Here are opinions and facts. Determine which is fact and opinion.

At the top level of Rugby most players came from fee-paying schools and many have posh accents. At some club levels the players are builders, farmers,students, unemployed etc.

The GAA are an organisation with amateur players, a massive amount of volunteer Mams and Dads, Grannies and Grandads, coaches giving up their free time. Without the ladies organising raffles, bingo, race nights etc there would be no grassroots GAA. These women keep with the times. They're on their clubs Facebook pages and Twitter updating training times, bus times to games, they keep up with the times and technology. They'll see a new face in the schoolyard in September, get chatting to their Mam or Dad and let them know about the club and how welcome they will be if they're from Longford or Latvia.Without these women and plenty of volunteers the GAA would be sunk. We need young kids to give hurling, camogie and football a go. I don't think a lot of the GAA fatcats are bothered about grassroots. The championships are the cashcow that pays their wages. Look at more than half empty stadiums for league finals, for football and hurling in Croker in August. No initiative to get more into seats by reducing ticket prices, maybe free tickets for children to encourage parents and no concerted effort during peak season for tourists to show them our great games and maybe them spend a few quid on jersies, hurls, posters etc as souvenirs. If you tried a swap with the suits and 10 grassroots women I reckon they'd be more clued in and could fill more seats than some of tge dinosaurs.In Dublin and Kilkenny tourists will buy these because some local business are smart enough to see a market . They're happy enough that with amateur players in professional inter-county setups they keep the GAA amateur label.Less work for them, they'll get paid the same.

Say what you like about the IRFU, posh goys, came from money, money makes money etc, some facts there, some opinion. The IRFU is a business, rugby is the sport. They've setup coaching sessions in primary schools in non-traditional rugby areas (where sound people live if you like) for years. Claremorris has a rugby club now, may have stemmed from interest in these school sessions, I'm not sure, don't think they have adult teams just yet. IRFU is a business and youth potential is an investment in the IRFU's future. Why do some GAS people look on rugby as the enemy? At adult level their seasons dovetail and may GAA players play rugby and vice versa, goys not included.

As for the media, why isn't someone from the GAA ringing them up everyday with news or reports of games or asking why they're not top billing in sports bulletins? Back and forth between 30 or 40 of us here wob't resolve that. I don't doubt it's true but ask why is it true? I reckon the IRFU marketing dept are in touch with all media plugging games, good news stories, playing down potential bad news like Seanie O'Brien ban and attaching a feelgoid factor to rugby. You'd expect the same of any business.

I don't think that the GAA at top level are trying to run the GAA as a business enough. There's a lot of potential for them to make more money and for local business to make a few quid. I can see some people's opinions on non-nationals, mightn't agree with them, but their kids should be welcomed into GAA clubs more. Like it or not, we're a multicultural society. 20 years ago there was no rugby club in Claremorris. In 20 years time who knows what sports will be most popular. Blaming rugby for a lack of media coverage and a drop in kids playing GAA is burying heads in sand. The suits in the GAA need to move with the times, like those at grassroots. They need to market our great games more and speculate to accumulate with the youth of Ireland regardless of where they've come from.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 8173 - 15/10/2015 15:47:13    1799029

Live coverage and preview / highlights is plenty. The mid news does cover GAA because there is nothing to cover - the players and management ate all in work. Leinster rugby team will be in UCD training, giving interviews , releasing news on injuries..etc it's the difference between professional and amateur sport

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4655 - 15/10/2015 16:41:26    1799052

Ormond
Im not ridiculing Mediaman. If he feels RTE are acting unethically then where are the open letters to members of the dail and RTEs executive board? The Rugby World Cup will obviously take centre stage considering its a once in four years event and Ireland have a great chance of success. Where did RTE admit bias? What link do you have to this admittance?
15/10/2015 13:53:15 Soma
So you think a post describing Mediaman as verging on a deranged stalker, someone who needs contact with other humans and which compares him to what is I presume a figure of fun is spot on but yet claim you are not ridiculing him!? Laughable stuff really. Mediaman deals in facts so if they are wrong demonstrate how rather than trying to ridicule him in an effort I presume to stop him posting.
And bad monkey you seem to be suggesting that as long as RTE continue to preview, broadcast live and review the All-Ireland hurling and football finals then this is proof there is no bias against the GAA from RTE - you set the bar fairly low there! Im not ridiculing him. Mediaman clearly feels RTE are acting unethically yet is posting here but where are the open letters to RTE? Where are the petitions?
You cant criticise me and day im ridiculing anyone when you deliberately spell my name wrong despite being asked to do otherwise.
15/10/2015 14:45:56 DoireCityFC
Seems a simple case to me. RTE isnt the biggest company in world media. The only have resources to cover so much. So for example if the rugby or soccer national team is playing they generally have cameras fitted in big stadiums or rte can buy the rights from other broadcasters. To cover county finals for example the would need to send a team and equipment to 32 different grounds at their own cost. The sponsorship for club games would just about cover petrol money never mind anything else. Its not basis or anything like that its just a case of £$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$
Its called capitalism folks Spot on. RTE have limited funds.....

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 15/10/2015 16:43:47    1799054

15/10/2015 15:32:23 duckula20
The Rugby World Cup will obviously take centre stage considering its a once in four years event and Ireland have a great chance of success.
I quite like the rugby but I fail to see why it is obvious it would take centre stage considering RTE do not have the rights. RTE do have the rights to the all ireland championships yet the general feeling is they have an agenda to promote one sport over another and it is highlighted by the rights issues. Mediaman rightly pointed out the disparities in the dank dark days of the pre season games and the league and even at the pinaacle of the championships the rugby friendlies took equal footing.It takes centre stage as its the biggest event on. BBC will lead with it as its the biggest event on.

15/10/2015 15:47:13 GreenandRed
Here are opinions and facts. Determine which is fact and opinion. At the top level of Rugby most players came from fee-paying schools and many have posh accents. At some club levels the players are builders, farmers,students, unemployed etc.
The GAA are an organisation with amateur players, a massive amount of volunteer Mams and Dads, Grannies and Grandads, coaches giving up their free time. Without the ladies organising raffles, bingo, race nights etc there would be no grassroots GAA. These women keep with the times. They're on their clubs Facebook pages and Twitter updating training times, bus times to games, they keep up with the times and technology. They'll see a new face in the schoolyard in September, get chatting to their Mam or Dad and let them know about the club and how welcome they will be if they're from Longford or Latvia.Without these women and plenty of volunteers the GAA would be sunk. We need young kids to give hurling, camogie and football a go. I don't think a lot of the GAA fatcats are bothered about grassroots. The championships are the cashcow that pays their wages. Look at more than half empty stadiums for league finals, for football and hurling in Croker in August. Why focus on what someones accent is? I think you are completely wrong to say head people in GAA don't care about grassroots. Without grassroots the main championships are impacted.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 15/10/2015 16:58:33    1799063

15/10/2015 15:47:13 GreenandRed
No initiative to get more into seats by reducing ticket prices, maybe free tickets for children to encourage parents and no concerted effort during peak season for tourists to show them our great games and maybe them spend a few quid on jersies, hurls, posters etc as souvenirs. If you tried a swap with the suits and 10 grassroots women I reckon they'd be more clued in and could fill more seats than some of tge dinosaurs.In Dublin and Kilkenny tourists will buy these because some local business are smart enough to see a market . They're happy enough that with amateur players in professional inter-county setups they keep the GAA amateur label.Less work for them, they'll get paid the same.
Say what you like about the IRFU, posh goys, came from money, money makes money etc, some facts there, some opinion. The IRFU is a business, rugby is the sport. They've setup coaching sessions in primary schools in non-traditional rugby areas (where sound people live if you like) for years. Claremorris has a rugby club now, may have stemmed from interest in these school sessions, I'm not sure, don't think they have adult teams just yet. IRFU is a business and youth potential is an investment in the IRFU's future. Why do some GAS people look on rugby as the enemy? At adult level their seasons dovetail and may GAA players play rugby and vice versa, goys not included.There is considerable initiative to get people into games.
Claremorris Colts RFC was founded in the summer of 2009 by a number of players who had played in an adult Tag Rugby league that was run in the town over the summer. School sessions followed that.
15/10/2015 15:47:13 GreenandRed
As for the media, why isn't someone from the GAA ringing them up everyday with news or reports of games or asking why they're not top billing in sports bulletins? Back and forth between 30 or 40 of us here wob't resolve that. I don't doubt it's true but ask why is it true? I reckon the IRFU marketing dept are in touch with all media plugging games, good news stories, playing down potential bad news like Seanie O'Brien ban and attaching a feelgoid factor to rugby. You'd expect the same of any business.
I don't think that the GAA at top level are trying to run the GAA as a business enough. There's a lot of potential for them to make more money and for local business to make a few quid. I can see some people's opinions on non-nationals, mightn't agree with them, but their kids should be welcomed into GAA clubs more. Like it or not, we're a multicultural society. 20 years ago there was no rugby club in Claremorris. In 20 years time who knows what sports will be most popular. Blaming rugby for a lack of media coverage and a drop in kids playing GAA is burying heads in sand. The suits in the GAA need to move with the times, like those at grassroots. They need to market our great games more and speculate to accumulate with the youth of Ireland regardless of where they've come from. Im sure the GAA media department/PR etc do put stories out there. But as players are pro in rugby/soccer they are more available for media work
Blaming rugby is burying head in the sand but for most here its the easy thing to do.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 15/10/2015 16:59:00    1799065

ormondbannerman
County: Clare
Posts: 10417


Blaming rugby is burying head in the sand but for most here its the easy thing to do.

Blaming rugby is silly, but I don't think people are blaming the game of rugby, I certainly don't. Undoubtedly though I have a huge gripe with the Irish media's treatment of the game. There's nothing you or other rugby fans can do about that. But surely you agree parts of it are ridiculous? Legends? Heroes? National treasures? I can tell you this, the men and women who gave their lives for this country won't be afforded such extravagant titles. It is unfathomably stupid the coverage that is given to the game. And it's not what we should be educating children. Rugby players get paid to do a job. Volunteers who help the homeless don't.

Ned_Stormcrow (Cavan) - Posts: 1071 - 15/10/2015 19:16:22    1799109

ormondbannerman
Blaming rugby is burying head in the sand but for most here its the easy thing to do.
15/10/2015 19:16:22 Ned_Stormcrow
Blaming rugby is silly, but I don't think people are blaming the game of rugby, I certainly don't. Undoubtedly though I have a huge gripe with the Irish media's treatment of the game. There's nothing you or other rugby fans can do about that. But surely you agree parts of it are ridiculous? Legends? Heroes? National treasures? I can tell you this, the men and women who gave their lives for this country won't be afforded such extravagant titles. It is unfathomably stupid the coverage that is given to the game. And it's not what we should be educating children. Rugby players get paid to do a job. Volunteers who help the homeless don't.Its a very natural thing for sports people to be called or seen as legends/heroes etc
The coverage given to the game isn't stupid. Hurlers/Olympic atheletes/gaelic players/soccer players all receive similar treatment at different occasions.
Bringing in people who help the homeless is irrelevant. Sport can be viewed as an extension of conflict in sociological terms. there is an association for sociology of sport in Europe that discusses topics like this.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 15/10/2015 20:21:40    1799128

We should rejoice that there is a healthy overlap between fans following all codes. None more so than between gaelic games and rugby, many of the 50,000 Irish fans in Cardiff next Sunday will have attended a Munster hurling final or a Connacht footbal final
One thing stands out in the TV coverage of the RWC is the respect afforded by panels to the players with none of this personal offensive labeling, name calling etc. During the championship it seems to be open season on our amateur players/coaches .. not sure if this is encouraged by the broadcaster but I do think it is significant that they only react to distance themselves from offensive remarks when directed at one of their own commentators ( .".Cavan football as ugly as ..")

Curlew66 (Roscommon) - Posts: 623 - 15/10/2015 20:36:30    1799134

Blaming rugby is silly, but I don't think people are blaming the game of rugby, I certainly don't. Undoubtedly though I have a huge gripe with the Irish media's treatment of the game. There's nothing you or other rugby fans can do about that. But surely you agree parts of it are ridiculous? Legends? Heroes? National treasures? I can tell you this, the men and women who gave their lives for this country won't be afforded such extravagant titles. It is unfathomably stupid the coverage that is given to the game. And it's not what we should be educating children. Rugby players get paid to do a job. Volunteers who help the homeless don't.

Not sure where you're going with this argument if you're moving away from sport for comparisons. I agree there are plenty of ordinary people including the volunteers who help the homeless, nurses who worth for next to nothing, teachers who haven't had a decent pay rise since God knows when but what are the media meant to do about it? Advertise live coverage of the homeless being fed in soup kitchens?

MedwayIrish (Wexford) - Posts: 2324 - 15/10/2015 20:36:34    1799135

Next year's championship draw is on live RTE 2 now and on for hour !!!! Ba ha ha some bias alright

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4655 - 15/10/2015 20:42:12    1799137

Look calling lads who play rugby for a living legends, with the exception of Paul o connell, is rediculous. The mob is fickle. If Juan Sebastian and gang show up on Sunday then these posh idiots will go back to bigging up a club competition that only the irish provinces take seriously. The gaa will survive this Anglicisation.

sceptical (Cavan) - Posts: 544 - 15/10/2015 21:21:12    1799172

sceptical-- The mob is fickle. -same could be said of some GAA fans e.g my own beloved limerick played clare in 2013 in from of 60k approx - same two counties played in munster this year - crowd was 20k approx

If Juan Sebastian and gang show up on Sunday - i take it you mean juan martin (lobbez and hernandez)

then these posh idiots -please give examples of such poshness or idioticness stating the clubs involved -

http://m.hoganstand.com/Forum/Details/89582?County=National&PageNumber=82&TopicID=89582

you did previously refer to rugby fans as being eggball snobs - in the thread above i asked you to provide examples of such snobbery - none forthcoming

will go back to bigging up a club competition that only the irish provinces take seriously. -is that the pro 12 to which you refer - i guess the celebrations of the glasgow fans and players in belfast (i was at the game) after winning the pro12 final were a figment of my imagination

The gaa will survive this Anglicisation.-the gaa will survive the popularity of rugby - what anglicisation are you on about

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 16/10/2015 09:40:27    1799257

soma And bad monkey you seem to be suggesting that as long as RTE continue to preview, broadcast live and review the All-Ireland hurling and football finals then this is proof there is no bias against the GAA from RTE - you set the bar fairly low there

soma they did show 33 live games plus sunday game plus thank gaa its friday plus league sunday plus numerous games on radio and a 10pm friday night radio show - some would consider this as proof rte is not biased against gaa. And the live draw last night

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 16/10/2015 09:46:27    1799262

15/10/2015 20:36:30 Curlew66
We should rejoice that there is a healthy overlap between fans following all codes. None more so than between gaelic games and rugby, many of the 50,000 Irish fans in Cardiff next Sunday will have attended a Munster hurling final or a Connacht footbal final
One thing stands out in the TV coverage of the RWC is the respect afforded by panels to the players with none of this personal offensive labeling, name calling etc. During the championship it seems to be open season on our amateur players/coaches.. not sure if this is encouraged by the broadcaster but I do think it is significant that they only react to distance themselves from offensive remarks when directed at one of their own commentators ( .".Cavan football as ugly as ..") very fair points... GAA and critics of rugby and rugby media should look to their own before suggesting media is biased in favour of rugby
15/10/2015 21:21:12 sceptical
Look calling lads who play rugby for a living legends, with the exception of Paul o connell, is rediculous. The mob is fickle. If Juan Sebastian and gang show up on Sunday then these posh idiots will go back to bigging up a club competition that only the irish provinces take seriously. The gaa will survive this Anglicisation.Foolish post... Very foolish
Who is Juan Sebastian?.... nice generalisation of all Argentinians...
How can you generalise all players as posh?
How can you prove/imply pro12 is only taken seriously by irish sides? They will also have European cups to play in....
How is any Anglicisation occurring?

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 16/10/2015 10:18:13    1799283

Ned, you are a diplomat. You get your point a cross without abusing anyone.

I agree with some of what you say. Legend is over-used. Even Paul O'Connell is paid to play rugby but he is an Irish sporting hero. O'Driscoll too, but it might be a Culchie thing, I can't earn to the chap and I don't know why. Seems smug but he's entitled to be smug after all he's achieved.

Those men and women who died for Ireland are legends. Anyone volunteering to help the homeless are legends. But so too are the volunteers in any sport giving up their spare time to help out at training or games. I don't think the top brass in GAS appreciates their effort. Giving them some family tickets for games might show some appreciation. If a volunteer took the ticket, went to the game(s) with his family he's put a few quid in a few pockets along the way. He'd be paying of course but might appreciate the gesture. They volunteer because they love the games but doesn't everyone like a sign of appreciation now and then?

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 8173 - 16/10/2015 10:34:36    1799290

Are there no rugby forums for the egg chasers???

bumpernut (Antrim) - Posts: 1852 - 16/10/2015 10:36:47    1799293

Are you asking rugby supporters to leave Bumper ?!!!!!
http://www.rugbydump.com/

Thought there was a forum here once upon a time, seemingly not. Doesn't take things too seriously.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 8173 - 16/10/2015 10:53:43    1799308

There is definitely a difference in the way Rugby and GAA are analysed and this is another way of highlighting the perceived bias. Sean O Brien lamps someone, gets away with it, media protest innocence, it was an open hand etc, he gets his 1 match ban move on. Sean Cavanagh rugby tackles a Monaghan player (something O Brien did 18 time during the game I believe) and his manhood, integrity etc are called into question. RTE sport sets the overriding tone for all analysis on sports shown on their channel and yet the disparity between what is acceptable to label amateurs and then professionals is phenomenal.

Sean O Brien was a colossus after thumping the French lad apparently, the same platitudes aren't endowed on the GAA teams and players and there does always seem to be an attempt to grasp at the negative. There's nothing wrong with liking both sports the issue lies in the way they are reported and the way in which RTE approach their presentation. Consistency is key and that is something RTE have been seen to show very little of.

duckula20 (Antrim) - Posts: 175 - 16/10/2015 11:59:03    1799352

In fairness it is Garlic football people who are very negative. The hurling pundits are always very positive about the game so the negativity is clearly not an RTE one but a Gaelic football one

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4655 - 16/10/2015 12:12:12    1799366

I'm sure the people in Kilmacud Crokes were cheering on Ian Madigan as those in Olafs would be cheering on Luke Fitzgerald. Local lads achieving something great. I'm sure all the players played a multitude of sports including GAA. Shame so called nationalists refuse to support their country men

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4655 - 16/10/2015 12:15:45    1799367