On another thread a lot of people are lambasting the compromise rules series and are saying that more emphasis should be put on the railway cup. Looking at figures the international rules competition definatly seems to have more of an attraction to the general public. I have attended an international rules fixture but I have not attended any railway cup games.

I just want to know how many people actually attend railway cup games and are those who are shouting for it to be given centre stage actually attending railway cup games or are they more likely to attend the internationl rules?

gotmilk (Fermanagh) - Posts: 4971 - 09/10/2013 13:48:33    1498428

I was at Leinster V Connaught football here in Pearse Park last year.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 09/10/2013 13:56:41    1498438

Good point. Many people are berating the International rules series. Yet take a look at the videos of the Railway cup games, played in front of a crowd consisting of the management and the backroom staff. The rules series is a valuable opportunity for players to play for their country.

Ned_Stormcrow (Cavan) - Posts: 1071 - 09/10/2013 14:00:21    1498443

I was at Railway Cup games in Parnell Park a few years and thoroughly enjoyed them. Graham Geraghty, think he came on as a sub, was playing and was still a class act at the tail end of his career. I liked the games because there was a mix of good football and a few old scores being settled. For me there's nothing worse game with planty of skills and no intensity.

Was at a one sided Compromise Rules game in Croker a few years ago too. Probably cos it was onesided I made up my mind not to go again to one. The most entertaining thing I saw in Croker that day was a camera following Brush Shiels around showing people in the crowd on the big screen as half-time entertainment! GAA and RTE will probably take in more money through TV rights at home in Australia than for Railway Cup games. That's unfortunate because there's some good football played by lads who otherwise wouldn't be seen on a big stage.The Railway Cup was a crowd puller years ago but players saw it, rightly, as an honour to reperesent their province, whereas nowadays in the "professional" setup players think it's a hindrance to their intercounty ambitions.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7973 - 09/10/2013 14:18:59    1498460

The Railway cup, or the inter pros, just don't do anything for me and for others.

It's fairly simple I think. I'm a Dub. Dublin is in Leinster but I don't feel any sort of kinship with other Leinster counties. Being from Leinster isn't part of my makeup so I'm not going to bring myself to go and support a regional team that I don't care about. I think a lot of other people in Leinster and beyond feel the same, but I think it is defo more prevalent in Leinster imo.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13796 - 09/10/2013 14:54:02    1498498

Mesamis,

It's funny how Irish rugby has taken advantage of a provincial kinship initially fostered by the GAA's Railway Cups yet is this lost now on GAA fans? Probably not in Ulster or to a certain extent Connaught anyway!

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 09/10/2013 15:13:04    1498521

Railway cup does nothing for me either, regarding the mongrel game, playing for your country is one way of putting it, representing your country in a sport that is about as popular as croquet is another.

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8748 - 09/10/2013 16:07:29    1498558

keeper7 - very true.

realdub
County: Dublin
playing for your country is one way of putting it, representing your country in a sport that is about as popular as croquet is another.

I have to agree with that but the GAA are obsessed with having an international outlet.

The inter-pros hold a huge appeal for me. The prospect of having the best players in any province lining out together should be enough to excite any real football fan - Graham Reilly, Diarmuid Connoly and Ben Brosnan in the same team for example? Take the All-Star games in the U.S., the inter-pros should showcase our game to a similar level.

This is a fairly obvious question but ask yourself has the Railway cup diminished because of a lack of promotion? International Rules doesn't promote itself and despite anual TV coverage it hasn't captured the public's imagination. If the same marketing went into the Inter-Pros it could easily be revived. And the support from players and coaches is there, didn't Pat Gilroy manage Leinster last year?

HighKing81 (Meath) - Posts: 129 - 09/10/2013 17:02:44    1498607

keeper7 - very true.

realdub
County: Dublin
playing for your country is one way of putting it, representing your country in a sport that is about as popular as croquet is another.

I have to agree with that but the GAA are obsessed with having an international outlet.

The inter-pros hold a huge appeal for me. The prospect of having the best players in any province lining out together should be enough to excite any real football fan - Graham Reilly, Diarmuid Connoly and Ben Brosnan in the same team for example? Take the All-Star games in the U.S., the inter-pros should showcase our game to a similar level.

This is a fairly obvious question but ask yourself has the Railway cup diminished because of a lack of promotion? International Rules doesn't promote itself and despite anual TV coverage it hasn't captured the public's imagination. If the same marketing went into the Inter-Pros it could easily be revived. And the support from players and coaches is there, didn't Pat Gilroy manage Leinster last year?

HighKing81 (Meath) - Posts: 129 - 09/10/2013 17:02:51    1498608

Inter pros would make far better entertainment if organised correctly - have no interest in the compromise rules. see link below to one of the best games of football I was ever at. Look at the ulster team sheet - what a team. If you get the best players playing and set aside a venue and a weekend for semis and final think it would be far better spectacle than 2 games against the aussies.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/southern-men-refuse-to-wilt-26152299.html

blacknamber (Kerry) - Posts: 267 - 09/10/2013 17:46:15    1498633

Inter-provincial just doesn't cut it in our games, it's all about county borders and nothing else matters!!!

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8748 - 09/10/2013 18:14:21    1498642

Niall moyna has an interesting comment on county boundaries on da homepage-dubs better get building da training grounds b4 da big split-only a matter of time!

blacknamber (Kerry) - Posts: 267 - 09/10/2013 19:55:52    1498693

It'll be a sad day for Gaelic football if and when that happens!

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8748 - 09/10/2013 20:27:37    1498702

Inter pros have a future if marketed properly but even more important is playing them in places in the country where they would have an audience. Monaghan are going to have 3/4 players at least on the next Ulster team. So why not play the semi final with Ulster in Inniskeen (Capacity 4,000) under lights? You'd be guaranteed at least 2,000 Monaghan people easy, never mind the rest. There was a final between Munster and Ulster about 10 years ago in Fermoy, 500 people turned up. Take that and the 600 in Killarney shows that there's no real gra for the Football competition from the public (players are interested) in Munster, so don't give it to them. Semi final in Inniskeen and if Ulster win, final in Armagh, Newry or Omagh. I was at a cracking semi final between Leinster and Ulster in Parnell Park around 2005 in front of around 5,000 under lights so that's another option. The Hurling? simple. Clare would be the obvious choice at the moment. Kilkenny would be another option and Galway another.

It's not rocket science but sometimes I think the GAA want it to fail. Like the year they held it in Croke Park and only 10,000 turned up for a double header. So the GAA used that as a stick to beat the competition. Forgetting to mention that both games were shown live on TV which obviously affected the attendance.

The Face (Monaghan) - Posts: 890 - 09/10/2013 20:27:44    1498703

Yes The Face, I reckon they tried to sabotage it too, but that speaks volumes regarding its popularity. The GAA knows it's a liability. No amount of marketing will generate a big interest at this stage!

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8748 - 09/10/2013 20:42:08    1498712

But high king were you ever at an interpros game?

gotmilk (Fermanagh) - Posts: 4971 - 09/10/2013 21:12:16    1498739

Ulster still put out pretty strong teams - Sean Cavanagh, Jamie Clarke, Michael Murphy, Mark McHugh, Mark Poland etc. were all playing this year. Went to the final and it was a good open game, the likes of Bernard Brogan and Clarke weren't subjected to the blanket defence treatment so they were able to flourish. I would have it over the compromise rules but there just isn't the interest.

Gabriel. (Down) - Posts: 412 - 09/10/2013 21:30:19    1498758

gotmilk, I used to go them regularly in the 70's and 80's and there were some great games, and crowds but it's just a memory now!

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8748 - 09/10/2013 21:37:00    1498763

If crowd size is a factor then the Sigerson Cup should get the chop. The average GAA couldn't give a damn about it. The Railway Cup may have faults but it's not elitist.

Why not just play the Railway Cup games at the home of a Provincial Champion which one would assume would have a decent representation on the side?

The Face (Monaghan) - Posts: 890 - 09/10/2013 21:56:00    1498790

The rise of the Club Championship has seen the demise of the Inter Pros so its not doom and gloom, just evolution. Players like it as they get to mix and play a stress free game.

Harmless stuff really.

witnof (Dublin) - Posts: 1604 - 10/10/2013 08:46:57    1498811