www.uibhfhaili.com

i understand most offaly supporters are expecting a defeat on sunday in the football and it is fully understandable to see why that is the case but offaly are known for their fighting spirt and never giving up. I have supported offaly and have been going to their matches for as long as i can remember and i will continue to do so no matter who they are playing. I may be the only one but i actually believe that offaly can come out of portlaoise with two wins, i will only talk football here. I know why everyone has written us off, yes we got relegated and yes kildare got promoted but since that awful time offaly have a new management and hve a few new players in the panel and this can only be seen as a positive. its championship time now and offaly are always known for their fighting spirt and never giving up over the years. Offaly always play better as underdogs over the years and i dont see why sunday will be no different. Also, over the years offaly never would have worried about playing kildare, like big woops, and it should be no different this time around. I currently live in kildare and yes they are big strong men, but they also have such high egos, embedded in them by mcgeeney and co. I think offaly can go out and get in their faces, hunt them down and fight and challenge for every ball. Kildare will want to be physical and strong, take the hits and stuff but if offaly play quick and fight and contest and dont stand off them then kildare will really have to prove themselves. I believe offalys youth and skilled players will cause problems for big gym freaks that make up the kildare team.

my final point is on a person called seanie johnston. I heard last night and i see today that he will be eligible to play for kildare on sunday. I would say we would be representing the majority of the country in making seanie feel un welcome in portlaoise on sunday. he has no right to play for kildare. He clearly does not live in straffen, and yes he played for st kevins last weekend, but the point i would love to ask him is, why st kevins?? why go to a division 2 club team, based in central enough kildare? surely he moved and wants to win the championship so why go to them when he could easily have went to another club such as celbridge who actually have a great chance of winning the championship in kildare and who are located 5 mins from st kevins, and also closer to cavan, which would make his daily commute for work that bit shorter.. it doesnt add up does it.. and whats more, pauric duffy ahs even said this is a one off transfer, basically admitting it is wrong. its just mcgeeney realising he needs a corner forward free taker and sure why not take him. the gaa love mcgeeney and he feels he has the power to influence anything, he basically runs kildare county board. and also, out of mcgeenys backroom team, the only club represented from kildare is... st kevins, what a suprise! its a total farce of a situation, and i really hope we make our feelings felt as im sure plenty other people around the country are opposed to this.

Offaly can make a difference in the gaa, not many counties can say they have won all irelands in both gaelic and hurling, but we can, and no other county can say they have an all star in every position in both codes, but we can. so lets get behind the faithful county and believe in all 60 guys who wear the offaly jersey in portlaoise on sunday. I think we should really get behind offaly, kildare will bring a huge number with them and will be heard chanting - oh to oh to be, oh to be a, lilly.. like they sound like a bunch of panseys (no pun intended!!). but seriously, lets really support them, they are going out representing us so lets let them know we are fully behind them.
Lets send kildare and mcgeeney and co back to do a bit of thinking about where it all went wrong, and how their super high egos arent going to win them games, nor are there big muscle bodies, but it is skill, passion, pride and determination that will win a game, something that offaly have always have and i hope to see the same again on sunday.

Good post - but on a couple of points of fact, I don't think Johnston is eligible because it was only a league game that he played. Also, I'm pretty sure that Cork have All Stars in every position as well, now. Granted we were the first county to do it and still one of only two.

well like take the size of offaly and the size of cork, its some achievement for us to be able to say that!

in relation to seanie johnston, the latest is that they feel he is allowed to play as he requested his transfer before the congress so therefore the new rules should not apply to him as they were not in place at the time of his application going in. like they prob wont play him against offaly, he isnt named in the starting team, but im sure they are feeling they need him for the later stages of the all ireland.

Hopefully we can get a few scores on the board early on and keep with them..Our forwards are going to have to be moving alot better than we were in Newbridge in the League. Interesting to see Currams starting, Dalton wont get the feel of the ball in the middle of the field though.

surely they will put smith into midfield to try win some ball?? one of the best fielders of a ball in ireland sure..

Hope he does, because the other two wouldnt catch one between them. Very big and slow half forward line, hopefully theyre in there to ruffle a few feathers, and win a few breaks. Think James Gallagher should be in at corner back, twice the defender Sullivan is

That it took them this long to come up with the idea that the transfer request was submitted before Congress says much about Kildare’s power of original thinking. Because this transfer has been going on since the winter. And by now, there have been so many attempts made, which failed, and the transfer process had to start again that it is quite possible that the most recent (and successful) transfer commenced since Congress.

And today, Independent Newspapers come rowing in to the debate. Martin Breheny (or Keys, I don’t know which, and it’s all the same anyway) is bored, thinks it’s going on too long and that the transfer should be allowed pass through. Typical of Breheny – the GAA has a parish rule, soccer don’t, ergo the GAA must be backward, let’s change the rule.

The liberal media claim it’s difficult to prove residency. No, it’s not. Everyone knows where they live. Remember how Ger Oakley’s proposed transfer to Birr fell through because a C&R officer passed the Oakleys’ house in Carrig early one frosty morning and Ger’s car was parked outside, all frozen up.

I think the St Kevin’s connection is because that club has a Kildare selector and he got dibs on the non-resident. Seems they don’t have a parish rule in Kildare so the people of Straffan can play their football in Staplestown. I guess someone had a vacant house in Straffan which came in handy. As regards the question why “St Kevins?” given its distance from Straffan, well, t’was all a matter because the lad doesn’t live next or near Straffan.

For people who wouldn’t know the territory, Staplestown would be about three miles from Prosperous. To get from Staplestown to Straffan you would have to go through Clane, and at a guess Staplestown and Straffan would be eight to ten miles apart.

Finally, Páraic Duffy is dreaming if he thinks this is a one-off. This will open the floodgates for anyone to transfer anywhere they like.

Do we boo him when he comes on?
The arguments...

Yes we should - Let them know we aren't happy with big teams trying to cherry pick talent, buy success and not act in the spirit of the association. If we're being well beaten, it would be a good way of venting some frustration.

No we shouldn't - It would be unbecoming of gentlemen like us. They're amateur players and shouldn't be abused. Johnston and Kildare haven't broken the rules.

Just said i would lob this in.....


AFAIK he is out injured at the minute and probably wont feature....but.....Where is Mark Dunne from?

Rhode is it?

Emmmm......

Does anyone know what happened with him up in Cavan in the first place. Just a falling out between manager and player or something else ?

The GAA has confirmed today that Seanie Johnston will not be eligible to line out for Kildare until he has played a championship game for St Kevins.

Kildare aren't that good!!

All this hard luck boo hoo close call nonsense from last year. They lost against Donegal because they weren't good enough. Pulling John Doyle back to midfield to carry them and he couldn't.
Same with Down the year before - no points for hitting the cross bar lads!


McGeeney has come in and made progress. I call it now that he is doing the same thing again and again and hoping it works.
Willie Heffernan sitting at home.
Kildare may win Sunday but I wouldn't be afraid if them.


PS. Don't boo Seanie Johnson. We would look like tramps.

So whats your point Turk, how much do you think they will beat us by? They are 3rd Favs for the All Ireland without the boo hoo's?

johnb123

I also live in Kildare and was involed in GAA there. I know a lot of the Kildare lads including 2 who live less than a mile from me. None of them have any egos or notions so forget than old rubbish and lets concentrate on winning on Sunday even if they are roaring favourites.

As for the All Stars, I dont know about Cork, but when John Troy got the All Star at 11 in 1999 it completed the Offaly full set, the first county to do so.

I am hoping that Maloney, Brian,Alan MaC, Niall, Dalton, Graham etc can give it a lash and with that traditional Offaly fighting spirit we might just find a traditional Kildare laack thereof. It might just be the edge we need

Ahlethimoutwithit wrote:So whats your point Turk, how much do you think they will beat us by? They are 3rd Favs for the All Ireland without the boo hoo's?

Third (or fourth) favourites for the all Ireland!
Let's just give them the walkover now!!