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I seen some negative posters towards the combined schools over the last few weeks both football and hurling.

Few points to note.

1. This is an exceptional standard both football and hurling if we don't have schools in the A competition it's vitally important we put together a team to compete as a combined team.
2. Every year will be different this year our hurling look particularly strong but don't say "it's not fair on other schools" Dublin colleges done it for years in the hurling until they were eventually split into North and South. Next year we could struggle to get a win in the competition at all.
3. It's worrying that our schools aren't able to compete at A level on their own and it really does show you where we are and the work that needs to be done.
4. Just because the team got beaten well yesterday please don't dismiss the work that goes into senior colleges football and hurling whether it be St Mels or Good Cousel these teams have been training since September probably 3 days a week where as our teams probably only got together when ever available late November.

Combined schools are there to fill a gap, nothing more. To Experience A level standards and that's about it.

The reality is this combined school’s competition is one that needs to be encouraged. It’s the closest level to county minor you can get in regards to standard of competition and for a lot of players the highest grade of football they will play and for a county that only has Colaiste Coilm and Edenderry in it bar the 5 or 6 going to school in Moate it’s the only players we have playing in it . As for St.Mel’s the majority of the team were on a strong Longford minor team that bet us well last year and Offaly are probably in the unlucky position that one of the strongest schools we should have Kilcormac are playing hurling .

Hurling Team very strong this year with All Ireland minor team all eligible but that won't be case every year. Add in another 8 or 9 lads who played minor in 21 and youll know how strong we are. In fact as far as I know, Offaly could have 4 teams contesting to win B in Col Choilm Banagher, Birr and Kilcormac and could have combined a North and South Offaly team if exposure to A grade was the objective.

Football is a lot different in that lots of best players taken out of that elite group comparatively in that St Mary's Edenderry, Col Choilm and Moate would all have significant amounts of Offaly minors and past minors in their schools playing A grade in those schools. Col Iosagain Portarlington and Rochfortbridge would also have a few Offaly underage players so a combined schools football team wouldn't be near as strong as a combined schools hurling team (where all players are eligible with no school in A grade) and that'd probably show in the volume of lads on the football team that played minor would be significantly less than a combined hurling team.

If this is the case it's a good idea to continue with, as it exposes lads to highest level of schools football, which is often mentioned here as what we need to be doing. If the u20s pick up a player or two over next year or two from lads who showed well in combined schools football, then it's win win as far as I'd see in sense that between all the schools in county now, if a lad is good enough to play A grade football, there is a challenge there for them to compete at highest level - and lad is not necessarily held back by going to school that isn't A grade school in its own right.

Absolute joke they allowed into the hurling with a stacked team, a North and South could have made sense. Imagine if they knock Kierans out before a Leinster final, putting them out of the competition, well the Munster and Connacht schools will be licking their lips. Makes a nonsense of the whole thing, the word integrity to quote Liam Kearns comes into it.

Seany Kierans go through to the semi final anyway if it was the case.

I couldn't see them beating Keirans anyway.

That combined schools hurling team should be winning that Leinster competition. It is a full county team that reached all ireland minor final and also older lads that would be stronger again some would have played U20 last year. If they were good enough to beat a Kilkenny county team to win Leinster minor, then surely they should be good enough to beat a Kierans outfit. Other schools in Kilkenny, ie Kilkenny CBS, Castlecomer, Johnstown and likely a South Kilkenny school surely would account for maybe half a county team. I agree with poster above that Offaly could have and should have entered two combined teams if A grade hurling exposure was the aim. Birr on their own should be good enough most years to compete in A. That said, it will be interesting to see if the Col Choilm hurlers continue to line out with combined schools if their football team progress to A semi finals of the football. There was talk at one stage that they would not be involved in combined schools for some reason.

That minor team never beat kilkenny that's the thing and it's u19s not 18s

It's u19 but a lot of lads who are in last year of u19 are left school and plenty of the lads who played on the minor team would be in 6th year now. They hockeyed a Laois team that beat kilkenny. Either way, point stands that OY combined should win Leinster. And if they do, you can be sure they won't be entertained in the competition next year by the individual schools.

Col choilm don't take part in the combined schools. There will be a combined schools in leinster. Dublin school won it I think last year or the year before.

Offaly schools might win it this year but other years and in two years time we would not be half as strong.

Dublin colleges were in it in my time and it used to annoy me.

private joker wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 7:33 pm Col choilm don't take part in the combined schools. There will be a combined schools in leinster. Dublin school won it I think last year or the year before.

Colaiste Choilm don't play with combined football because they are in A football same as St. Marys Edenderry who they beat. They are playing on the hurling team now but hadn't been in the earlier rounds. Dublin colleges won two Leinsters many years ago and they have been north and south since. This system is so unfair to stand alone schools in A championship in Leinster trying to plough their own furrow, some of them punching above their weight as it is! Kierans the traditional giants actually have won one Leinster in the last five years.

From what I could gather, they are in as long as it doesn't conflict with their own matches. Playing Birr today in Q finals. Strange that two group teams meet so early in knockout. Should have been kept separate.

Any score from the Faithful fields between Tullamore school and Birr School?

Good win for Birr. 18 to 16 in a free ridden game.