Offaly Hurling Championships 2014

[townman]

my point is offaly are at a all time low in both codes in every level. and all we can bitch about are the jack's in Birr, yes O'Connor park is lovely to go to the toilet in, pity they didn't put in as much time and money on offalys underage and senior teams.

as for your remark on Birr gate not as it should, let me tell you our county board give out many a free pass to most of their clubmen and it is well know they are shared to their club members on match day in tullamore.

[Bord na Mona man]

my point is offaly are at a all time low in both codes in every level. and all we can bitch about are the jack's in Birr, yes O'Connor park is lovely to go to the toilet in, pity they didn't put in as much time and money on offalys underage and senior teams.

Not sure how Offaly's current state is in any way relevant to the debate.

Birr had a good chance to showcase their venue and bolster their campaign to host more game. By the sounds of it they didn't come up to the mark on some areas that are now accepted as basics.

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

Townman, that may have been the case in the past in both OCP and St Brendans, but that is in the past now in OCP and the improvement in gate returns for finals and semis over the last few years speaks for itself.
OCP is all ticket now. As regards passes, yes there are a certain number of passes given out to people involved in CB, and team managements, but these all have photo id now.

You go off on a rant because there are complaints over the jacks, in fairness, thats a fairly easy fix. All it needs is the bodies to do it.
Unless you were the "janitor" for the day (joke)

[Toxicity234]

my point is offaly are at a all time low in both codes in every level. and all we can bitch about are the jack's in Birr, yes O'Connor park is lovely to go to the toilet in, pity they didn't put in as much time and money on offalys underage and senior teams.

as for your remark on Birr gate not as it should, let me tell you our county board give out many a free pass to most of their clubmen and it is well know they are shared to their club members on match day in tullamore.

The whole thing about the jacks has got this thing side tracked. My point was that the club want intercounty game should be house proud. that on sunday was not the case.

Tox eoin hayes played in the div 2 league final the week before and was carried off the field when he went over on his ankle he went for an x-ray and there was fears his ankle was broke luckily enough it wasnt but he couldnt train all week.Birr played st thomas of galway that weekend and hayes couldn't play and hannify played full back and played well someone had to be dropped and i suppose the fact there was question marks over his fitness johnny decided to drop him cos of that.I think he would of been the right man for hynes...look Birr didn't see this coming they as a team are under performing and i think everyone knows that.To say this team are gone is not a correct statement.

Ok Hayes. Who i think is going to be a great full back was injured. (even if he came on after 15 mins and played the rest of the game, i give birr the benefit). How could anyone in Birr think that Hanniffy vs Bergin at full forward was going to end well for Birr. Hanniffy a great hurler but not a Full back. We seen this at intercourty level this year or do Birr not look at intercounty games. unless you think Bergin isn't an intercounty Full forward.
Billy Dooley wouldn't in a million years put his best hurler which is Joe Bergin at Full back but this is what Birr did.
Birr Robbed themselves for they best hurler, Best playermaker and best commander by putting him 70 yards to far back. Not to talk about Hanniffy inability to defend.
if you had swapped Cleary and Hanniffy at the start of the match they a good chance Birr could have won the game.

This idea that a good hurler can hurl anywhere is doing nothing for hurling in the county.
If you want Offaly hurling to improve the best place to start is know your strength's.
This idea that an attacking midfield will make a good full back. A good wing back can play centre back the following week. that a corner forward can slot into wing back. that a Corner forward will make a midfielder. that a full forward will go into midfield. all ahead of lads that can play these position every week is rubbish.

[sam88885a]

tox to be fair they managment lost so many players this year .
it wouldnt have surprised me if that guy that goes to all the games in the offaly jersey had line out as a sweeper for us for us , he was at every game anyway and sure he only have to hop over the wire.

[sam88885a]

tox i full agree next year offaly must develope two young guy into a centre back and and full back and stick with them.
kelliher at centre back?e murphy s coughlan or d shortt at full back?
if we sort out both those positions we can starting a team

[Plain of the Herbs]

Intermediate Final tomorrow in Tullamore between Shamrocks and St Rynagh’s. Two evenly matched teams. Insert clichés about youth, Senior experience, blends, forwards, backs and all that. Both strong down the centre, both have youth on the flanks.

Shamrocks have been consistent all year and showed the benefit of their replayed quarter-final win over Kilcormaac with a convincing semi-final win over Ballyskenagh-Killavilla. Trevor Darcy is hurling well all year, Nigel Dunne will be good for two or three points, Brian Kearney is always steady. In defence, Ciarán Buckley is dependable, so is Jimmy Conway. St Rynagh’s won but one group game (over Coolderry), scraping into the quarter-final, though with Declan Tanner restored to the team they have since hit form and were quite superb in their semi-final win over Birr. Welcoming back experienced goalkeeper Ciarán Butler has been a big boost, Colm Keane and James Corrigan are experienced defenders; Rían Kelly and Dónal Moran offer pace in attack, Stephen Flannery distributed well against Birr.

Both carry scars – ’Rynagh’s having lost three IHC Finals in the last four years, Shamrocks longing to get back Senior. Impossible to call.

[babsandbond]

Rory Hannify was on adrian hynes??Were you at the game??I also don't think he is Birrs best hurler anymore he is past his best.He was put full back to strengthen it up because it looked weak and so it was.Barry harding was the only man that kept joe bergin quite in the league final and also sunday when joe was on him,Johnny pilkington should of let harding man him.

Sam E.Murphy is too slow and isn't too young either...I think Short and coughlan would be good options but do these lads even want to hurl for the county remains to be seen.

[Plain of the Herbs]

So you reckon Eanna Murphy is too old? Do you have any idea what age EM actually is? And do you know what age he is relative to both Dermot Shortt and Sean Coughlan.

Sam E.Murphy is too slow and isn't too young either...I think Short and coughlan would be good options but do these lads even want to hurl for the county remains to be seen.

[babsandbond]

Sam said we need to bleed in a young fella at full back Eanna Murphy is around the 24 mark...A young lad in my eyes is still U 21. ..Sean coughlan is 23 and i think Diarmuid Short is 24..!I never said Eanna Murphy is too old I just don't think he is not good enough...He is way to slow for intercounty standard.Dan currams destroyed him last year in the semi final!!

[King Kev]

A question for POTH last Sundays 11 point loss for Birr was there biggest championship defeat that I can remember anyway. How far back has one to go to find a bigger defeat for them? I figured you'd be my best bet with that one?

[Plain of the Herbs]

You wrote "Murphy . . . isn't too young either" before going on to promote a man who is the same age as him.

Sam said we need to bleed in a young fella at full back Eanna Murphy is around the 24 mark...A young lad in my eyes is still U 21. ..Sean coughlan is 23 and i think Diarmuid Short is 24..!I never said Eanna Murphy is too old I just don't think he is not good enough...He is way to slow for intercounty standard.Dan currams destroyed him last year in the semi final!!

[Plain of the Herbs]

A very good question, KK. Naturally, Birr defeats in the championship are few and far between in recent times, though K-K did beat them by 7 point margins in each of 2013's first round and Final.

But to find a Birr defeat that exceeds Sunday's 11 point beating, one must go back as far as 1985, when Kinnitty (them county champions and in a campaign that would end in three titles in-a-row) beat Birr by 3-15 to 1-7 in that year's second round of the group stage.

Birr's record championship defeat came in 1972 when, though defending county champions, St Rynagh's beat Birr 7-20 to 3-6 (26 point margin) in what was a repeat of the previous year's decider.

A question for POTH last Sundays 11 point loss for Birr was there biggest championship defeat that I can remember anyway. How far back has one to go to find a bigger defeat for them? I figured you'd be my best bet with that one?

[King Kev]

Cheers POTH. Just goes to show how strong Birr have been the past 30 years. I could never recall them shipping a heavy defeat. Which of course is a testiment to them.

[townman]

tox i full agree next year offaly must develope two young guy into a centre back and and full back and stick with them.
kelliher at centre back?e murphy s coughlan or d shortt at full back?
if we sort out both those positions we can starting a team

Kelliher is way to slow for inter county hurling, and would have to lose alot of pounds to play championship inter county, Murphy to, might be good in offaly club hurling but inter county is a no no.
its a pity Pat Camon not with the county has the makings of a good corner back, way better than Niall Wynne.