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Replying To TheBishop:  "How did Clarets get on the other day, any word on the other semi too?"
Well beaten 6-3 to 0-3. Sounds as though clarets went very defensive hence the lack of scores. McDermotts full forward line done vast majority of the scoring damage. Still a great year for the clarets and would expect them to have a good year in intermediate next year.

Brendans of lancashire beat st judes in the other semi final by 5 i believe it was. Sounds as though it was a pretty even contest with judes kicking some bad wides in the second half which ultimately cost them.

Surely this has to be mcdermotts year now you wouldve thought, theyve been knocking on the door for so many years now and are after completing 8 in a row in warwickshire. Brendans nothing to fear though, no pressure on them going into the final

Joes v eire og (oxford) playing in the shield final after both receiving walkovers in their semi finals. Joes perhaps favourites for this considering they have had a game most weeks but certainly wouldnt rule out eire og who have domianted in Hertfordshire now for a few years

MyOpinion1991 (UK) - Posts: 25 - 26/10/2021 15:18:59    2387460

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Replying To MyOpinion1991:  "Well beaten 6-3 to 0-3. Sounds as though clarets went very defensive hence the lack of scores. McDermotts full forward line done vast majority of the scoring damage. Still a great year for the clarets and would expect them to have a good year in intermediate next year.

Brendans of lancashire beat st judes in the other semi final by 5 i believe it was. Sounds as though it was a pretty even contest with judes kicking some bad wides in the second half which ultimately cost them.

Surely this has to be mcdermotts year now you wouldve thought, theyve been knocking on the door for so many years now and are after completing 8 in a row in warwickshire. Brendans nothing to fear though, no pressure on them going into the final

Joes v eire og (oxford) playing in the shield final after both receiving walkovers in their semi finals. Joes perhaps favourites for this considering they have had a game most weeks but certainly wouldnt rule out eire og who have domianted in Hertfordshire now for a few years"
You would have expected McDermotts to deal with Clarets comfortably given they are the senior champions playing against the junior champions of their respective counties.

Expecting McDermotts to finally do it this year partly because Brendans are not at the same level as previous teams they have encoutnered in finals, such as Dunedin and John Mitchels in recent years. Fair play to McDermotts for keeping it going trying to get there. McDermotts by 4 at the weekend.

In the Shield final I don't expect much of a contest, and the Joes to win by 8 at least.

fancyaride (Mayo) - Posts: 180 - 26/10/2021 15:40:18    2387465

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What's the relative level of Senior of other counties v London? I would have thought the Clarets semi would be fairly close.

Is there much value in the Shield? Feel like it's riddled by walkovers every year.

WestAwake88 (Galway) - Posts: 115 - 26/10/2021 16:43:51    2387482

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Anybody see the hurling the weekend??
Emmets throw it away or what happened??

edshamrocks (Wexford) - Posts: 385 - 26/10/2021 17:09:43    2387488

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Replying To WestAwake88:  "What's the relative level of Senior of other counties v London? I would have thought the Clarets semi would be fairly close.

Is there much value in the Shield? Feel like it's riddled by walkovers every year."
not sure what happened clarets at the weekend - was expecting that one to be a lot closer than what it turned out to be. Perhaps a case of the season dragging on longer - lots of teams out 6 months at this stage? or was it a case of mcdermotts getting the goals at good times and clarets throwing in the towel?

The Shield I see little or no benefit to it - could possibly see the positive if there was a back door qualifier between the cup winners and the shield winners to determine who goes into the all ireland junior. Other than that it seems like its meaningless games for the sake of meaningless games.

Jaybloggs (UK) - Posts: 37 - 27/10/2021 09:30:15    2387532

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Replying To WestAwake88:  "What's the relative level of Senior of other counties v London? I would have thought the Clarets semi would be fairly close.

Is there much value in the Shield? Feel like it's riddled by walkovers every year."
I think seeing McCurtains win the all Britain gives a good guide to where the other teams would be relative to senior in London. Think the top teams in Scotland and Lancs would be good competitive teams in London senior but a bit short of big three.

Rosineri1 (UK) - Posts: 2099 - 27/10/2021 14:10:24    2387595

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Replying To Rosineri1:  "I think seeing McCurtains win the all Britain gives a good guide to where the other teams would be relative to senior in London. Think the top teams in Scotland and Lancs would be good competitive teams in London senior but a bit short of big three."
I think Thomas McCurtains were the exception to most of London's representatives in the all britain past few years in that they are set up for senior in london. The majority of teams who go up from intermediate to senior in london come straight back down having finding themselves well out of their depth and the same will apply to the joes.

Knowing the teams they way I do McDermotts and Brendans would be on a par with the likes of the top Intermediate and bottom tier Senior teams in London.

fancyaride (Mayo) - Posts: 180 - 27/10/2021 16:18:13    2387625

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regarding McCurtains I was comparing them to the other top teams in the All Britain, rather than the other winners from London. the big teams outside of London, I would say would be good London senior sides but a bit short of the big three that there are in London currently. But if they were playing regularly against the top London teams you could see them maybe bridge that gap.

Rosineri1 (UK) - Posts: 2099 - 27/10/2021 18:30:35    2387648

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Replying To fancyaride:  "I think Thomas McCurtains were the exception to most of London's representatives in the all britain past few years in that they are set up for senior in london. The majority of teams who go up from intermediate to senior in london come straight back down having finding themselves well out of their depth and the same will apply to the joes.

Knowing the teams they way I do McDermotts and Brendans would be on a par with the likes of the top Intermediate and bottom tier Senior teams in London."
What did Mc Curtains do differently then to be setup for senior ? They were down at the bottom of junior ranks for a long time so they must have put out a lot of work into this.

You'd imagine Joes should be able to push on at Senior as they have been knocking on the door so long they should be prepared. Then again the same could be said about Brendans in London this year and as you said they went straight back down.

LondainGael (UK) - Posts: 24 - 28/10/2021 09:12:33    2387666

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I think the demographics of lads moving over to London and the locations of where they lived have really helped McCurtains stay up at senior. Obviously they got there house in order and have a really good set-up/club culture to boot but more lads are moving to all parts of London rather than the traditional north west areas.

Being the only club in east London and now being senior is an immediate pull for lads that have moved to the area. If a lad rated himself he might have looked elsewhere rather than togging out for the local Junior club which is obviously not the case anymore.

There is more club competition in West London which would make it harder for the likes of the Joes to improve enough to become an established senior club. Not saying its impossible but it's more difficult now the numbers aren't what they used to be.

Anchorman_6 (Cavan) - Posts: 35 - 28/10/2021 09:43:37    2387671

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Replying To Anchorman_6:  "I think the demographics of lads moving over to London and the locations of where they lived have really helped McCurtains stay up at senior. Obviously they got there house in order and have a really good set-up/club culture to boot but more lads are moving to all parts of London rather than the traditional north west areas.

Being the only club in east London and now being senior is an immediate pull for lads that have moved to the area. If a lad rated himself he might have looked elsewhere rather than togging out for the local Junior club which is obviously not the case anymore.

There is more club competition in West London which would make it harder for the likes of the Joes to improve enough to become an established senior club. Not saying its impossible but it's more difficult now the numbers aren't what they used to be."
Good point made here with the demographics of London, McCurtains have done fantastically do go up and compete the way they have, only for the group they were in this year they perhaps wouldve made the county semi final. They seem to have a great committee and real club men that gave them the springboard to then build on so fair play to them.

Hard to know what to expect of joes next year, seemed all year they would breeze through intermediate. Harlesden gave them a real battle in the final, saying that i thought harlesden really made it a bit of a scrappy contest at times and joes didnt seem to rise above it. Then they followed that up with defeat to clarets. Will their big signing from Westmeath stay with them? He was the real difference in the county final, think they could be okay at senior.

One theme which seems to be developing is that most of the senior clubs also have strong underage structures in place. I believe Fulham are the only club which dont have any underage at all? Would be interested to know what % of squads at senior are made up with homegrown players, Kiernans and TCG certainly have a large number and Towers also have a few

MyOpinion1991 (UK) - Posts: 25 - 28/10/2021 11:52:01    2387695

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Replying To MyOpinion1991:  "Good point made here with the demographics of London, McCurtains have done fantastically do go up and compete the way they have, only for the group they were in this year they perhaps wouldve made the county semi final. They seem to have a great committee and real club men that gave them the springboard to then build on so fair play to them.

Hard to know what to expect of joes next year, seemed all year they would breeze through intermediate. Harlesden gave them a real battle in the final, saying that i thought harlesden really made it a bit of a scrappy contest at times and joes didnt seem to rise above it. Then they followed that up with defeat to clarets. Will their big signing from Westmeath stay with them? He was the real difference in the county final, think they could be okay at senior.

One theme which seems to be developing is that most of the senior clubs also have strong underage structures in place. I believe Fulham are the only club which dont have any underage at all? Would be interested to know what % of squads at senior are made up with homegrown players, Kiernans and TCG certainly have a large number and Towers also have a few"
MacCurtains certainly make the most of their location and do well in both codes; I wonder how many dual players they have? They seem to do well every season with recruitment and consistently field a reserve team also. Other clubs with good locations such as Dulwich and Éire Og seem to have stalled. Wandsworth could make some headway in the next few seasons if they can get out of junior.
St Josephs will struggle at Senior, MacCurtains survived the first season as there was no relegation, and Neasden being in free fall this season has also helped. You could expect them to kick on and match the likes of Towers KKG etc

LondainEire (UK) - Posts: 40 - 28/10/2021 15:33:36    2387737

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Replying To LondainEire:  "MacCurtains certainly make the most of their location and do well in both codes; I wonder how many dual players they have? They seem to do well every season with recruitment and consistently field a reserve team also. Other clubs with good locations such as Dulwich and Éire Og seem to have stalled. Wandsworth could make some headway in the next few seasons if they can get out of junior.
St Josephs will struggle at Senior, MacCurtains survived the first season as there was no relegation, and Neasden being in free fall this season has also helped. You could expect them to kick on and match the likes of Towers KKG etc"
McCurtains have done really well to set themselves for senior with their sell as a east London option to many of the Irish over here now, especially in areas further out in Essex or east anglia. They have the grounds, good people in important positions and by the energy of their social media a lot of enthusiasm driving the club forwards.

With an under age structure, they have similar set up to the likes of the top clubs in Kiernans and TCG, but time will tell how their senior 15 will get on with challenging for silverware.

Their progress can be seen as a lesson to others who relied on the same few small construction contractors (for £££ and work etc) who then went to the wall, and those clubs are now languishing in intermediate and junior and not in the greatest health either (or even a few who have folded in the past few years). the sooner these clubs accept that the days of top players coming over to work on the tools in London for a summer and playing a bit of ball is fading out and need to plan for the longer term.

opinion1986 (Cork) - Posts: 15 - 29/10/2021 15:28:38    2387835

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Replying To opinion1986:  "McCurtains have done really well to set themselves for senior with their sell as a east London option to many of the Irish over here now, especially in areas further out in Essex or east anglia. They have the grounds, good people in important positions and by the energy of their social media a lot of enthusiasm driving the club forwards.

With an under age structure, they have similar set up to the likes of the top clubs in Kiernans and TCG, but time will tell how their senior 15 will get on with challenging for silverware.

Their progress can be seen as a lesson to others who relied on the same few small construction contractors (for £££ and work etc) who then went to the wall, and those clubs are now languishing in intermediate and junior and not in the greatest health either (or even a few who have folded in the past few years). the sooner these clubs accept that the days of top players coming over to work on the tools in London for a summer and playing a bit of ball is fading out and need to plan for the longer term."
Think for a club to be progressive you need a good committee in place, clubs need to be run with some sort of plan in place. Its no surprise that the clubs doing well are the ones who are well run, have underage structures in place, are active on social media etc. People coming over now will be looking to social media for clubs, if your twitter page was last updated in 2018 its unlikely that player is going to reach out to you. Clubs need to be getting the younger members involved in club committees, dragging the club into the modern era, you can see the ladies clubs seem to have a much better handle on social media and how to attract players than a lot of the mens clubs.

Rosineri1 (UK) - Posts: 2099 - 02/11/2021 13:47:30    2388163

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Congratulations to Brendans on an amazing comeback to win the All Britain yesterday. 8 points down at half time and owned the second half as Sean macs stopped playing the early long direct ball into the FF line which served them so well in the first half. It was an immense game and the second half was a fantastic watch. Unfortunately the usual hot headedness and indiscipline cost sean macs as they had a sending off and black cards. Also some of the abuse a group of their supporters down behind the goal at the clubhouse were giving to the Brendans players was disgraceful.

mr305 (Galway) - Posts: 46 - 08/11/2021 12:57:33    2388756

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Great to see games streamed yesterday. They really need more of that in London for club games, at least those at Ruislip.

WestAwake88 (Galway) - Posts: 115 - 08/11/2021 14:55:49    2388782

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Replying To WestAwake88:  "Great to see games streamed yesterday. They really need more of that in London for club games, at least those at Ruislip."
Why cant London GAA stream games? Camogie , London LGFA and now Britain GAA all streamed finals in Ruislip but yet the mens organisation still in the dark ages and ignorant towards this. There really is zero excuse. They are actually hindering the London GAA brand as its not promoting the game - its not showcasing homegrown talent and highlighting the talent there is in London - so frustrating !!!

LondainGael (UK) - Posts: 24 - 08/11/2021 16:42:37    2388793

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Replying To WestAwake88:  "Great to see games streamed yesterday. They really need more of that in London for club games, at least those at Ruislip."
100%. No reason why championship finals can't be streamed. The quality yesterday and the ladies finals in past two years has been better than some of the streams from games at home.

whoareya (Donegal) - Posts: 77 - 08/11/2021 16:49:33    2388796

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Replying To mr305:  "Congratulations to Brendans on an amazing comeback to win the All Britain yesterday. 8 points down at half time and owned the second half as Sean macs stopped playing the early long direct ball into the FF line which served them so well in the first half. It was an immense game and the second half was a fantastic watch. Unfortunately the usual hot headedness and indiscipline cost sean macs as they had a sending off and black cards. Also some of the abuse a group of their supporters down behind the goal at the clubhouse were giving to the Brendans players was disgraceful."
Question, does the All-Britain have the senior champions of all the counties?

Tacaí Liatroma (Leitrim) - Posts: 1029 - 08/11/2021 17:10:40    2388803

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Replying To Tacaí Liatroma:  "Question, does the All-Britain have the senior champions of all the counties?"
Not the London Seniors. London Intermediate go into All Britain. Rest of the country it would be senior champions go into it

London125 (UK) - Posts: 55 - 09/11/2021 10:13:07    2388858

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