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Galway Hurling thread

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Replying To PoolSturgeon:  "Would you have said the same thing after watching the 2020 club championships, one of the best club championships we had in years, most games highly competitive and only a margin of a point or two in most games? The 2021 championship has had far too many one sided games for sure but put it in context.
That said, I think it is a good thing if the number of senior clubs is reduced. I would have said 18 or 20 would be the appropriate number but of course 16 is a handier number to work with. I dont think Croke Park should have a veto on how many senior clubs we have. Undoubtedly we will have to reduce the number of senior clubs in order to make the split season for club and county work but there should be some wriggle room on the rule that it needs to be 16."
Ya, saying it for years tbh. We've way too many teams at senior who are senior in name only. We don't have enough good teams to justify that amount of senior teams. Intermediate is meant to be a high level as well, there's such a stigma with being intermediate team in Galway. Such bs, if you're good enough you'll be a senior team. Years of nobody going down abs even the year of two teams coming, the Galway intermediate championship has become a terrible standard of hurling. The amount of second teams in it is growing and junior A has long become a second teams only competition too. Only fooling ourselves with this. Swelled championships are leaving so many teams in Senior in some kind of purgatory, not nearly good enough to threaten the latter stages of senior and still in no real danger of being relegated because there'll always 3/4 very bad teams (for senior) below them and just have to win one of those. Like I know there'll always a few teams ahead of the rest but at least with 16 it cuts out a lot of the deadwood. Think of the teams that came through tough intermediate championship 7/8/9 years ago and it did them well when they got to senior, Cappataggle, Killimordaly etc basically any one who is any good is up senior now and what your left with is a very poor intermediate/junior level and a senior championship that only starts meaning something once you get to quarter finals when the quality jumps up a good few notchs. Sure it'll mean some very big clubs like Athenry, Ardrahan, Portumna etc could be intermediate but let them earn their top level status (not picking on those clubs, just using them as examples) for too long in Galway it was very easy get out of relegation. Even the way Kiltormer survived relegation from intermediate because it would be bad for them. Ffs Glenmore won a senior club all Ireland and they went down junior too. We're so obsessed with trying retain status in Galway with clubs than we don't ask the question "do we deserve to stay up/are we really good enough to be here/are we improving at all the way things are run?" When we're the only ones out of 32 counties that can't keep get out championship down to the correct amount you have to ask maybe, just maybe we're wrong?

ML89 (Galway) - Posts: 39 - 15/12/2021 11:57:58    2392890

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Replying To foreveryoung:  "Each team has 5 games to play. The top 2 at A-level go into semi-finals. Teams 3 and 5 at A-level plus 1 and 2 at B-level go into quarter-finals.

I'm not having a cut at Galway when I say 12 senior clubs is enough. I could say the same about almost every other county.

Yes, I follow Limerick hurling, but any poster from Limerick on here can tell you that when it comes to senior club hurling in the county that 12 exist on paper, but only 4 on the field (outside of NAP, Kilmallock, The Well and Doon, you won't find a team to win it in Limerick).

It's the same in almost every other county. Stop kidding ourselves that we've even 12 senior level clubs in any county."
Let's hope it happens then. Your proposal would also help with all the scheduling conflicts too.

Trump2020 (Galway) - Posts: 2113 - 15/12/2021 12:39:10    2392902

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Replying To ML89:  "Ya, saying it for years tbh. We've way too many teams at senior who are senior in name only. We don't have enough good teams to justify that amount of senior teams. Intermediate is meant to be a high level as well, there's such a stigma with being intermediate team in Galway. Such bs, if you're good enough you'll be a senior team. Years of nobody going down abs even the year of two teams coming, the Galway intermediate championship has become a terrible standard of hurling. The amount of second teams in it is growing and junior A has long become a second teams only competition too. Only fooling ourselves with this. Swelled championships are leaving so many teams in Senior in some kind of purgatory, not nearly good enough to threaten the latter stages of senior and still in no real danger of being relegated because there'll always 3/4 very bad teams (for senior) below them and just have to win one of those. Like I know there'll always a few teams ahead of the rest but at least with 16 it cuts out a lot of the deadwood. Think of the teams that came through tough intermediate championship 7/8/9 years ago and it did them well when they got to senior, Cappataggle, Killimordaly etc basically any one who is any good is up senior now and what your left with is a very poor intermediate/junior level and a senior championship that only starts meaning something once you get to quarter finals when the quality jumps up a good few notchs. Sure it'll mean some very big clubs like Athenry, Ardrahan, Portumna etc could be intermediate but let them earn their top level status (not picking on those clubs, just using them as examples) for too long in Galway it was very easy get out of relegation. Even the way Kiltormer survived relegation from intermediate because it would be bad for them. Ffs Glenmore won a senior club all Ireland and they went down junior too. We're so obsessed with trying retain status in Galway with clubs than we don't ask the question "do we deserve to stay up/are we really good enough to be here/are we improving at all the way things are run?" When we're the only ones out of 32 counties that can't keep get out championship down to the correct amount you have to ask maybe, just maybe we're wrong?"
You are spot on. Obsessed with a 'senior' tag. When the 16,16,16 format comes in, my club will prob suffer the drop. Well, reality check.... we will be back up when good enough. Plenty more like it. Glenmore a great example. Tullaroan too. Them boys are back where they belong on merit. They have medals along the way too, and memories of winning silverware. That is what its all about. Not how many relegation battles you won and how many years you hurled 'senior'. the 16,16,16 will shake things up and let teams fight like dogs for their status. Egos will be hurt, but by god we will have cracking championships and local derbies fighting for survival etc.

GalwaysFinest (Galway) - Posts: 190 - 15/12/2021 15:24:13    2392934

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FAO incoming committee, please remove the current shambles of a galway website and update to modern, user friendly wesbites THAT ARE UPDATED DAILY but future fixtures and current results

https://connachtgaa.ie/fixtures-results/ note a fixtures and results tab AND ALL THE DROP DOWN TABS then. so user friendly. Then again, if its not been updated........................ :)

CillTormoir (Galway) - Posts: 485 - 16/12/2021 09:26:08    2392979

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Use a hyperlink, it should be more convenient.

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BubleWar (Galway) - Posts: 2 - 16/12/2021 13:10:34    2393011

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So its confirmed Toms & Ballyhale. should be a cracker. I had Ballyhale wrote off after spluttering over MLR and was fairly confident when I saw Rhynaghs take the lead in semifinal, however that game seems to have been the kick they needed! Wont look into their game yesterday as Toms will be a few steps above CloughBalla, but can they sit with Ballyhale for a full 60 odd minutes? Im not sure! keeping out the goals Ballyhale go for will be a huge factor, and that FF line they have v Toms FB line?

CillTormoir (Galway) - Posts: 485 - 20/12/2021 10:03:35    2393304

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Once Ballyhale hit Croke Park, they're very hard to beat. Yesterday's score didn't surprise me at all. They've been there so often and tend to improve as they progress. Catching them early is the best bet.
I think Thomas's are better equipped than when they got hammered in the All-Ireland final a few years ago, but they're up against it to get a result.

WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 2034 - 20/12/2021 14:22:00    2393329

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Replying To CillTormoir:  "So its confirmed Toms & Ballyhale. should be a cracker. I had Ballyhale wrote off after spluttering over MLR and was fairly confident when I saw Rhynaghs take the lead in semifinal, however that game seems to have been the kick they needed! Wont look into their game yesterday as Toms will be a few steps above CloughBalla, but can they sit with Ballyhale for a full 60 odd minutes? Im not sure! keeping out the goals Ballyhale go for will be a huge factor, and that FF line they have v Toms FB line?"
I'd love to see Thomas's win it again but it won't be easy.

Trump2020 (Galway) - Posts: 2113 - 20/12/2021 19:38:46    2393364

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All Ireland Club Semi Finals
Ballygunner v Slaughtneill.....Ballygunner
St.Thomas' v Ballyhale Shamrocks....Thomas'
St.Thomas are able to compete with BS in every position and are definitely playing fantastic hurling this year.
This will be a serious test for Ballyhale.
St.Thomas' would have hammered the Carlow,Offaly and Laois Champions respectively if they had come through the Leinster run Ballyhale had.

katser (Galway) - Posts: 2192 - 21/12/2021 19:58:56    2393443

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Replying To katser:  "All Ireland Club Semi Finals
Ballygunner v Slaughtneill.....Ballygunner
St.Thomas' v Ballyhale Shamrocks....Thomas'
St.Thomas are able to compete with BS in every position and are definitely playing fantastic hurling this year.
This will be a serious test for Ballyhale.
St.Thomas' would have hammered the Carlow,Offaly and Laois Champions respectively if they had come through the Leinster run Ballyhale had."
Unfortunately they didn't come thru,
Ballyhale did
Ballyhale by 8

SixtiesKid (Galway) - Posts: 304 - 22/12/2021 12:17:03    2393476

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Replying To katser:  "All Ireland Club Semi Finals
Ballygunner v Slaughtneill.....Ballygunner
St.Thomas' v Ballyhale Shamrocks....Thomas'
St.Thomas are able to compete with BS in every position and are definitely playing fantastic hurling this year.
This will be a serious test for Ballyhale.
St.Thomas' would have hammered the Carlow,Offaly and Laois Champions respectively if they had come through the Leinster run Ballyhale had."
I think that is wishful thinking TBH. BS hammered Toms by 17 points the last time they played in the AI Club Final on St Paddy's Day 2019 and even with the injuries Toms had before / during that game, it is difficult to see how that kind of margin can be bridged given that BS do not seem significantly weaker than they were at that time and even allowing for Toms being a little stronger (on paper at least).

tommy k (Galway) - Posts: 3314 - 22/12/2021 12:22:58    2393478

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Replying To katser:  "All Ireland Club Semi Finals
Ballygunner v Slaughtneill.....Ballygunner
St.Thomas' v Ballyhale Shamrocks....Thomas'
St.Thomas are able to compete with BS in every position and are definitely playing fantastic hurling this year.
This will be a serious test for Ballyhale.
St.Thomas' would have hammered the Carlow,Offaly and Laois Champions respectively if they had come through the Leinster run Ballyhale had."
That's a nice Final Four of teams that are all good enough to win it. If Thomas's don't win it I'd love to see Ballygunner win it all.

Trump2020 (Galway) - Posts: 2113 - 22/12/2021 12:57:01    2393481

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Replying To katser:  "All Ireland Club Semi Finals
Ballygunner v Slaughtneill.....Ballygunner
St.Thomas' v Ballyhale Shamrocks....Thomas'
St.Thomas are able to compete with BS in every position and are definitely playing fantastic hurling this year.
This will be a serious test for Ballyhale.
St.Thomas' would have hammered the Carlow,Offaly and Laois Champions respectively if they had come through the Leinster run Ballyhale had."
Am I missing something here or are Kilmallock still involved?

seventyniner (Galway) - Posts: 41 - 22/12/2021 17:27:51    2393502

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Replying To tommy k:  "I think that is wishful thinking TBH. BS hammered Toms by 17 points the last time they played in the AI Club Final on St Paddy's Day 2019 and even with the injuries Toms had before / during that game, it is difficult to see how that kind of margin can be bridged given that BS do not seem significantly weaker than they were at that time and even allowing for Toms being a little stronger (on paper at least)."
Ya, I agree. Tom's are a fine team and maybe in a different era without this Ballyhale team they might have another all Ireland club title. It's not so much the loosing to teams like Ballyhale that will be held against them when analysing them with the great club teams that have came out of Galway. It's the losses to Borrisileigh and Ballyea that will probably go against them more. They probably haven't beaten a really big team outside Galway too. Like you'd have to have Portumna, Athenry and Sarsfields above them as they beat the best teams they played. Athenry beating Birr, Portumna beating Ballyhale being the main examples. Not taking anything away from their record in Galway because it is insane and maybe the lack of a real test in Galway the last 5,6 years has come against them and lack of a province when going in against teams in semi finals/finals because in no way do I think either Borrisileigh, Ballyea are better than them or that Ballyhale are 17 points better than them. Hope they show their class that we all know they have now against Ballyhale and maybe being underdogs going into this game will help them. Super team all the same, county championships are still a huge deal. Ballyhale will win but don't think they'll have it all their own way and if Tom's do win it and then the final, they'll have to be in conversation as one of the greatest clubs to come out of Galway then and would do them justice. Hope I'm proved wrong on this one!

ML89 (Galway) - Posts: 39 - 22/12/2021 18:09:02    2393505

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Is there a Walsh Cup panel list available to view ahead of Sunday, I see other counties releasing theirs

CillTormoir (Galway) - Posts: 485 - 04/01/2022 14:24:08    2393553

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Replying To CillTormoir:  "Is there a Walsh Cup panel list available to view ahead of Sunday, I see other counties releasing theirs"
this is Galway

SixtiesKid (Galway) - Posts: 304 - 04/01/2022 15:25:01    2393565

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Replying To SixtiesKid:  "this is Galway"
Silly me thinking we are onto a new chapter in Galway

CillTormoir (Galway) - Posts: 485 - 04/01/2022 16:11:29    2393576

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Sunday, January 23

AIB GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship semi-finals

Slaughtneil v Ballygunner/Kilmallock, Parnell Park, 1.30pm (TG4)

Referee: TBC

(E.T. & Winner on the Day)

Ballyhale Shamrocks v St. Thomas', Semple Stadium, 3.30pm (TG4)

Referee: TBC

(E.T. & Winner on the Day)

Cockney_Cat (UK) - Posts: 2446 - 05/01/2022 14:06:53    2393685

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St.Thomas' v Ballygunner All Ireland Club Final.

katser (Galway) - Posts: 2192 - 05/01/2022 15:14:04    2393702

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Replying To katser:  "St.Thomas' v Ballygunner All Ireland Club Final."
I hope you're right but Ballyhale won't be easy.

Trump2020 (Galway) - Posts: 2113 - 07/01/2022 11:08:10    2393903

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