Sliotar Hurling Magazine

[murt]

Hi Lads

I hope its ok to post this info about our new hurling ezine, Hopefully posters here will subscribe and have a look. If there are any questions, I will do my best to answer them. Thanks.

PRESS RELEASE
Sliotar Magazine

February 8th, 2010

Hurling at your fingertips

Sliotar is a new online hurling magazine, available free to your email inbox from February 11 2010.

Sliotar will provide comprehensive and innovative coverage of the inter-county and club hurling and camogie season, featuring interviews, previews and profiles of the big games, the burning issues and the brightest stars in Ireland’s national game.

Among the highlights of the first full-colour issue of Sliotar:

 Enter Sandman: Kilkenny captain, TJ Reid looks forward. PM O’Sullivan

 Cork, Bottle and Shamrocks: PM O’Sullivan previews the senior club semi final between Ballyhale Shamrocks and Newtownshandrum.

 Doing The Fitzgibbon: Michael Geoghan on the Fitzgibbon Cup

 Is There A leader In The Pack? Denis Walsh, from the Sunday Times.

 Kilkenny: Off The Chart? PM O’Sullivan

 Galway: At The Races? Keith Duggan, Irish Times

 The Man From Ruan: Jimmy Smyth Looks Back

 Tipp: Moving On Up? PM O Sullivan

 Sick As A Manager: Paul Castle

 The Great Hunger: Camogie Commitments – Pat Treacy

 Seasons Meetings: Taking Soup In A Cold Climate – Murt Flynn

 Back Spin: PM O’Sullivan




All the action, controversy and humour of the 2010 hurling calendar will be captured in full colour with the best in analysis, photographs, opinion and stats.

Get quality hurling news and analysis delivered straight to your inbox – sign up to Sliotar now!

To subscribe, visit http://www.sliotarmagazine.com

Sliotar Magazine is sponsored by SportsSpread.com

<a href="http://www.sliotarmagazine.com">Sliotar Magazine</a>
Editors note:

Sliotar Magazine is a new hurling media initiative coordinated by Kilkenny natives PM O' Sullivan and Murt Flynn. Both Patrick and Murt are active in their own clubs. We aim to create a niche in hurling media through providing top class analysis and coverage of inter county and club hurling with a focus on the contours of the 2010 season. Combining top quality writers, sports photography from Sportsfile, humour and a commitment to promote debate about and around our national game at every turn, Sliotar will develop as a source quality hurling and camogie media, offering opportunities for readers and sponsors alike. Sliotar will have the players, the personalities, the games and the analysis and will deliver that to your inbox as the season ebbs and flows. For more information, please contact the editor PM O Sullivan – pmosullivan@sliotarmagazine.com (085-7083192) or
assistant editor Murt Flynn –murt@sliotarmagazine.com ( 087-3180156)

[Kevin]

I don't see the article giving a detailed synopsis of Offaly Hurling!!! LOL!!!

Good luck, looking forward to the first edition.

[turk]

Wishing Murt and PM every success with this excellent venture

[murt]

Thanks lads and I appreciate the opportunity to let people know about Sliotar. Our intention is to feature all hurling counties. If people have ideas /suggestions please let us know and if people want to make submissions of articles, please do so.

For people who registered, the first issue has been emailed. Subscription is through www.sliotarmaagazine.com.

Thanks again.

[Plain of the Herbs]

'Tis highly recommended, for anyone who hasn't registered. Contains some thought-provoking articles on the year ahead.

[Kevin]

Great first edition!

[Phoenix]

Fine first edition!! I read it all in one go which is always a good sign. Best of luck to Sliotar Mag!

[Lone Shark]

Outstanding stuff - top class read, thoroughly enjoyed it. In terms of Hurling World, the predecessor, I thought Hurling World was great at covering games that would otherwise be ignored by the nationals, but it struggled to delve beneath the surface and to put a spin on a situation that required a little bit of thought. Obviously PM and Murt would be proven at the art of shining a different light on something that would have been in plain view but hitherto ignored, and it's all the more interesting for that.

If I was to give a small criticism, it's that there is no restriction on size in cyberspace - it doesn't cost any more to produce a 29 page pdf as opposed to a 35 page one, at least to my knowledge - which begs the question, why so small a font? I appreciate the wish for bigger pictures, but surely articles could be stretched over an extra page if needs be? I hate having to zoom into a pdf to read it, since moving up and down gets awkward - and while I am ageing furiously these days, I'd hazard a guess that if I felt the writing was small, others would have felt it even more so since my eyesight's decent enough.

However that is nitpicking - overall it's an excellent first production and I really hope it reaches a wide audience very soon.

[Bord na Mona man]

The pdf looked fine on my screen, no scrolling required.
The publication looks good and the articles are interesting. I've always enjoyed reading PM's colourful and insightful hurling pieces on other forums.

Hopefully the magazine is a success. Without having printing and distribution costs and not having to fight for shop shelf space, it looks a more sustainable venture.

[GreatDayForTheParish]

A very good and enjoyable read, best of luck to all involved.

[murt]

Lads

Issue Two of Sliotar Magazine out Saturday, March 13th. Thanks for the comments.

SLIOTAR
Volume 1, Number 2 (March 2010)

What’s new…

• The Big One: Christy O’Connor (The Sunday Times) on the All-Ireland Club Final.
• A Canny Man: PM O’Sullivan meets Ollie Canning.
• The Portumna Way: Michael Geoghegan on the one of the greatest club teams ever.
• Shamrocks Inherit the Earth: PM O’Sullivan on the parish of Ballyhale.
• Cummins Strong: Aidan Cummins talks home and hurling with PM O’Sullivan.
• ‘Hurling By Numbers’: Leo McGough with insightful facts and stats.
• Cartoon: Tom Dack.
• The Kind Undertaker: Damien Fitzhenry stands front and centre with Murt Flynn.
• Sides of March: Seán Moran (The Irish Times) takes the pulse of league form.
• ‘Season’s Meetings’: Murt Flynn on the thriller that is the club AGM.
• Kildare hurling: Sliotar takes an in depth look at the county over four articles by Paul
Castle, Brendan Coffey, Eoghan Corry and Daragh Ó Conchúir.
• A New Picture: PM O’Sullivan on the roots of trouble in Limerick hurling.
• ’Bourne Supremacy: Pat Treacy on camogie in WIT.
• ‘Backspin’: PM O’Sullivan wraps up number 2.

With full colour photography from Michael Cullen, Eoin Hennessy, John McIlwaine, Gail Ryan and Sportsfile, Sliotar provides quality coverage and analysis of hurling and camogie.

To receive your free copy of Sliotar, just sign up at www.sliotarmagazine.com

The second number of Sliotar sees Christy O’Connor, Michael Geoghegan and PM O’Sullivan dice and slice the St Patrick’s Day contest between champions Portumna and challengers Ballyhale Shamrocks.

CHRISTY O’CONNOR (The Sunday Times): “Portumna’s destruction last year not only defined a new dynasty but also splintered a critical plank of Ballyhale Shamrocks’ identity and esteem. In hindsight, Ballyhale were complacent and slightly arrogant beforehand. They thought they could go toe to toe with Portumna in a shootout and do what Kilkenny teams always do in those circumstances: win.”

OLLIE CANNING (Portumna and Galway) “I don’t believe in the theory of just hitting a ball as far as you can. I believe that you’re better off working the ball 40 or 50 yards up the field, rather than driving it 70 or 80 yards and risking losing possession.


Also in number 2 SEÁN MORAN (The Irish Times) takes the pulse of league form. Analysing Galway’s impressive start, Moran writes: “Galway have not the happiest memories of doing well in the league ― particularly after the notorious flogging they got from Kilkenny weeks after winning the title in 2004. Then again, Galway have been so inert in recent seasons that neither do they have encouraging memories of not doing well.”

DAMIEN FITZHENRY departing the national stage prompted MURT FLYNN to go native and meet the one of the best goalkeepers ever. In a front and centre encounter, Fitzhenry spoke of club, county and the future:

“Some lads will say that if a Wexford player scores 1-3 in a game he will still be on the team three years later, even if was never to score again ― or even make a score. The truly strong panel means you justify your place, and that’s how you keep it. If you don’t ― well, you’ll end up sitting in the stand with me. It’s about the system, about getting players to fit into that system and getting them to have the confidence to shine in it.”

[murt]

Lads, with your kind permission, thanks.

Below are details of Issue 3 of Sliotar Magazine. Sign up for Free at www.sliotarmagazine.com

Sliotar
(Vol 1, Nr 3)

Number 3 out Thursday April 15

• Developing Dublin? Sinead Ryan
• League positions: PM O’Sullivan and Pat Treacy on knowledge gained in the league.
• ‘Seasons Meetings’: Murt Flynn on knowledge not gained in the league.
• Alternative Ulster? Kieran Shannon argues for an all-Ulster team.
• Ulster story: John McIlwaine examines the province’s teams.
•‘Hurling By Numbers’: Leo McGough on a century of pointscoring.
• Showing ourselves off: Keith Duggan on Rule 42 five years later.
• The New GAA: Louis Hemmings on the liberating effects of rugby in Croke Park.
• Cartoon: Tom Dack.
• Hitting the wall: Current prospects for Kerry hurling.
• Everybody knows this is somewhere: Pat Treacy on his year of the Kerry hurling.
• Hurling blood, football heart: Paul Galvin hops a small ball with PM O’Sullivan.
• Unforgotten: Leo McGough on Garry Scollard.
• California hurling: Denis O’Brien on the decider between Berkeley and Stanford.
• ‘Backspin’: PM O’Sullivan on the mixing blessings of ‘opening’ Croke Park.