Who would have thought it. The minnow counties of football reaching the All Ireland Senior Club Football Final.

St. Galls & Kilmurry-Ibrikane deserve heartiest our congratulations & I'm sure they will provide a final to remember on Paddy's Day.

An rud is annamh is iontach they say down my neck of the woods.

dingle1 (Clare) - Posts: 805 - 27/02/2010 21:58:54    574953

good to see new faces in the st patricks day final good luck to all.

williewentwell (Tyrone) - Posts: 1712 - 28/02/2010 11:25:25    574992

Should be a great final and both teams deserve the title which unfortunantely cannot be shared. I have never gone to an all-ireland senior club final before but this one is very appealing and I think I shall make the journey down.

John Boss (Tyrone) - Posts: 865 - 28/02/2010 12:16:06    575005

This is what the GAA is really all about. Two teams from either end of the country and from counties not fancied to win All Ireland's. Should be a good crowd for the final.

Ulsterman (Antrim) - Posts: 9819 - 28/02/2010 12:25:06    575011

Well done to both teams for reaching the final against the odds. When my team aren't playing I always love to see the underdog win. Great to see a football All-Ireland between an Antrim team and a Clare team. Refreshing for the game. Has a team from either of these counties ever reached an All-Ireland club football final before?

lessbull (Kerry) - Posts: 177 - 28/02/2010 13:38:04    575032

Within less of a mile distance in Belfast there are THREE teams who have been in All Ireland club finals.

St John's appeared in the football final, and have won the 7's title, Rossa have been in the hurling final, and St Gall's are reappearing in the football, and have won the 7's.

The three McGourty's are merely trying to emulate their sister who already has an all Ireland club medal, won with Rossa in the camogie.

Add in three other Antrim clubs who have contested 6 all Ireland club hurling finals, and you will note that Antrim have a rather excellent club record.

The fact that three top clubs are beside each other, aptly explains the failure at county level.

It is nice to see Clare V Antrim, but we should remember that club football does not reflect the inter county scene, as Baltinglass and Eire Og from Carlow can attest to.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 28/02/2010 14:24:23    575055

Excuse my ignorance on the subject patrique. I had a feeling St. Gall's had been there before alright. It is true that club success isn't always the best reflection of county success but it'd be great to see Antrim's club success transfer to the county team.

lessbull (Kerry) - Posts: 177 - 28/02/2010 15:10:28    575088

The Al-Ireland club championship was first held in 1970/71 and according to wikipedia, the roll of honour by county is as follows:

Cork: 11 wins (Nemo Rangers 7, St. Finbarrs's 3, O'Donovan Rossa 1)
Dublin: 6 wins (Kilmacud Crokes 2, St. Vincent's 2, UCD 2)
Kerry: 5 wins (Laune Rangers 1, Dr. Crokes 1, Castleisland Desmonds 1, Austin Stacks 1, East Kerry 1)
Armagh: 4 wins (Crossmaglen Rangers 4)
Galway: 3 wins (Salthill-Knocknacarra 1, Caltra 1, Corofin 1)
Derry: 3 wins (Ballinderry 1,Lavey 1, Bellaghy 1)
Mayo: 2 wins (Ballina Stephenites 1, Crossmolina 1)
Down: 2 wins (Burren 2)
Laois: 1 win (Portlaoise)
Wicklow: 1 win (Baltinglass)
Limerick: 1 win (Thomond College)

lessbull (Kerry) - Posts: 177 - 28/02/2010 15:36:57    575112

28/02/2010 15:36:57
lessbull
County: Kerry
Posts: 7

575112

Limerick: 1 win (Thomond College)


They wom in 1977 beating St John's Belfast in the final.

But as a PE College they were "professionals" long before training became de rigeur for everyone. Pat Spillane played for them.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 28/02/2010 16:08:25    575122

lessbul - how are East Kerry on the roll of honour as club winners?

They are a divisional side and as such should have been precluded from entering the club championship.

dingle1 (Clare) - Posts: 805 - 28/02/2010 16:54:33    575147

I think its good for the game that counties such as Clare and Antrim are represented in a major final. Shows how the club game is different to the inter-county game, which is good, cos if clubs from Kerry and Tyrone dominated,it would be a tad boring!

Tongo (UK) - Posts: 1795 - 28/02/2010 17:16:08    575169

Originally, divisional sides were allowed to compete. East Kerry won the 1st All-Ireland in 1970/71. Not sure when it became restricted to clubs. Anyone know?

lessbull (Kerry) - Posts: 177 - 28/02/2010 18:09:50    575265

Clare versus Antrim, great boost for football in both counties, particularily the Banner.

Saw St.Galls last night and was very impressed by them. Some great footballers. Its difficult to judge Kilmurry on their semi final as Portlaoise totally lost the run of themselves. All in all it'll be a great occasion and I'd imagine the title will head North.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13822 - 28/02/2010 19:10:33    575324

Tongo
County: UK
Posts: 341

575169
I think its good for the game that counties such as Clare and Antrim are represented in a major final. Shows how the club game is different to the inter-county game, which is good, cos if clubs from Kerry and Tyrone dominated,



Where did this come from?

If you had said Kerry and Dublin/Cork/Meath/Galway/Cavan or Down it might have made some sense.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 28/02/2010 19:28:21    575348

Talking recent times Patrique. I've only been following GF since 2006 so i've only witnessed Kerry and Tyrone win the A-I.

Tongo (UK) - Posts: 1795 - 28/02/2010 19:49:43    575382

Unfortunately Tongo, if you look at each province at club level, it does still seem to be dominated by the same counties as at inter-county level, although to a slightly lesser extent.

In Munster, Cork and Kerry teams have won 35 of the 40 club championships to date, compared with 108 out of 121 at inter-county level. Clare clubs have won 3, Limerick clubs 2. No club from Tipperary or Waterford has won yet.

In Connaught, Galway, Mayo and Roscommon teams have won 37 of the 40 club championships to date, compared with 105 out of 110 at inter-county level. St. Mary's of Sligo won the other 3. No team from Leitrim has won yet.

As we know, the other 2 provinces have more teams and therefore tend to be more competitive but most of the time it's the same counties that dominate at club level as at inter-county level.

In Leinster, clubs from Dublin, Meath, Kildare, Offaly and Laois have won 32 of the 40 titles to date, compared with 97 out of 121 at inter-county level. Carlow clubs have won 6, Wicklow clubs 2. No club from Westmeath, Wexford, Louth, Longford or Kilkenny has won yet.

In Ulster, the last 40 years have been dominated at inter-county level by Tyrone(10 titles), Armagh(10 titles), Derry(6 titles), Down(5 titles), Donegal(5 titles) and Monaghan(3 titles). Cavan surprised everyone to win one in 1997. Clubs from these 6 counties have won 36 of the 40 club championships to date. The other 4 titles went to Antrim clubs, while no club from Cavan or Fermanagh has won yet.

So out of the 160 provincial club titles won over the last 40 years, 140 have been won by clubs from the same 16 counties which have also dominated the inter-county scene at provincial level.

The clubs who have bucked the trend are Eire Og (Carlow) with 5 Leinster club titles, St. Gall's (Antrim) 3 Ulster titles, St. Mary's (Sligo) 3 Connaught titles, Kilmurry-Ibrickane (Clare) 2 Munster titles, Baltinglass (Wicklow) 1 Leinster and All-Ireland, Rathnew (Wicklow) 1 Leinster title, Doonbeg (Clare) 1 Munster title, Thomond College (Limerick) 1 Munster title, Drom-Broadford (Limerick) 1 Munster title and St. John's (Antrim) 1 Ulster title.

The only counties to upset the status quo at provincial inter-county level over the last 40 years have been Sligo (Connaught champions 1975 and 2007), Leitrim (Connaught champions 1994), Clare (Munster champions 1992) and Westmeath (Leinster champions 2004)

lessbull (Kerry) - Posts: 177 - 28/02/2010 19:56:21    575395

Indeed lessbull, hence why it is good to see clubs representing Antrim and Clare in the final. Was a very general comment, rather than one for statistical analysis.

Tongo (UK) - Posts: 1795 - 28/02/2010 20:04:38    575409

just be nice now if st. galls go on and win it..... yeeeeeessss.

ta32 (Tyrone) - Posts: 4907 - 28/02/2010 20:16:29    575425

Well done Lessbull, very good posting. Some interesting stats there. I think the beauty about the club championship is that small counties can make breakthroughs although the counties with the larger population of gaa players are always going to reach finals more often. In Tyrone we have a poor record with no senior All-Irelands at club level, altough Errigal Ciaran with the Canavans pushed quite close. It doesn'nt mean that Tyrone club football is weak because it clearly is not but there is more of an even distribution of club team strengths. In the last 10 years the title has alternated between 5 different club side. Something similar seems to happen in Kerry judging by the rotation of Kerry captains. In Armagh, one side has dominated, likewise in Fermanagh, Donegal and to a lesser extent Monaghan. Large GAA population counties can have strong county sides and strong club sides. Counties with smaller GAA populations will tend to be successful only if there is a particulary dominant club in that county otherwise the resources are spreaad too thin.

John Boss (Tyrone) - Posts: 865 - 28/02/2010 20:26:48    575442

St.Galls have been knockin on the door for a while lads. Of course they were defeated in the 2006 AI final and were only pipped by an all conquering Cross side in the Ulster final on another recent occasion. Glad to see C.j and Sean Kelly look to be back in the Antrim fold this year. We cant afford to be without players of their calibre. Look forward to meetin the Clare supporters on St.Patrick's day for what promises to be a great occasion.

gaelantrim (Antrim) - Posts: 1616 - 28/02/2010 21:35:35    575540