I have been hearing a lot of people putting the success of ratoath in football and hurling down to the recent population boom (hurling not finished, but still a great year by anyone's standards)
So I started to wonder whether there would be a dominance due to population or was there more at play. got some other towns figures to put perspective on it.
Dunboyne - 9k Ratoath - 9k Dunshaughlin - 5k Kells - 6k Trim - 9k Navan - 30k (would love to know the breakdown per parish) Duleek - 4k Stamullen - 4k
Curious to get the thoughts of the majority here... is it population or is it down to the structures that drove success
Replying To Up4deMatch: "I have been hearing a lot of people putting the success of ratoath in football and hurling down to the recent population boom (hurling not finished, but still a great year by anyone's standards)
So I started to wonder whether there would be a dominance due to population or was there more at play. got some other towns figures to put perspective on it.
Dunboyne - 9k Ratoath - 9k Dunshaughlin - 5k Kells - 6k Trim - 9k Navan - 30k (would love to know the breakdown per parish) Duleek - 4k Stamullen - 4k
Curious to get the thoughts of the majority here... is it population or is it down to the structures that drove success"
In fairness to Ratoath I think they have good people in the club driving it on. That fabulous pitch they have didn't build itself. As Dublin can show you, if you have the population and get your act together - you are hard bet.
Replying To Up4deMatch: "I have been hearing a lot of people putting the success of ratoath in football and hurling down to the recent population boom (hurling not finished, but still a great year by anyone's standards)
So I started to wonder whether there would be a dominance due to population or was there more at play. got some other towns figures to put perspective on it.
Dunboyne - 9k Ratoath - 9k Dunshaughlin - 5k Kells - 6k Trim - 9k Navan - 30k (would love to know the breakdown per parish) Duleek - 4k Stamullen - 4k
Curious to get the thoughts of the majority here... is it population or is it down to the structures that drove success"
Population won't win you a Senior club championship or even bring you underage success.
Look at St Colmcilles. Sure they have had a big population going back 30 years and what have they won at Senior Level - absolutely nothing and it was same at underage up until recent years.
The only reason their been successful now at underage is because it finally donned on them thanks to some visionary club men that they needed to have a comprehensive schools programme and in fairness to them they have been running that very successfully for the last 15 years.
Now their hoping they can translate that into Senior success. Now there is the trick and the most difficult hurdle of all they have to get over which takes having proper men at the helm of their Senior team for one
So to answer your question. Population alone does not matter if you don't have a proper schools programme and or Senior coaches of real substance to transition the underage players into successful Senior players and Senior team .
Population helps, of course. But if you don't put the work in underage, it doesn't mean anything. If population meant the most, then Curraha and Ballinabrackey wouldn't be senior and the likes of Pat's wouldn't be where they are (no disrespect whatsoever to Pat's). Ratoath had over a population of 9000 or so back in 2011 and were plying their trade in junior football and hurling. But the club has done incredible work underage in football and hurling to go from struggling to win junior championships to challenging for senior titles.
I don't think population matters that much for hurling, more the culture of the club and underage work. Ashbourne, for all the work they've done with football, should not be where they are in hurling if they put the work in (i.e. second worst first team in Meath ahead of St. Pat's who only just reformed). Then you've got Navan (population c. 30000) being relegated to intermediate. While I know that the clubs draw players from a larger area than their villages, Kiltale, Kildalkey and Kilmessan have won 16 of the 20 senior hurling titles since the turn of the century and neither would have a massive population.
Ratoath Royal (Meath) - Posts: 1362 - 12/10/2020 19:48:48
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Replying To Crinigan: "In fairness to Ratoath I think they have good people in the club driving it on. That fabulous pitch they have didn't build itself. As Dublin can show you, if you have the population and get your act together - you are hard bet."
Couldn't agree more But unfortunately like most clubs we have our neh sayers within our club who are agenda driven and cannot see the woods for the trees
Replying To Talking_Sense: "Population won't win you a Senior club championship or even bring you underage success.
Look at St Colmcilles. Sure they have had a big population going back 30 years and what have they won at Senior Level - absolutely nothing and it was same at underage up until recent years.
The only reason their been successful now at underage is because it finally donned on them thanks to some visionary club men that they needed to have a comprehensive schools programme and in fairness to them they have been running that very successfully for the last 15 years.
Now their hoping they can translate that into Senior success. Now there is the trick and the most difficult hurdle of all they have to get over which takes having proper men at the helm of their Senior team for one
So to answer your question. Population alone does not matter if you don't have a proper schools programme and or Senior coaches of real substance to transition the underage players into successful Senior players and Senior team ."
Replying To Meathball: "100% correct must be coached in schools. Population of Summerhill less than 800, Skryne 1k, Ashbourne 11k, St Colmcilles 28k, Trim 9k."
Tones punching well above their weight for 16 years now also