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Monaghan GAA thread

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Kearns going back to Australlia. His county days are long gone.

ORIELMAN85 (Monaghan) - Posts: 842 - 21/10/2025 10:53:23    2640918

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Replying To farneygael3:  "Congratulations to Emyvale. Where does this win rank against their other Junior titles?"
Fairly low on their list ofachievements,I'd imagine. Should never have been in a very poor Junior division. Spoiled the competition really as Emyvale were far too strong. Seans or Eire Og will go up with them and won't be fit for Intermediate. Toome,Blackhill, Aghabog(maybe Currin)probably best equipped to challenge Drumhowan next year. Aghabog were very disappointing this season but should be better next year. Oram and Killeevan just don't have the squads at the minute. Rockcorry overachieved last year,reaching a semi final but weren't at the races at all ( they did seem to be blitzed with injuries to their main men to be fair). Scotstown are very unpredictable but don't know if they've got enough to win a Junior championship at the minute.
Definitely should be more interesting next season with 3 or 4 teams in with a genuine chance of winning.

Matchwatcher (Monaghan) - Posts: 15 - 21/10/2025 11:16:13    2640921

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Replying To Matchwatcher:  "Fairly low on their list ofachievements,I'd imagine. Should never have been in a very poor Junior division. Spoiled the competition really as Emyvale were far too strong. Seans or Eire Og will go up with them and won't be fit for Intermediate. Toome,Blackhill, Aghabog(maybe Currin)probably best equipped to challenge Drumhowan next year. Aghabog were very disappointing this season but should be better next year. Oram and Killeevan just don't have the squads at the minute. Rockcorry overachieved last year,reaching a semi final but weren't at the races at all ( they did seem to be blitzed with injuries to their main men to be fair). Scotstown are very unpredictable but don't know if they've got enough to win a Junior championship at the minute.
Definitely should be more interesting next season with 3 or 4 teams in with a genuine chance of winning."
Definitely agree with you as poor as junior is most of the teams are close in terms of ability. Toome, Blackhill, Aghabog (if they ever get it together on big days), Currin, Eire og and Sean's won't be miles off drumhowan. However no massive stand out players to help our county efforts. Will be interesting to see can emeyvale push themselves for the league and make a good effort at Ulster!

Clubman57 (Monaghan) - Posts: 10 - 21/10/2025 11:53:34    2640938

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Replying To sleater:  "Not sure, but it would seem likely. On a recent Farney Amry Pod, Gabriel Bannigan said on his wishlist would be that one or both of the aforementioned would return so you can be sure he'll be onto both on a return to the senior squad. I think 2026 squad will focus more on returning players rather than new faces - aside form the two lads already mentioned, you'd be hoping Hamill and McCaul return from their long term injuries and back to their best. Could Aaron Mulligan be tempted back, he was excellent for Latton in the championship, though carry an injury against Scotstown which impacted his perfomance) ? Shane Hanratty has again been very good.

New Faces - Surely McGarrell will get a call up based on his Corduff. Niall McKenna from Emyvale might get a call up. Fionan Carolan and Matthew Carolan from Carrick have been top class. Who else has stood out?"
What would be tempting these boys like mulligan, hanratty , jones back into the county, they've been in before and got little luck, even bannigan said on the farney army pod he expects lads to come in, serve their time and wait for a chance. These lads aren't going to want to go from the top men in monaghan club football to sitting around in hope they might get some minutes.

Deadballmerchant (Monaghan) - Posts: 32 - 21/10/2025 11:59:48    2640939

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Replying To Clubman57:  "Definitely agree with you as poor as junior is most of the teams are close in terms of ability. Toome, Blackhill, Aghabog (if they ever get it together on big days), Currin, Eire og and Sean's won't be miles off drumhowan. However no massive stand out players to help our county efforts. Will be interesting to see can emeyvale push themselves for the league and make a good effort at Ulster!"
Drumhowan have to be strong favourites though. The year up will stand to them.Whoever stays down between Seans and Eire Og, should be good too (Conor Leonard going travelling though). Not sure about managers in a lot of clubs.Imagine there will be a lot of changes.Mark McBride will be looking to do a lot better at Aghabog .Disappointing year given their numbers. Will Blackhill stick with Finnegan?Toome roaded McPhillips during the league. Local men in I think? Raymond Johnston not staying at Currin apparently.2 years seems to be the time scale now.Seans and Eire Og will probably change if they don't go up. Raymond Leonard and Mickey McMahon both there a few years. Will Donal McAdam stay in Drumhowan? Did great to get them promotion with a young team.I know Donal Quigley is gone from Rockcorry. Definitely improved them.They didn't win a game the year before he came in. His predecessor in Rock, Colm McGeough is gone from Oram after a tough year. Don't think they won a game.Again, dealing with very limited resources. Killeevan had a Fermanagh man in. Not sure if he's staying. Don't know about Scotstown. Like we said, it may not be the greatest standard of football but it's entertaining!

Matchwatcher (Monaghan) - Posts: 15 - 21/10/2025 13:07:54    2640955

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Replying To Deadballmerchant:  "What would be tempting these boys like mulligan, hanratty , jones back into the county, they've been in before and got little luck, even bannigan said on the farney army pod he expects lads to come in, serve their time and wait for a chance. These lads aren't going to want to go from the top men in monaghan club football to sitting around in hope they might get some minutes."
Hanratty and Mulligan were barely out of minor when called up previously. They weren't physically developed enough at that stage and both are better players now and at about the right age now for senior football. Plus there has been retirements from the squad so they are opportunities there. If Bannigan can convince them to commit, Monaghan are better off for it.

sleater (Monaghan) - Posts: 186 - 21/10/2025 13:33:42    2640959

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Replying To 222:  "It was fairly comfortable for emyvale. They have potential the push on definitely and some nice players. Thats there third junior since 2013. Credit to Seans who tried their best. Kieran duffy also gone. Great servant very underrated."
Good luck in the future Kieran Duffy, what a player and was always super to watch, definitely up there with the best. Went to the junior final on Sunday and was very impressed with No.6 Harvey Colleran, and David Duffy ,

stoneygrey (Monaghan) - Posts: 247 - 21/10/2025 13:37:10    2640961

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Replying To Matchwatcher:  "Drumhowan have to be strong favourites though. The year up will stand to them.Whoever stays down between Seans and Eire Og, should be good too (Conor Leonard going travelling though). Not sure about managers in a lot of clubs.Imagine there will be a lot of changes.Mark McBride will be looking to do a lot better at Aghabog .Disappointing year given their numbers. Will Blackhill stick with Finnegan?Toome roaded McPhillips during the league. Local men in I think? Raymond Johnston not staying at Currin apparently.2 years seems to be the time scale now.Seans and Eire Og will probably change if they don't go up. Raymond Leonard and Mickey McMahon both there a few years. Will Donal McAdam stay in Drumhowan? Did great to get them promotion with a young team.I know Donal Quigley is gone from Rockcorry. Definitely improved them.They didn't win a game the year before he came in. His predecessor in Rock, Colm McGeough is gone from Oram after a tough year. Don't think they won a game.Again, dealing with very limited resources. Killeevan had a Fermanagh man in. Not sure if he's staying. Don't know about Scotstown. Like we said, it may not be the greatest standard of football but it's entertaining!"
New rules found a lot of managers out! Was easy to play the usual drop a few men back - now you need coaching

veterngaa (Monaghan) - Posts: 871 - 21/10/2025 16:52:41    2640986

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Replying To sleater:  "Hanratty and Mulligan were barely out of minor when called up previously. They weren't physically developed enough at that stage and both are better players now and at about the right age now for senior football. Plus there has been retirements from the squad so they are opportunities there. If Bannigan can convince them to commit, Monaghan are better off for it."
Hopefully these lads will commit along with Jones as well. Div 1 football should be a decent carrot. There will be opportunities for new lads to become regulars now. Inter county football isn't for everyone through no matter how talented a player is Best of luck to Niall Kearns if he is done with the county scene and is living abroad now he was some talent to have and was right up there with best midfielders in the country. I don't think people realize just how lucky a county like monaghan have been over past 20 years to have the players we have had who gave on average a good 10 to 15 years commitment to the cause. Don't think we will see that kind of thing again as demands on players increase.

seanie08 (Monaghan) - Posts: 1919 - 21/10/2025 18:20:49    2640999

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Replying To Deadballmerchant:  "What would be tempting these boys like mulligan, hanratty , jones back into the county, they've been in before and got little luck, even bannigan said on the farney army pod he expects lads to come in, serve their time and wait for a chance. These lads aren't going to want to go from the top men in monaghan club football to sitting around in hope they might get some minutes."
Not a chance of Hanratty or Mulligan returning. As for Jones, while a wonderful talent, it is very doubtful that he has the interest.

ORIELMAN85 (Monaghan) - Posts: 842 - 21/10/2025 20:48:52    2641015

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Replying To veterngaa:  "New rules found a lot of managers out! Was easy to play the usual drop a few men back - now you need coaching"
AGREED!!!

Deadballmerchant (Monaghan) - Posts: 32 - 22/10/2025 08:40:05    2641039

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McKenna cup is back now too isn't it so that such help any new or returning players get a look in.

Deadballmerchant (Monaghan) - Posts: 32 - 22/10/2025 08:41:03    2641040

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Replying To ORIELMAN85:  "Not a chance of Hanratty or Mulligan returning. As for Jones, while a wonderful talent, it is very doubtful that he has the interest."
If they don't want to play, there is plenty of scotstown and north monaghan lads who will represent.

monaghanmad (Monaghan) - Posts: 435 - 22/10/2025 10:22:14    2641049

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For Co Final weekend this forum has been dead. I'm sure the high stool lads will be saying the rosary Sunday morning! The usual lads with have their copy and paste ready if Scotstown lose.. the bitterness and jealousy raging through every bone.

veterngaa (Monaghan) - Posts: 871 - 24/10/2025 13:35:41    2641386

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Replying To Matchwatcher:  "Drumhowan have to be strong favourites though. The year up will stand to them.Whoever stays down between Seans and Eire Og, should be good too (Conor Leonard going travelling though). Not sure about managers in a lot of clubs.Imagine there will be a lot of changes.Mark McBride will be looking to do a lot better at Aghabog .Disappointing year given their numbers. Will Blackhill stick with Finnegan?Toome roaded McPhillips during the league. Local men in I think? Raymond Johnston not staying at Currin apparently.2 years seems to be the time scale now.Seans and Eire Og will probably change if they don't go up. Raymond Leonard and Mickey McMahon both there a few years. Will Donal McAdam stay in Drumhowan? Did great to get them promotion with a young team.I know Donal Quigley is gone from Rockcorry. Definitely improved them.They didn't win a game the year before he came in. His predecessor in Rock, Colm McGeough is gone from Oram after a tough year. Don't think they won a game.Again, dealing with very limited resources. Killeevan had a Fermanagh man in. Not sure if he's staying. Don't know about Scotstown. Like we said, it may not be the greatest standard of football but it's entertaining!"
Agree with you there @matchwatcher, Drumhowan will be strong favourites, on another topic as a junior man myself , it has to be looked at the quality in my area you take for example the junior comp most of which is all in one area, Eire og, Sean's Aghabog, rock, killevan, currin, clones at times always consistently junior teams. Can more be done on a coaching sense from the county board down to help these clubs. I heard on the podcast this week that Killanny were 25 years in junior and are now a game away from another stint in senior . Are our so called smaller teams destined to be junior outfits or can anything be done from higher powers ?

Clubman57 (Monaghan) - Posts: 10 - 24/10/2025 16:29:04    2641408

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Replying To Clubman57:  "Agree with you there @matchwatcher, Drumhowan will be strong favourites, on another topic as a junior man myself , it has to be looked at the quality in my area you take for example the junior comp most of which is all in one area, Eire og, Sean's Aghabog, rock, killevan, currin, clones at times always consistently junior teams. Can more be done on a coaching sense from the county board down to help these clubs. I heard on the podcast this week that Killanny were 25 years in junior and are now a game away from another stint in senior . Are our so called smaller teams destined to be junior outfits or can anything be done from higher powers ?"
The message board is Dead because all the county is expecting 2 very comfortable wins for the big teams like everyone expected before a ball was kicked, everyone thought Emyvale ,junior , carrickmacross, intermediate and Scotstown would all win their championships and that is how it panned out last Sunday, it's how it will go tomorrow and Sunday
Carrickmacross will beat killanny by 10 points , expect it to be the Stevie show , Think he ll score 2 -5 / 2-6 , be the difference and show his county pedigree on the big stage

Expect something similar on Sunday, Inniskeen will stay with Scotstown for 35 - 40 mins and then Scotstown will put on the power , Beggan, 2 Hughes and Jack will show their Quality, Scotstown by 8

Anything to be done with junior teams ?
Loads , get the juvenile structure in place , stop amalgamating, even if the teams are spread over all 4 years , creates links between age groups and then they are yours lads /girls
Make it fun, make it the thing to do in your area ,

MONAGHAN1985 (Monaghan) - Posts: 94 - 24/10/2025 21:25:16    2641428

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Replying To Clubman57:  "Agree with you there @matchwatcher, Drumhowan will be strong favourites, on another topic as a junior man myself , it has to be looked at the quality in my area you take for example the junior comp most of which is all in one area, Eire og, Sean's Aghabog, rock, killevan, currin, clones at times always consistently junior teams. Can more be done on a coaching sense from the county board down to help these clubs. I heard on the podcast this week that Killanny were 25 years in junior and are now a game away from another stint in senior . Are our so called smaller teams destined to be junior outfits or can anything be done from higher powers ?"
I think with the exception of Killeevan, all those clubs have had a decent run in the last 15/20 years or so. Currin and Rockcorry both were senior and came back to win Junior double and Ulster Championship. Seans and Aghabog too were senior teams in 2000s.Unfortunately these were golden eras for those clubs. There are not the same players in terms of quality or commitment and mentality available to those clubs.Very difficult to keep enthusiasm when going through a tough spell. Fair play to coaches and committees who keep plugging away.Its an easy enough gig to manage clubs with huge numbers and players who motivate themselves. It's a cycle,though.Currin,Aghabog, Oram and Killeevan going well in juvenile competitions. Rockcorry and Eire Og have a couple of good minors. I see Clones won an u14 and u16 championship this year. Another few years and the fortunes will change. Ballybay are not producing juvenile teams so they're in for a few barren years.Toome too.Doohamlet are probably the best example of a club who never had huge numbers but by God they maximised their abilities and won numerous Intermediate titles. A brilliant achievement. There will be highs and lows in smaller clubs.
Just a thought, if the Inniskeen and Scotstown managements preparing for a Senior Final on Sunday were given the present Toome, Currin,Oram ,Rockcorry or Killeevan for a year I wonder how things would work out???

Matchwatcher (Monaghan) - Posts: 15 - 24/10/2025 21:45:08    2641432

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Replying To veterngaa:  "For Co Final weekend this forum has been dead. I'm sure the high stool lads will be saying the rosary Sunday morning! The usual lads with have their copy and paste ready if Scotstown lose.. the bitterness and jealousy raging through every bone."
People hate winners. When a team wins over and over again it gets repetitive and boring. Unfortunately people will always be bitter of Scotstown during the Monaghan championship. But ultimately support them during the ulster championship.

Where the mighty Scotstown ultimately let themselves down.

Darragh1987 (Monaghan) - Posts: 20 - 24/10/2025 22:37:57    2641434

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Inniskeen by 3.
Killanny by 5.
Emyvale by 12.

ORIELMAN85 (Monaghan) - Posts: 842 - 25/10/2025 01:18:11    2641444

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Replying To Matchwatcher:  "I think with the exception of Killeevan, all those clubs have had a decent run in the last 15/20 years or so. Currin and Rockcorry both were senior and came back to win Junior double and Ulster Championship. Seans and Aghabog too were senior teams in 2000s.Unfortunately these were golden eras for those clubs. There are not the same players in terms of quality or commitment and mentality available to those clubs.Very difficult to keep enthusiasm when going through a tough spell. Fair play to coaches and committees who keep plugging away.Its an easy enough gig to manage clubs with huge numbers and players who motivate themselves. It's a cycle,though.Currin,Aghabog, Oram and Killeevan going well in juvenile competitions. Rockcorry and Eire Og have a couple of good minors. I see Clones won an u14 and u16 championship this year. Another few years and the fortunes will change. Ballybay are not producing juvenile teams so they're in for a few barren years.Toome too.Doohamlet are probably the best example of a club who never had huge numbers but by God they maximised their abilities and won numerous Intermediate titles. A brilliant achievement. There will be highs and lows in smaller clubs.
Just a thought, if the Inniskeen and Scotstown managements preparing for a Senior Final on Sunday were given the present Toome, Currin,Oram ,Rockcorry or Killeevan for a year I wonder how things would work out???"
Well Scotstowns management team consists of Diarmuid Scullion( all Ireland minor winning coach and former Westmeath coach and now Cavan coach ), Donal Morgan ( former Co player and many co medals), Fergus Caulfield (nothing to be said ) and Kevin O'Brien ( former corofin manager)

You reckon they wouldn't get them going ?

veterngaa (Monaghan) - Posts: 871 - 25/10/2025 07:48:09    2641449

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