very little ground hurling of note in that game.

bumpernut (Antrim) - Posts: 1852 - 23/02/2015 15:36:24    1696016

Pat you know from the various threads on our own homepage that I have great time for your opinion and comments but in this instance I am finding it hard to see what you are getting at.

Do you mean it is a shame that the pitches yesterday were as bad as they were or are you saying teams shouldn't have to travel a few hundred miles for a match be that teams coming from the North to South or vice versa?

A solution to the huge round trips would have to come from the counties involved as well as those in Croke Park. What might work is to play leagues matches which are Munster v Ulster as double headers in Portlaois or Mullingar for example with the counties involved sharing the gate receipts. They may be matches from 2 different divisions but so what. I know this means losing out on a home venue for some matches but outside of that I can't think of any other way to get rid of the huge round trips which teams have to do. And to be fair, Limerick and the likes have to do that once every 2 years. Antrim, Down etc have to do that every second week. And again later in the Spring if they want challenges.

The bad pitches I wouldn't hold the GAA at fault for. They dictate about a lot of things but even they can't dictate the weather. I don't think they can anyway!!

mike03 (Limerick) - Posts: 2000 - 23/02/2015 15:53:03    1696022

You would think Antrim was the other side of the moon!

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 23/02/2015 16:19:29    1696030

Haven't heard any Cork football posters on here complaining about long travels and they have 4 away games in the league, all in Ulster!! Conditions are bad in all parts at this time of year and obviously if there was an issue with player safety the ref would have called off the game. Besides that, it's not as if the players didn't get a shower and a feed after the game or had they to site in their dirty gear and wait til the got home to be fed!! Thought them days were over!!

Tir Conaill Abu (Donegal) - Posts: 1671 - 23/02/2015 16:33:11    1696034

Change what? Im not sure what the point of the post was. Antrim are as entitled to play at home as anyone else. What pitch they use is their own business. By all accounts the setup in Ballycastle is very good. NO pitches are perfect this time of year. Dungarvan was in poor enough state at weekend too.
No body likes the round trip up north but thems the breaks. I think the current league structure is as good as it can be. Every team in 1A and 1B has a great chance to reach the league QFs. Promotion to 1A is earned not a right. There seem to be no pointless games.

jpcampion (Laois) - Posts: 194 - 23/02/2015 16:35:50    1696035

All fair points including rebuttlals and I take all on the chin! I am guilty of starting to comment on TJS assessment of Ballycastle Trip and and turned it into a long held gripe I have with overall administration of GAA (Crokle Park) at which pint I probably got too far of intended point to make overall send.
will post again to clarify when time permits.
Understand hospitality to visitors was excellent in Antrim. Look forward to seeing them arrive on the big stage.

PatOLogical (Limerick) - Posts: 1355 - 23/02/2015 16:39:37    1696036

Very good Tir Conaill!

And all piled in the back of the County Secretary's brother-in-law's 96 LK transit van.

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 23/02/2015 16:45:02    1696038

Haven't heard any Cork football posters on here complaining about long travels and they have 4 away games in the league, all in Ulster!!

_____________________

Correct.

No Cork football fans on here are complaining for two reasons.

1. There are no Cork fans attending

and 2. There are no Cork football fans on here

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13650 - 23/02/2015 16:54:25    1696044

Antrim's isolation is adding to their lack of hurling development

You could argue Laois and Carlow have progressed past them

valley84 (Westmeath) - Posts: 1890 - 23/02/2015 17:11:18    1696052

A chaired Gael,
A quick comment. My original post did attempt , unsuccessfully to cover too many topics (in a short few moments stolen from the company) and therefore MSG got lost.
My beef was never against distance to Antrim team or officials -and I in fact said that . Idid and am questioning wisdom of playing game in conditions where ball got Stuck or buried several times.
I was also vehemently opposed to Limerick Kilkenny game game being allied to continue in Croke Park in A deluge. It was dangerous to life and limb.
This is why I changed header to read GAA ..Time for Change.
Time for change in the insulated bureaucratic structure that displays little regard for its two most important components: PLAYERS AND SUPPORTERS.

A further illustration of this cloak and dagger approach Croke park GAA contrived problem solving parameters has just now shown up on Limerick page in article re Eamon Cregan and Fitzgibbon Cup appeal. We have the DRA!, CCCC, CENTRAL aAppeals Committee , that have to be navigated and IMO nothing more than fabricated stumping blocks that allow the appeal to drag on until it loses steam and dies out.
Same applies to handling of Limerick Minor Appeal re Hawk eye. The CCCC Gac and DRA al permitted the superficial and false pretext of a fair hearing. Nothing more. My acronyms may bit be correct or complete but you get the idea.

What is the solution someone asked? Start with voting everyone out Office in Croke Park at earliest opportunity.. This my not be possible overnight but we can start to change submissive mentality. maybe we need to fight off the field as well as on the field. Let's first end the shrinking violet, it can't be done mentality that is currently embedded in collective psyche at club and count level.

Ps
Read all posts with interest and YEs under circumstances Portlaoise or Mullingar would have been a smart alternative yesterday ,all things considered, including health and safety. Glad all came through unscathed. I have come home from school on a bike with my eye hanging out as a young fella , and went back out with hurley as soon as Mom wasn't-'t looking, so save the "chicken"talk.

PatOLogical (Limerick) - Posts: 1355 - 23/02/2015 18:11:25    1696077

Wayno1.

Damn right buddy!

We have a jolly in Killarney in the summer.... Again in the summer of 2017...summer of 2019 and so on..

For everything else, there is hurling..

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 23/02/2015 21:04:50    1696151

Cork footballers have a home game every 2 years that they head in big numbers too. In Killarney. They'll head through the Healy Pass or over the Top of Coom in their droves for that 'home' game!

After that game they don't get too excited unless news filters back to them that they're in the All-Ireland Final and the long journey to the capital begins!

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13705 - 25/02/2015 10:38:41    1696635

To Wayrol -
Excuse, me.....Cork here. The NFL in the 80s was 2x16 North South - so no Uls trips for the Rebels....North was Connachr, Ulster, Louth, Lomgford, Wmeath, less Galway.

omahant (USA) - Posts: 2573 - 27/02/2015 21:02:31    1697548