www.uibhfhaili.com

Anybody have any information on the Start of the Football and Hurling leagues? No master fixtures released yet and were nearly in March!!! But thats a standard Offaly have become used to now. Arent the Football leagues different now with the leagues played off by area leagues first?

Anyone know when football championship draws are made?

theoutsider wrote:Anybody have any information on the Start of the Football and Hurling leagues? No master fixtures released yet and were nearly in March!!! But thats a standard Offaly have become used to now. Arent the Football leagues different now with the leagues played off by area leagues first?

Football league starts the first weekend in March. There are two rounds of football league and then the hurling starts.

Hopefully the weather picks up and gives pitches a chance to dry up.

While I'm at it, U21 hurling fixtures at 11am on St Patrick's Day (the first named team are at home)

Drumcullen / Seir Kieran v St Rynagh's at Rath (tie of the round)
Na Fíanna v Belmont
Ballinamere v Shamrocks

What is the total number of teams competing in the u21 grades A and B does anyone know?

It appears from the Midland Tribune that the Na Fianna U 21 game was called off despite both teams & referee being on the pitch because the County Senior Hurling Management refused to allow a member of the Offaly senior hurling panel play a knock-out championship game for his club. We are all told that the club is the most important unit of the GAA. If this is so, surely any county management could not be in a position to prevent a player from playing for his club in a championship game. I also feel very sorry for the 30+ players, referee & umpire who had a game called off because of an elite player.
Surely county team managements, on taking up their positions, now have to sign agreements on release of players to their clubs etc and I trust county team managements & fixtures committee should have to fully implement these agreements. Whatever happened, must not be allowed to re-occur.

Sharp Eye wrote:It appears from the Midland Tribune that the Na Fianna U 21 game was called off despite both teams & referee being on the pitch because the County Senior Hurling Management refused to allow a member of the Offaly senior hurling panel play a knock-out championship game for his club. We are all told that the club is the most important unit of the GAA. If this is so, surely any county management could not be in a position to prevent a player from playing for his club in a championship game. I also feel very sorry for the 30+ players, referee & umpire who had a game called off because of an elite player.
Surely county team managements, on taking up their positions, now have to sign agreements on release of players to their clubs etc and I trust county team managements & fixtures committee should have to fully implement these agreements. Whatever happened, must not be allowed to re-occur.

Why was the game fixed to go ahead in the first place when Na Fianna had a lad on the Senior hurling panel. Are they fixtures committee not at fault here?

The U21 draw is in the opening post to this thread, K. There isn't a 'B' competition.

keyboardwarrior wrote:What is the total number of teams competing in the u21 grades A and B does anyone know?

allstar2010 wrote:

Sharp Eye wrote:It appears from the Midland Tribune that the Na Fianna U 21 game was called off despite both teams & referee being on the pitch because the County Senior Hurling Management refused to allow a member of the Offaly senior hurling panel play a knock-out championship game for his club. We are all told that the club is the most important unit of the GAA. If this is so, surely any county management could not be in a position to prevent a player from playing for his club in a championship game. I also feel very sorry for the 30+ players, referee & umpire who had a game called off because of an elite player.
Surely county team managements, on taking up their positions, now have to sign agreements on release of players to their clubs etc and I trust county team managements & fixtures committee should have to fully implement these agreements. Whatever happened, must not be allowed to re-occur.

Why was the game fixed to go ahead in the first place when Na Fianna had a lad on the Senior hurling panel. Are they fixtures committee not at fault here?

The Fixtures Committee are at fault if the Agreement between the Senior Hurling Management and the County Board did not include a clause compelling the Senior Hurling Management to release players to their clubs for club championship games. In this case they should not have arranged the game and they should re-fix the game. If however the agreement does include a clause compelling the Senior Management to release the player, then it is not the fault of the Fixtures Committee but the fault of the player who put his county before his club. In this case I think his club should forfeit the game.

Today's U21 results -
St Rynagh's 1-15 Drumcullen / Seir Kieran 1-12
Na Fianna 2-15 Belmont 3-11
Ballinamere 1-14 Shamrocks 0-15


Leaving the U21 quarter-final draw as follows -
Cúchulainn Gaels v Ballinamere
Na Fianna v Coolderry
St Rynagh's v St Brendan's
Shinrone v Kilcormac-Killoughey

U21 quarter-finals on Good Friday, all at 5pm.

Shinrone v Kilcormac-Killoughey at Shinrone
Cúchulainn Gaels v Ballinamere at Kinnitty
Na Fianna v Coolderry at Killurin
St Rynagh's v St Brendan's at Banagher

U21 hurling quarter-final results –

Cúchulainn Gaels 2-9 Ballinamere 1-9
St Brendan’s 3-17 St Rynagh’s 3-14 AET
Shinrone 0-18 Kilcormac-Killoughey 1-13
Na Fianna 0-18 Coolderry 2-7

I was in Kinnitty for the Cúchulainn Gaels v Ballinamere tie. Ballinamere won the toss and elected to hurl into the stiff wind, putting Gaels in to bat first. And though Eoin Callaghan’s early goal gave Gaels a tonic start, the combination side didn’t use the wind at all. Ballinamere won most rucks, scrums and contests, their passing and combination play was better, and green and gold looked well placed when half-time came with Cúchulainn Gaels holding a slender 1-5 to 0-5 lead.

The second half followed the trend of the first with Ballinamere dominating the contests for possession. They had severe difficulty finding the target though, and the sides had added just two points each to their respective tallies by the 45th minute. A couple of Ballinamere points left the minimum between them and the next score was a Ballinamere goal for 1-9 to 1-7. Two minutes later Graham Lynch forced the ball over the Ballinamere goal line following a lengthy ruck, restoring the lead, and Gaels finished it out with two late points. It was far from a decent performance though, and Ballinamere must be kicking themselves. A key moment was a brilliant interception by corner-back Willie Molloy when a goal seemed certain with about ten minutes to go. Gavin Troy and Andrew Flynn were decent for the winners, but that was about the height of it.

The Master Fixtures plan has been published. Not on the County Board's site but rather on the St Rynagh's Hurling Club site. So firstly, thanks to them for making the list public.

It is the usual comprehensive plan going up to the end of October. Compare and contrast with Wexford, who published a list that merely stated "club hurling/football" on the weekends their county hurlers or footballers aren't fixed to play.

There is just one round of Senior hurling fixtures this side of summer - those on the weekend of 10th April. The Junior hurling commences a week later, when there is also a second round of the Intermediate hurling championship.

Thanks, here is link

http://www.strynaghs.gaa.ie/Adult-Teams ... ups-2011-1

If Offaly qualify from Round Robin and lose Leinster Q-Final there will be a four week gap to their first game in qualifiers. Surely a provision should have been made to play a round of senior championship in that 4 week window. The inter-county players would probably welcome it as a break from training constantly with Offaly and it might freshen things up for some of them.