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Louth GAA thread - 5 Like(s)
Replying To joej: "It baffles me why we have so many Meath fans on a Louth forum talking about their game against Westmeath, and then I checked, you dont have one of of your own. Go on now lads, nothing to see here." Look at the Meath forum after Westmeath best Meath, that will explain it. It's a case of karma really hits hard
Cabbagepatch1667 (National) - 05/05/2026 20:11:32
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Football Championship 2026 - 3 Like(s)
Not a great format.
Group phase was much better.
All the usual know-alls complaining about dead rubbers ........ they rarely happened and so what if the odd one happens.
Then they were complaining that there was too many games to get rid of just 4 teams ..... do they not like football???
The only changes I would have made to last years system
-Provincials must be seeded as they feed into All Ireland series. Seedings must be on finishing league position (no wriggle room for Provincial council skullduggery!!). this would mean more evenly balanced groups as the seeding would be earned, rather than someone getting into a provincial final due to a lobsided draw and then getting a high seed.
-Reduce qualification out of group to 2 (not overly bothered with this one but it would add more jeopardy ......the word of 2025!!)
Mayonman (National) - 05/05/2026 12:51:30
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Westmeath Football thread - 2 Like(s)
With the condensed season going against us like many teams, we have about 6/7 potential starting players now injured? We are now in bonus territory with at least 3 more games and over another month of football which is great. The squad with those injuries has become very light. I wonder is it time to call in lads playing well in the league or former players who have done it before to freshen things up, there are plenty of good footballers scattered through the clubs who could help in the squad. If i was McHugh i would be making some calls, even for training it is needed. You can't lose Johnny Lynam, Sam Smyth, Guerin, Luke, CMcC, and Boidu and not replenish the squad.
Lakeman93 (National) - 06/05/2026 10:59:38
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Westmeath Football thread - 2 Like(s)
The minors were unfortunately beaten by a better team last night, the strength and conditioning was evident with the power running all over the pitch from kikdare. Is the dual player working in westmeath. Its ongoing now for a few years without any success at either sport. My own view is that both teams, hurling/football are losing out on progression due to dual players.
Upforthegame23 (National) - 06/05/2026 07:08:06
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Roscommon GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Mighty Gaa coverage and build up to the Connacht final in todays Roscommon Herald. Fair play to Ian Cooney and all his team in the sports department who have obviously being burning the midnight oil.
Hopefully we will pack out the Hyde with primrose and blue this Sunday and help drive the team home.
Best of luck to the minors in the Connacht final this Friday night in Tuam against Galway. I expect them to win.
letsgetgoing (National) - 05/05/2026 15:36:28
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Kerry GAA Thread - 2 Like(s)
Replying To Lockjaw: "Hi lads,
it wouldn't be often we'd meet ye in Killarney in Championship football. The novelty of it means I'm half thinking of making a long overdue trip down to your great county. It should be a cracker given our recent history!
Just wondering if you'd have any tips or advice. Obviously the journey is prohibitive in terms of travelling down and back on the one day. So an overnight will be necessary. Ideally I'd love to stay around Killarney and enjoy a night out after the game. But Dhia sabháil the price of accommodation is bananas.
Would there be anywhere outisde of Killarney good to stay?
Also, where is best to park on the day of the match itself?" I know I am not from Kerry but the Parkavon hotel is very good. It's about 15 minutes walk from the town centre and not that expensive s prices go. I expect the Kerry guru's will offer loads of advice but you have put a lot of work into the league predictions over the last few years so I decided to give you my tuppence worth.
eoinog (National) - 05/05/2026 16:19:06
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Football Championship 2026 - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Mayonman: "Not a great format.
Group phase was much better.
All the usual know-alls complaining about dead rubbers ........ they rarely happened and so what if the odd one happens.
Then they were complaining that there was too many games to get rid of just 4 teams ..... do they not like football???
The only changes I would have made to last years system
-Provincials must be seeded as they feed into All Ireland series. Seedings must be on finishing league position (no wriggle room for Provincial council skullduggery!!). this would mean more evenly balanced groups as the seeding would be earned, rather than someone getting into a provincial final due to a lobsided draw and then getting a high seed.
-Reduce qualification out of group to 2 (not overly bothered with this one but it would add more jeopardy ......the word of 2025!!)" That would be too sensible and giving us too many football games to enjoy. In 3 years we had 2 dead rubbers.
ORIELMAN85 (National) - 05/05/2026 17:23:56
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Football Championship 2026 - 1 Like(s)
A lot of people validly pointing out that winning a provincial final has no relevance on what happens next. You might be right. Before I offer a solution, here's what I think about that argument in terms of each provincial final and how competitive I think they'll be:
- Dublin vs Westmeath: I'm system this one will be competitive. Dublin will be looking to reassert themselves as kings of Leinster, while Westmeath will want to win a rare Leinster championship.
- Armagh vs Monaghan: it's Ulster so no fear of either team lying down.
- Galway vs Roscommon: hard to know, although Roscommon haven't won it since 2019 and Galway are chasing 5 in a row.
- Kerry vs Cork: apart from the obvious rivalry, there's every chance they mightn't care, but Cork would care more, seeing that it's 2012 since they won it.
So, my simple solution is to reward provincial champions like so: you keep *unbeaten* provincial champions away from other provincial champions as much as possible, so the reward follows them all the way through the championship.
Round 1: They can't meet here anyway.
Round 2A: Any provincial champions that make it here get kept apart. Because repeats of provincial finals can't happen either, it might mean limited opposition in the draw for some teams, but that's alright.
Round 2B: This round contains teams beaten in Round 1, and so there's no protection for provincial champions. Say Kerry and Galway both prevail in their provincial finals but then get beaten in Round 1. Now, if they can't make good on their provincial titles, there should be nothing to help them limp into the latter stages of the championship by letting them avoid each other.
Round 3: Ditto: all beaten teams.
Quarter-finals: Any unbeaten provincial champions that have made it unbeaten through Rounds 1 and 2A get to avoid all other provincial champions, both beaten and otherwise (so, continuing with the example above, the Ulster and Leinster champions would avoid Kerry). However, provincial champions that have lost a game can still be drawn against each other (e.g. Kerry can meet Galway here even if they can't be drawn against the other two provincial champions).
Semi-finals: Again unbeaten provincial champions would avoid each other, or maybe at this stage you'd open it up, I dunno.
Tacaí Liatroma (National) - 06/05/2026 09:21:02
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Hurling Championship 2026 - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Overdahill: "Tadhg beat me to it but it's funny to hear people call for an 'Open draw seeded based on the provincials' which is what we have now in other words. What they're calling for in reality is the current system except no one gets knocked out, or else a provincial knockout leading into an All ireland knockout & Qualifiers which is what we had for years
Anyone wanting to get rid of the Provincial round robins is out of their minds imo. None of the argumens stand up to any scrutiny. We're seeing more of the top players in big games than we ever did before, so the (mainly RTE driven tbf) narrative about what a shame it is that players are out of the championship 'early' is complete nonsense. even with waterford struggling we get 4 games of Stephen Bennett per year. You can be 100% sure if provincials were seperated out from the All Ireland you'd see less of Bennett as he'd be eased into the Munster championship to be 'right' for the All Ireland.
As for the teams currently in the Joe Mac, the current system is better for them than at any point in history. They get 5-6 games a year at a competitive level, a chance at Croke Park and a trophy, and if they earn it a chance to play 5 games in Leinster. since 2018 we've seen Westmeath get a win and draw against Wexford, Carlow Draw with KK, Antrim beat wexford. results like that were a once every 20 or 30 year shot for the rest of GAA history. The reality for those counties is they have peaks and troughs, and they way it is currently allwos them to have a shot at the big teams when they are on a high, and to play at an appropriate level when they are struggling. If a team was to have an Offaly 80s style revolution then they would have ample opportunity to show their worth and maintain a place in Leinster long term
People can live in a dream world all they want where we have an open draw and the Musnter championship still holds the same prestige, or where carlow, Antrim and Westmeath can all get to the level of Dublin or Galway if they are left in the Leinster championship indefinitely, but that's not practical. The current system has far more plusses than negatives and I certainly can't think of a superior alternative.
That being said the nature of the GAA has always been that people will complain for long enough and evetually the system will be changed again so just bide your time and it will happen" Agree with this 100%.
bloodandbandage (National) - 06/05/2026 08:45:53
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Galway Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To WanPintWin: "It is, however there's a big difference between Barry McHugh and Dessie, and that's free-taking, particularly from range. McHugh is an exceptional striker of the ball from the ground from distance. In today's game, that's a massive asset to any team. Added to that, if a goal chance fell to any of our inside forwards, I'd fancy Barry McHugh as much as anyone to stick it away.
Dean Rock got a lot of comments early in his Dublin career for being a free-taker and very little else. He obviously improved from play over time, but his role was first and foremost as a high percentage free-taker. His accuracy from dead balls was crucial, given how many tight All-Ireland finals Dublin won." You can't compare that Dublin team with Galway. Dublin could afford someone not doing as much from play or not being as much of an athlete if they brought high percentage free taking.
Galway need everyone playing above themselves to compete with the top teams.
JimB1991 (National) - 06/05/2026 08:25:57
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Roscommon GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To The_analyser: "The powers to be have decided to moved the All-Ireland U20 Semi-final to Wednesday night May 13th in Semple Stadium with a 7.30pm. Not played on the original date Saturday the 9th because Kerry was granted the request to move in back because Tomas Kennedy will be involved with the Seniors on Sunday." Disgraceful!
Seanfan (National) - 05/05/2026 23:34:28
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Louth GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To tirawleybaron: "perfect chance now to make up for the last day" I won't be holding my breath tbh their will be even more pressure on us now to beat them for the 2nd time of asking plus giving the reshuffling within the first 15 of late, I hope am wrong but like I was saying on the first outing am staying quiet, Devlin will really need to do his homework on them from the first game and has ample time to do so.
francie81 (National) - 05/05/2026 22:52:00
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Fermanagh GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
KeshGFC, spare us the lecture about "thin managerial CVs". What exactly is on your own fat CV? Who are you managing and at what level at the minute? I'll save you the embarrassment. It's easy to sit online dissecting structures and questioning volunteers when you've have failed on these pathways yourself. Throwing out buzzwords like "psychology" and "development pathways" doesn't make it insight.
And macca999, that sarcastic reply was poor form. Fermanagh are struggling, and AuldGussie was obviously frustrated by the likes of you and others talking about what everyone already knows, along with the kind of strategy needed before reaching senior football. So Gussie asked a fair, straightforward question: what would you actually do if you were in charge?
Instead of engaging, you fired back with a snide one-liner. That's not debate; it's deflection. If you're going to criticise, at least have the backbone to offer a solution instead of ducking it with sarcasm.
abc1234 (National) - 05/05/2026 21:29:12
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Galway Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To puckemhard: "Was thinking the same ! Grand Roscommon are doing well but sure when was the last time the got to an All Ireland at minor , u20 or senior in a county who basically play one sport" Roscommon last qualified for an All Ireland U20 football final in 2021. Beaten by Offaly.We also lost U21 All Ireland finals in 2012 and 2014 to Dublin. Roscommon last won the All Ireland minor football title in 2006.
endgame (National) - 05/05/2026 19:14:23
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Monaghan GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Having the draw before provincial finals gives the likes of mayo and teams like that a clear advantage as they have a chance to get a good at there opposition in clones croke Park and other provincial grounds and plan ahead like mayo can plan from yesterday to the end of May whereas monaghan has to concentrate on armagh first think the draw should have been made after provincials and give provincial finalists 2 weeks prep
Farneyblueandwhite (National) - 05/05/2026 18:02:19
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Galway Hurling thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To galway19: "Draw done for the u20 semi finals - Galway vs Wexford and Kilkenny vs Dublin. Game is on Wednesday next week, presumably in Portlaoise. Hopefully they can leave Niland and Rabbitte out of the senior game against Kildare on Saturday to give them a break before the u20 game." I'm expecting Wexford to give us plenty of it here.
On day 1 the gap on the final scoreboard was far bigger than the gap between the teams on the grass. Wexford have since drawn with Kilkenny (4 down with 2 mins left and goaled twice) and walloped both Kildare and Laois, and while neither of the latter two are up to much at this level, hammering them can only be good for confidence. You'd imagine Wexford will be better prepared for Niland the next day also and we can't rely on their shooting being so rotten either.
Perhaps my expectations are too high but I've been somewhat underwhelmed by what I have seen from the U20's this year so far, Niland was essentially the difference on day 1, Kildare was meh and we were fortunate enough to beat a very understrength KK side (TBF we didn't have Niland and Rabbitte came on after HT and he did make an impact)
But a repeat of the first 25 minutes of the KK game wouldn't be a good look and it would mean we wouldn't be in much danger of winning anything. Let's hope we improve on the grass and on the line. We need to.
Stool Pigeon (National) - 05/05/2026 18:02:19
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Westmeath Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To mickcunningham: "just a reflection on yesterday in o connor park . first and foremost its a fantastic venue . the fact its only 25 minutes from my home makes it even better , great westmeath support which was great to see. a heroic performance from every player
who took part in the game . jason daly proved his worth in goals . danny scahill and charlie drumm ver efficent and charlies point was a bonus . listed at number 4 tadgh baker was very busy during the whole game . our captain had his usual steady game while shane allens point was crucial . the heroic mattie whittker was clearly struggling but to return back onto the field shows the sheer commitment of the tubberclair youngster. ray connellan had a towering day while breen cooneys goal was a thing of beauty brandon kelly was a deserved recipient of man of the m atch while all the other players made meaningful contributions . in my humble opinion sam mcartin is the hearbeat of the team . these lads deserve a day out in croke park in 2 weeks . good luck to them and their management" Agreed Tullamore is a credit to Offaly County board. We are miles behind rest of Leinster with Cusack Park. Very outdated. The seating position in Tullamore is brilliant even if a tall person is sitting in front of you they are well below being in your line of sight. A miracle happened in Tullamore also, the game wasn't delayed by 10 minutes due to traffic like it usually is.
Chops (National) - 05/05/2026 16:41:06
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Louth GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
It baffles me why we have so many Meath fans on a Louth forum talking about their game against Westmeath, and then I checked, you dont have one of of your own. Go on now lads, nothing to see here.
joej (National) - 05/05/2026 16:12:19
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Hurling Championship 2026 - 1 Like(s)
Tadhg beat me to it but it's funny to hear people call for an 'Open draw seeded based on the provincials' which is what we have now in other words. What they're calling for in reality is the current system except no one gets knocked out, or else a provincial knockout leading into an All ireland knockout & Qualifiers which is what we had for years
Anyone wanting to get rid of the Provincial round robins is out of their minds imo. None of the argumens stand up to any scrutiny. We're seeing more of the top players in big games than we ever did before, so the (mainly RTE driven tbf) narrative about what a shame it is that players are out of the championship 'early' is complete nonsense. even with waterford struggling we get 4 games of Stephen Bennett per year. You can be 100% sure if provincials were seperated out from the All Ireland you'd see less of Bennett as he'd be eased into the Munster championship to be 'right' for the All Ireland.
As for the teams currently in the Joe Mac, the current system is better for them than at any point in history. They get 5-6 games a year at a competitive level, a chance at Croke Park and a trophy, and if they earn it a chance to play 5 games in Leinster. since 2018 we've seen Westmeath get a win and draw against Wexford, Carlow Draw with KK, Antrim beat wexford. results like that were a once every 20 or 30 year shot for the rest of GAA history. The reality for those counties is they have peaks and troughs, and they way it is currently allwos them to have a shot at the big teams when they are on a high, and to play at an appropriate level when they are struggling. If a team was to have an Offaly 80s style revolution then they would have ample opportunity to show their worth and maintain a place in Leinster long term
People can live in a dream world all they want where we have an open draw and the Musnter championship still holds the same prestige, or where carlow, Antrim and Westmeath can all get to the level of Dublin or Galway if they are left in the Leinster championship indefinitely, but that's not practical. The current system has far more plusses than negatives and I certainly can't think of a superior alternative.
That being said the nature of the GAA has always been that people will complain for long enough and evetually the system will be changed again so just bide your time and it will happen
Overdahill (National) - 05/05/2026 16:01:14
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Donegal GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To JimmyCarr: "Have seen some ridiculous prices for hotels down there already, all going well am going to campervan it down the Saturday morning...hoping for a Saturday evening throw in and back up the round early enough on Sunday...anyone know when dates/times will be announced?" Campervan would be the right job. I'm thinking of hitting Galway Friday evening after work.
Down to Killarney early Saturday morning and back up to Galway after. Hopefully for a good celebratory feed of pints.
Lockjaw (National) - 05/05/2026 15:45:57
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