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Westmeath Football thread - 3 Like(s)
Congratulations Westmeath! What a performance yesterday. You're now nicely set up to give Leinster a good rattle
bloodandbandage (National) - 20/04/2026 12:45:40
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GAA Football Power Rankings 2026 - 2 Like(s)
Replying To tirawleybaron: "A fair bit of movement since the league
1 - Kerry
2 - Donegal
3 - Galway
4 - Mayo
5 - Roscommon
6 - Armagh
7 - Derry
8 - Tyrone
9 - Louth
10 - Cork
11 - Monaghan
12 - Dublin
13 - Westmeath
14 - Meath
15 - Down
16 - Cavan
17 - Kildare
19 - Wexford
19 - Laois
20 - Clare
21 - Limerick
22 - Offaly
23 - Fermanagh
24 - Wicklow
25 - Carlow
26 - Longford
27 - Leitrim
28 - Antrim
29 - London
30 - Sligo
31 - Tipperary
32 - Waterford" Three of the top five teams in country are not in Connaught. Just because you can't, or don't want
to separate them doesn't mean they are ranked 3, 4 and 5.
SouthOfTheGap (National) - 20/04/2026 17:06:57
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Football Format Changes Discussion - 2 Like(s)
Anyone out there looking their brain scrambled should visit this discussion more often and try to make sense of the Yankee posts.
Saynothing (National) - 20/04/2026 16:29:22
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Leinster SHC - 2 Like(s)
Worth a solo thread for those of us needing wanting a roundup!
Galway look a bit ahead of everybody.
Kilkenny back in the pack, but a backlash will surely be there this weekend.
Wexford took care of business v Kildare, with tougher battles ahead.
Offaly and Dublin played out an unexpected draw, I think Dublin underestimated them and Offaly got the goals to get the draw. Looked like game of the weekend from the highlights, but it'd never get the credit it deserves.
So its 2 from 4 for 2nd and 3rd. Hard to see Kildare getting a win but I didn't see the game at the weekend bar highlights.
StoreysTash (National) - 20/04/2026 14:42:13
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Non-Gaa Forum - 2 Like(s)
Replying To Saynothing: "18% of people in prison are non nationals, take into account that 23% of the population are non nationals and it doesn't make good reading for Ireland in years to come." So, if your figures are correct (and I'm not disputing them). . .
23% of the overall population are non-national.
18% of prison population are non-national.
This would suggest that non-nationals are more law-abiding than the 'native' Irish. (Otherwise the non-national share of the prison population would be 23%+).
cavanman47 (National) - 20/04/2026 22:01:28
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Westmeath Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Chops: "Very well done to the players and management on a brilliant performance. It was great to see this young team play with freedom and do what they can do best. Daniel Scahill was immense at the back. Showed a master class in defending, particularly in first half. Luke was superb and Corcoran is really making a name for himself up front. Best wishes to Conor McCormack who suffered a terrible injury, may he make a speedy recovery. Mark McHugh will hopefully ground the players fairly quick and get the focus on Kildare for what should be a very interesting semi final. I see both semi finals not being televised and are on GAA plus." Firstly , congratulations to westmeath played some excelent football yesterday racking up 4- 18 and could have had another 3 goals , but also defended so well, meath only created 1 goal chance and lost their keeper in the same incedent, best of luck in your quest for leinster , i think westmeath will take kildare, and are equally as good as louth or dublin which could be a cracker, rte not showing both semifinals man o man ????
royler (National) - 20/04/2026 21:03:06
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Non-Gaa Forum - 1 Like(s)
Replying To BarneyGrant: "I have never once been proven to post false and attributible stats.
You don't like the hard evidence of what the reality is but at same time you are all telling us how fantastic it is!
Thats is job for head doctor not statistician." '90% of population growth is currently and will continue to be made up of immigrants' is a lie from someone who hasn't a clue about statistics and doesn't know the differencce between the past, the present and the future.
GreenandRed (National) - 20/04/2026 15:19:01
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Leitrim GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Backheel: "They want to get a grip a top five team against a bottom two in the country. This is a game that I wouldn't miss at 15 or 20 euro. But seriously thinking about not going an account of the price, the unfair nature of the provincial championship with price of deisel it is not a particularly attractive way to spend a Sunday." And the minimum ticket pricing for Mayo game is 30 euro which is ridiculous considering it is a gimme for a big two side like Mayo to win.
ohwow (National) - 20/04/2026 21:17:48
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Carlow GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To old yellar: "I would actually say he got the tactics absolutely spot on to win the game! We kept 2 inside for the bulk of the game and this differed from a lot of the league games where we had no major inside threat. We pressed most of their puck ours again which we didn't do for a lot of league games. I think you have to play to win the game Infront of you rather than a style of others. I always thought the Laois inside line was getable at and with Chris/James in there you are always going to stress test any backline. Keeping it fairly simple suits this group of players and the stage they are at in their careers." Spot on, having James Doyle makes these tactics easier too with his physical presence. If we can deliver 60/40 ball to them we can do damage. Also if we turn ball over in our half forward line we have pace with Jack Tracey, Donagh Murphy and Conor Kehoe to break through on goal similar to Conor's goal.
Apart from the 15 minutes after half time you'd have to be happy. Laois upped the intensity, pushed up on our puck out and had Fiachra C Fennell positioned to stop delivery to our 2 man full forward line which was also helped by the work rate of their forwards.
The lads showed huge character to kick on after losing a 7 point lead so quickly.
I understand what people are saying about the game / performance but it was a huge game for both teams. They all knew the loser would be under huge pressure. Over the last few years we've had an easier start to the campaign (on paper) too. Also, confidence wasn't going to be high after a poor league campaign and some players haven't had a lot of game time such as James Doyle, Conor Kehoe, Ciaran Whelan, Jack McCullagh.
Interesting that Jon Nolan was positioned at wing back, which Rangers tried in the group stage of last years championship. His best position is still probably wing forward but I'd prefer him wing back compared to midfield though you might prefer more natural defenders with the likes of Picky Maher on the pitch.
Anyway on to Mullingar on Saturday!
hurlingguru (National) - 20/04/2026 22:35:55
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Westmeath Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To tireoghainabu: "Great win yesterday, a lot of Down folk will be having sleepless nights for the next two weeks. What's the story with Ronan O' Toole, I always thought he was a class act, always reminded me of Brian Mc Guigan." Living in Oz now; a massive loss the last two years!!
Matthew (National) - 20/04/2026 23:01:25
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Non-Gaa Forum - 1 Like(s)
David McWilliams wrote a good piece in the Times recently.
The gist of it was that Ireland is a wealthy country, and we don't lack ambition when it comes to big infrastructure projects. But what we do lack is a very profound level of competence when it comes to public sector money and how it is spent.
"In the real world, Excel spreadhseets are deployed and hard budgets are normal"
If there was a lot more accountability and scrutiny over how public money was spent, maybe we'd get the required housing built.
Lockjaw (National) - 21/04/2026 09:56:07
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Westmeath Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Dessie15: "Any word on Lukes's injury? been watching Westmeath since the early 80s and think Luke is as good as any player I've seen in a Westmeath shirt. Hope he's ok for next day" luke will do everything in his power to be fit . he has come through a lot in his young life and he loves his football . o connor park suits him and he should be ok to line out . this will be a huge test . the euphoria of beating meath will count for nothing if we dont beat kildare . mark mchugh and his management are acutely aware of that
mickcunningham (National) - 21/04/2026 10:33:22
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Galway Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Team I think we'll see Sunday
1. Flaherty
2. McGrath
3. Hernon
4. Glynn
5. Silke
6. McHugh
7. Mulkerrin
8. Maher
9. Tierney
10. McGrath
11. Mulhern
12. Darcy
13. Finnerty
14. MacDonnacha
15. O'Conghaile
Plenty of quality there to get the job done. Another couple of weeks rest for Kelly's hamstring would be no harm. Good pace to come in from bench too from O'Flaherty and Molloy. Be great if O'Laoi was available also. Mulryan could be worth a place on the bench after this U20 performances.
gaillimhboy (National) - 20/04/2026 20:45:55
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Wicklow GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Albundy19: "I think yesterday proved we are definitely better than Div 4 standard." I think the footballers are capable and have the ability to play better than Division 4 standard but the major problem with them is inconsistency. One day they're throwing away a 12 point lead against Longford, a month later they have Dublin on the ropes in a championship game. You just don't know which Wicklow team is going to show up.
TheChampion (National) - 20/04/2026 15:01:41
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Westmeath Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Massive congratulations to Mark McHugh and his troops on a fantastic win yesterday. Fully deserved, heroes all over the pitch but it did help that we came in under the radar. Kildare will be ready but if we show the same level of hunger & intensity then there is no reason why we cannot come out on top. Superb team performance yesterday but it was really great to witness the performances of some of the newer players yesterday - Shane Corcoran, Conor Dillon, Danny scahill & Tadhg Baker in addition to Charlie, Sam, Ray, Mattie & Luke. Hopefully more supporters get behind the team the next day - this team deserves it,!
iarmhi abu
londoner (National) - 20/04/2026 14:52:30
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Dublin GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Fionn: "https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2026/0419/1569076-rock-dubs-didnt-get-performance-we-would-have-liked/
Biggest cheer of the day tbh... ;o)
Says a lot about how bad we played though unfortunately...
Anyone else hear that PG might be asked to step in to assist the Dubs in Ger's absence..?" I did hear the same Fionn and wouldn't be surprised because right now with Ger sidelined from all match day activity we really really need a steady pair of hands in around the squad on matchday. The other lads are working hard no doubt but the experience just isn't there yet.
Very flat performance in Aughrim and it's hard to get the head around going to a Div 4 county and not comfortably winning by double figures. You would have imagined for our newer lads that the chance to impress, cement a place in the team would overcome the hunger from the host team but wasn't the case on Sunday. We have zero midfield and if we are going to persist with the current set up then we are doomed to fail I'm afraid. Will need all hands to the pump to get over Louth and down in Portlaoise Louth will really fancy taking us out.
TrueBlue35 (National) - 20/04/2026 14:17:51
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Non-Gaa Forum - 1 Like(s)
Replying To BarneyGrant: "I have never once been proven to post false and attributible stats.
You don't like the hard evidence of what the reality is but at same time you are all telling us how fantastic it is!
Thats is job for head doctor not statistician." Ah now, Barney. Your claim was: "a third of prison population is non national".
So, here's "hard evidence" from the Irish Prison Service, who should know best about this sort of thing. It's the most recent of the monthly publications they produce with figures for this sort of thing, covering February of this year:
https://www.irishprisons.ie/wp-content/uploads/documents_pdf/FEBRUARY-2026.pdf
Page 2 shows average daily prison population was 5,785.
Page 4 shows that 1,078 of them were non-nationals.
Simple maths shows that's 18.6%, not 33%.
Only mention of 33% I can find comes from gript.ie, which is not exactly renowned for accuracy, where the writer includes a significant estimate (rounding up from just under 25% to 33%), and where he refers to a figure for number of people committed to prison, which is a different thing from actual prison population.
Pikeman96 (National) - 20/04/2026 14:02:55
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Hurling Championship 2026 - 1 Like(s)
Replying To bloodandbandage: "So Munster journalists and pundits don't watch Leinster games?? Ridiculous statement to make!" If you asked most of them to name 10 current players from each of Wexford, Offaly, Dublin and Kildare they would struggle. Theyd struggle to name 10 current Galway and Kilkenny players too probably. Did you listen to any of their analysis of Leinster games on TSG or any of the podcasts the last couple of years?
Its not a ridiculous statement at all.
Viking66 (National) - 20/04/2026 13:47:19
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Leitrim GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Looking forward to the game myself, and seeing Barry McNulty competing against one of the big two in the province. As some are saying he is probably the best player in the province at the moment so I am sure he will get attentions.
I'd imagine that there will be a decent crowd
ohwow (National) - 20/04/2026 13:12:27
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Non-Gaa Forum - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Square_B: "All great, but what do we do to ensure our culture is protected and that people who come here assimilate with respect to our culture that has been passed through generations. That's the main problem I see coming down the line, and has been proven elsewhere, is something we cannot continue to ignore." I responded earlier with details on where our culture and traditions are being lost gradually over the last 40-50 years, even without immigration. However the high levels of immigration in recent times presents a serious added challenge, because the influx has been so high, that the established community can't cope with integration.
Immigration needs to be controlled, because if the rate of immigration exceeds 5% over 20 years, those numbers can multiply faster than the establish population without needing to integrate or assimilate and there is then a risk of community division and the problems that go with that.... like in the Six Counties.
Commodore (National) - 20/04/2026 13:02:50
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