I really think Kilkenny's lack of interest in football is totally wrong and disrespectful and to be honest I think it is something the GAA need to look into. Yesterday we had the Kilkenny senior club champions annihilated by intermediate champions from. So basically the kilkenny champions are maybe fit for the junior competition. Allied with this we have practically no senior inter-county football team in the county and in living memory have never. So it is just accepted by the GAA hierarchy that Kilkenny is just a hurling county. So any half decent gaelic footballer born into the county has no future which is totally wrong. Most other counties try to develop the so called weaker code. When you see counties like Tipp and Clare developing football teams it proves it can be done. You also see the senior club hurling champions in meath representing themselves and the county with pride in the intermediate version of the leinster club championship. Is it a case of resources or obsession with winning Liam McCarthy each year and just forgetting about football. I think it is incumbent on the GAA and Kilkenny county board to treat this issue with the respect it deserves. Interesting to see anyone's comments on this.

Adamski (Dublin) - Posts: 339 - 02/11/2015 13:06:58    1803717

During the 1980's Limerick and Kilkenny had the two worst football teams in the land. Since then we have moved to higher planes, contesting 6 Munster Finals at Senior level, winning a div 4 NFL title, contesting a NFL division 2 final and competing in division 1 where (in 2004) we beat the 2003 All-Ireland champions.

The thing is though all of our success stemmed from people within Limerick having an appetite to move forward. Tipperary are now doing what we used to do and are competing at all levels in Gaelic Football.

Simple point is this - unless Kilkenny want to make a change themselves I don't really see what can be done. Giving out to them won't have any bearing as the consistent welcoming home of Liam McCarthy will be the justification for the status quo.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6627 - 02/11/2015 13:19:04    1803723

Kilkenny have no interest in fielding a football team

Simple solution - Ban them from Hurling until they put investment into a senior football team in League and championship

Every other county puts out a hurling and football team no matter how good or bad... why should Kilkenny be any different

But we all know nothing will be done about it

Its the GAA after all....

brian (Meath) - Posts: 1998 - 02/11/2015 13:26:32    1803726

02/11/2015 13:06:58 Adamski
I really think Kilkenny's lack of interest in football is totally wrong and disrespectful and to be honest I think it is something the GAA need to look into. Yesterday we had the Kilkenny senior club champions annihilated by intermediate champions from. So basically the kilkenny champions are maybe fit for the junior competition. Allied with this we have practically no senior inter-county football team in the county and in living memory have never. So it is just accepted by the GAA hierarchy that Kilkenny is just a hurling county. So any half decent gaelic footballer born into the county has no future which is totally wrong. Most other counties try to develop the so called weaker code. When you see counties like Tipp and Clare developing football teams it proves it can be done. You also see the senior club hurling champions in meath representing themselves and the county with pride in the intermediate version of the leinster club championship. Is it a case of resources or obsession with winning Liam McCarthy each year and just forgetting about football. I think it is incumbent on the GAA and Kilkenny county board to treat this issue with the respect it deserves. Interesting to see anyone's comments on this. Why is it wrong? Why is it disrespectful? Who are they disrespecting? The thing with Clare/Tipp is that there is areas and clubs in those counties that are overwhelmingly football orientated and concentrate on gaelic over hurling as well as plenty who concentrate on both. That isn't the case with Kilkenny. No its simply hurling is played by everyone with all other sports well behind.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 02/11/2015 13:31:34    1803730

You can't force people to like a game. If Kilkenny people prefer a game of hurling to football, good luck to them and they are fairly decent at what they like in fairness.

Just because it is two gaelic games doesn't mean counties have to like both - their county board must provide for and organise sure, according to interest but if the hunger for football isn't there, it's not there - what is the remedy to this, blockade Hurling pitches and force the masses to the local football club? Start beating the young lads on the hand so they can't hold the stick? It's a nonsense and for people of other counties to be having their say is even more laughable.

I'm not a hurling man myself, I respect the game and it's talents - I'll even watch the semi and final of the AI Series but that's as far as it goes. I would have no interest in playing the game despite being a senior footballer in divison 1 of our county? Does this make me a poor GAA man? The only issues here is, if Kilkenny county board actively seek to stop people playing football - I don't know if they do, even then, that's a matter for Kilkenny, not the rest of us.

GetOverTheBar (Tyrone) - Posts: 1388 - 02/11/2015 13:32:51    1803731

Good man Brian. That's what we need, another ban in the GAA

I answer to the question I imagine its because Cat's have become used to dining from Michelin 5 Star quality cuisine and they've no desire to switch to burger-van standard c**p

Maroonatic (Galway) - Posts: 1077 - 02/11/2015 13:33:25    1803732

cavan dont put out a senior hurling team !

HurlerOnTheFenc (Mayo) - Posts: 282 - 02/11/2015 13:48:44    1803739

HurlerOnTheFenc

We get it hard enough to field a competitive football team, never mind hurling.

CavanAgain (Cavan) - Posts: 196 - 02/11/2015 14:39:04    1803752

I remember reading this article here a few years back. link

Don't know how true it is, but apparently quite a few clubs in Kilkenny won't allow their players to train/play football for the county.

CroiGorm (Dublin) - Posts: 1547 - 02/11/2015 15:17:15    1803761

Jesus that is terrible.
There are some clubs in Dublin that are actively against dual players which in my opinion is ridiculous.

If lads don't have the ambition to play football then that is fine IMO but if they are being stopped from playing that is wrong.

I am not from Kilkenny so I don't know if the lack of a football team is just a desire and hunger to play hurling or being discouraged to play football?
Maybe a Kilkenny poster can shine a bit of light on this?

GAAHattrick (Dublin) - Posts: 278 - 02/11/2015 15:31:52    1803767

Kilkenny should be hauled over the coals by the GAA for their attitude to football, I think their football club champions won the championship in something mad like April and when they do try to get lads to train for the county footballers there'll be a load of club hurling fixtures for the same or next night.

BUT,

There are about 15 to 20 county boards who regularly treat hurling with the same contempt and just because they put our a token intercounty team in Div 4 or whatever they seem to escape this scrutiny.
This is probably why there is no will in Croke park to shine the light on Kilkenny as there'd be a lot of questions to ask in Westmeath (minor hurlers Jerseys, refusal to move the minor final where some players were due to play in the senior game just after), The Táin league non fixtures, the lack of club hurling fixtures in loads of other counties, I could go on.

bricktop (Down) - Posts: 2503 - 02/11/2015 15:48:58    1803772

bricktop
County: Down

Exactly right, sensible comment. For those who have a problem with how Kilkenny treat football, nearly 2 thirds of counties treat hurling the same way. So if we're being fair, and ye want to ban Kilkenny from the SHC for not putting enough effort into football, you'd also have to ban most counties from the SFC for having the same attitude towards hurling.

Not that neglecting either code is right, but this is an attitude encountered far more by county hurlers rather that county footballers. And yes, something should be done. If not separate football and hurling boards at county level, maybe separate (or devolved) football and hurling councils at provincial level?

Marlon_JD (Tipperary) - Posts: 1823 - 02/11/2015 16:58:14    1803785

Kilkenny's issue is that they have no one at their level in football.

There are maybe 15 or so counties that treat hurling badly but they're lucky in that there is strength in numbers so they can put out a token team and compete with little or no effort.

Kilkenny don't have that luxury so they look worse then the others when in reality they aren't really. When they put in the token team they get hammered unlike some football only counties.

They still have more provincial football honours than a couple of counties ;)

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13846 - 02/11/2015 16:59:33    1803786

Well said mesamis. There are many football counties who hold hurling in the same regards as KK do football. Token teams is all they send out and some of them have much bigger populations than KK and far less success in the code they put all their resources into.

ZUL10 (Clare) - Posts: 710 - 02/11/2015 17:46:54    1803801

Does anyone actually give a toss about Kilkenny not being great at football.

I couldn't care less about their lack of interest in the game it's the only 1 of the 32 counties where there isn't a football stronghold.

uibhfhaili1986 (Offaly) - Posts: 1296 - 02/11/2015 19:48:23    1803836

Its rubbish to say any county treat hurling as bad as kk do football. What county plays there hurling final in April? kk has only entered one team in there Leinster football championship there minor team and the have only played 1 game before pulling out before there secound game. Which is not surprising when club hurling games are fixed for the same time and the struggle to get a team together. The main reason for kk county board lack of interest in football is financial, the save a fortune by not have football teams competing, a simple solution would be cut the funds the get from central council until the make some effort in football. KK have i believe 15 football clubs it would not be hard to see them able to compete as a average division 4 team

ros1 (Roscommon) - Posts: 1211 - 02/11/2015 19:55:03    1803838

Sur they wud only b making up numbers anyway so let them alone. What they achieve in hurling shows their commitment and passion towards our great sport. While it wud b nice to see them at least try the interest is probably not there along with the population. Their interest in football is probably on par with irish interest in la crosse or something to that extent.

WildPundit (Tipperary) - Posts: 1709 - 02/11/2015 20:09:44    1803844

My brother's wife is from Kilkenny - she has very little GAA knowledge. He bet €20 with her that Wicklow beat Kilkenny in the league a few years back. The score was 2-31 to 0-6.

Wicklowman (Wicklow) - Posts: 1161 - 02/11/2015 21:13:56    1803869

I didn't realise the GAA was a dictatorship and kids had to be forced to play sports they don't want to. There are clubs in the North where football and hurling teams within the same club don't even share the same grounds. I was asked to buy a club lotto ticket from a Tyrone man once and he told me it was for the football half of the club.

Faithfull (Offaly) - Posts: 573 - 02/11/2015 21:55:24    1803889

Rosi Your comments make me laugh you come from a province that has no provincial hurling championship then you are preaching to Kilkenny about football what a joke, a lot of the football counties put out hurling teams with people from out side the county maybe if ye put funding into training rather than buying a bus that is idle for half the year would answer ye better. The people of kilenny have no interest in football what does it take people to understand that.

johnwhite12 (Kilkenny) - Posts: 306 - 03/11/2015 09:21:53    1803904