This weeks fixtures......anyone got them?

[bracknaghboy]

Has anyone got them lads? I'm hearing theres chopping and changing going on already with them. The official GAA website is really poor lately for fixtures and they the ones they have up usually never take place at the time or venue stated. In 2012 is it really that difficult to keep thinngs up to date? We are falling way behind again in this regard lately.

[Killer B]

Wednesday 25th July

Minor Football Championship

Ferbane v Tullamore Ferbane S Fleming 7.30 pm

Edenderry v Clara Edenderry C Costello 7.30 pm

Gracefield v Kilcormac/K Gracefield P Pierce 7.30 pm

Shamrocks v DER Gaels Mucklagh P Jordan 7.30 pm

Ballycumber/Tubber v Rhode Ballycumber C Dwyer 7.30 pm

St Broughans v St Vincents Bracknagh J O Reilly 7.30 pm



Thursday 26th July

Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship

Tubber v Rhode O C P F Smyth 7.30 pm


Tullamore Court Hotel Junior B Football Championship

Kinnitty v Daingean Kinnitty M Walsh 7.30 pm



Friday 27th July

Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship

Clara v Erin Rovers Ferbane E Dunne 7.30 pm

Gracefield v St Rynaghs Killeigh M Mahon 7.30 pm


Tullamore Court Hotel Intermediate Football championship

Bracknagh v St Brigids Walsh Island C Dwyer 7.30 pm

Birr v Doon Cloghan N Flynn 7.30 pm

Durrow v Kilclonfert Geashill N Cooney 7.30 pm

Clonbullogue v Cappincur Walsh Island P Pierce 7.30 pm


Tullamore Court Hotel Junior A Football Championship

Ballycumber v Gracefield Ballycumber C Dwyer 7.30 pm

Shamrocks v Ferbane Mucklagh P Jordan 7.30 pm


Tullamore Court Hotel Junior C Football championship

Lusmagh v Walsh Island Lusmagh N Flynn 7.30 pm




Sunday 29th July

Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship

Walsh Island v Ballycumber O C P B Gavin 2.00 pm Linesmen, C Groome, P Gallagher.

Edenderry v Ferbane O C P C Groome 3.30 pm Linesmen, B Gavin, S Fleming.


Tullamore Court Hotel Intermediate Football championship

Rhode v Shannonbridge Killeigh Pat Gallagher 6.00 pm


Tullamore Court Hotel Junior A Football Championship

Killeigh v Ballinagar Killeigh T Anderson 12 noon

Rhode v Edenderry Rhode C Costello 12 noon

Ballycommon v Clara Ballycommon N Cooney 12 noon

Daingean v Kilcormac/K Daingean M Carty 12 noon


Tullamore Court Hotel Junior B Football championship

Tubber v Erin Rovers Tubber J Mc Keown 12 noon

Ballyfore v St Brigids Ballyfore P Gallagher 12 noon

Raheen v Tullamore Geashill C Groome 12 noon


Tullamore Court Hotel Junior C Football championship

Doon v Bracknagh Doon S Fleming 12 noon

Clonbullogue v Shannonbridge Clonbullogue P Pierce 12 noon


Division 4 Hurling League

Kinnitty v Crinkle Kinnitty N Flynn 12 noon




Wednesday 1st August

Tullamore Court Hotel U 21 Football Championship Final

St Michaels v Wheery O C P P Pierce 7.30 pm

Linesmen, D Brazil, P Jordan.


Minor Hurling Championship

St Rynaghs v Na Fianna Banagher M Mahon 7.30 pm

Ballinamere Gaels v CRC Gaels Ballinamere N Cooney 7.30 pm

Seir Kieran v Kinnitty Clareen M Walsh 7.30 pm

Shinrone v Coolderry Shinrone D Cooke 7.30 pm

Kilcormac/K v Tullamore Kilcormac M Kirwan 7.30 pm



Thursday 2nd August

Aidan Bracken Building Design Senior Hurling Championship

Brosna Gaels v Seir Kieran Lusmagh A Ryan 7.30 pm

Tullamore v Birr Kinnitty T Carroll 7.30 pm

St Rynaghs v Drumcullen Kilcormac N Flynn 7.30 pm


Aidan Bracken Building Design Intermediate Hurling Championship

Ballyskenagh v Clara Killurin C Groome 7.30 pm



Friday 3rd August

Aidan Bracken Building Design Intermediate Hurling Championship

St Rynaghs v Killurin Kilcormac N Flynn 7.30 pm

Crinkle v Birr Carraig T Carroll 7.30 pm

Ballinamere v Coolderry Rath M Kirwan 7.30 pm


Aidan Bracken Building Design Junior A Hurling Championship

Killeigh v Seir Kieran Killeigh N Cooney 7.30 pm

Brosna Gaels v Ballinmere Doon M Mahon 7.30 pm


Saturday 4th August

Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship

Gracefield v Walsh Island O C P F Smyth 7.30 pm


Aidan Bracken Building Design Intermediate Hurling Championship

Kilcormac/K v Lusmagh Moystown M Mahon 7.30 pm


Aidan Bracken Building Design Junior A Hurling Championship

Edenderry v St Rynaghs Edenderry C Groome 7.30 pm


Aidan Bracken Building Design Junior B Hurling Championship

Shamrocks v Killeigh Mucklagh T Anderson 7.30 pm


Aidan Bracken Building Design Junior B Hurling Championship

Raheen v Kinnitty Geashill N Cooney 12 noon



Sunday 5th August

Aidan Bracken Building Design Senior Hurling Championship

Shamrocks v Kilcormac/K Rath T Carroll 6.00 pm

Coolderry v Kinnitty Rath B Gavin 7.30 pm

Belmont v Shinrone Banagher M Walsh 3.00 pm


Aidan Bracken Building Design Junior A Hurling Championship

Drumcullen v Killavilla Rath M Walsh 12 noon

Kilcormac/K v Coolderry Kilcormac/K D Cooke 12 noon

Kinnitty v Shinrone Kinnitty M Walsh 12 noon

Birr v Belmont Birr M Kirwan 12 noon

[theman]

Seriously, can the Offaly County Board not get fixtures right?

2 intermediate matches on for the same time in Walsh Island Friday night. This happened in the last round when there was 3 matches fixed for tuesday night in Killeigh. Only one of the teams copped onto it the week before

[Plain of the Herbs]

Well spotted, Man. And at the same time Walsh Island Juniors are travelling to play Lusmagh. There'll be no-one around to turn on the hot water for the four teams competing at WI.

Seriously, can the Offaly County Board not get fixtures right?

2 intermediate matches on for the same time in Walsh Island Friday night. This happened in the last round when there was 3 matches fixed for tuesday night in Killeigh. Only one of the teams copped onto it the week before

[fatlad]

Bracknagh game now in Ballyfore Friday 7.30

[High School Musical]

I think we need to have a look at the format of the club championships here in Offaly. Looking at the Senior, Intermediate & Junior football championships I just see way too many games, each lacking the out & out intensity of a good old-fashioned championship match. For example the groups in the Junior Championship consist of 7 teams in each (as does one of the groups in the Intermediate championship). This is 6 championship matches for each team with the likelihood being that a team could realistically afford to lose 3 games and still make it through to the Quarter-finals.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not calling for a return to straight knockout football. I think teams should be given a 2nd chance at least. The back-door system is used in many counties around the country and in many cases, it seems to work. We all want a bit more football, but I’m of the opinion that we are losing the real bite to our championship games, until the knockout stages anyway, and its something we need to get back. More competitiveness in our local championship could lead to greater competition for places on the county team and hopefully help lead to a change in fortunes at intercounty level. A reduced number of championship games may also lead to a greater emphasis being put on the league in the county.

While I’m sure there are both merits & disadvantages to a change in championship format, and these have been discussed countless times within the county since we abandoned the knockout format years ago, I still feel that an alternative to the current system is needed, perhaps even one that hasn’t been mentioned yet.

[allstar2010]

Both the Hurling and Football club championships are a joke.... Teams are only going through the motions at the moment, no intensity whatsoever.... 4 teams coming out of a group of 6 and sometimes 4 coming out of a 5 team group. Why not go back to 3 goups of 4? 2 strong groups and one so called weak group at least that way we have quality matches. There was a round of hurling championship matches last weekend and not one result made a whole lot of difference, they might as well have been league games. We're nearly in August and clubs are only starting to get going now, this is having an affect on our county teams.

[kinnittyman]

The current hurling chamionship format is far from ideal. With four teams coming out of a six team group there's way too many games to be played just to eliminate four teams.

Matches lack intensity as teams know that 2 wins probably see them through to the knock-out stages and every team I presume is of the opinion then once you avoid Coolderry you could easily make the county final.

My two proposals would be:

A) Two groups of six with the top 3 emerging. Top team in each group into semi and two quarter finals with remaining four teams. 2nd plays 3rd from one group and vice versa.
(Just to spice it up I would love to see teams being rewarded for higher placed finishes in their groups. For example in the quarters in above proposal the 2nd place team in each group gets home advantage, (or if not feasible, the venue of their choice) and in the semis the teams who won the groups have the same privilige) Why not reward teams who did well in the group stage? And just because the GAA has always used neutral venues doesn't mean it always has to be the way.

B) Three groups of four with top two emerging. The two group winners with the best record in their groups go direct to semis and the remaining four teams play off in the two quarters. Home and Away arrangements as outlined above if desired.

[joe bloggs]

rubbish lads.
Ask any player what they want and it is more games.
At present the system guarantees five games, the old one gave only three
I remember seeing shamrocks lose a game on the first Sunday in may a few years back. Their season was over as they still had to face birr after that in a four team group.
Under the present system all clubs playing stiill have a chance of making the knockouts after three rounds. The longer we have teams playing over the summer the better. There is far too much training in the gaa and not enough games.
It is like the point Ollie baker made about the county set up, saying February was far too long a time to be waiting for offalyto be hurling again

[Lone Shark]

rubbish lads.
Ask any player what they want and it is more games.
At present the system guarantees five games, the old one gave only three
I remember seeing shamrocks lose a game on the first Sunday in may a few years back. Their season was over as they still had to face birr after that in a four team group.
Under the present system all clubs playing stiill have a chance of making the knockouts after three rounds. The longer we have teams playing over the summer the better. There is far too much training in the gaa and not enough games.
It is like the point Ollie baker made about the county set up, saying February was far too long a time to be waiting for offalyto be hurling again

Five games is not the problem - the problem is that many of them are meaningless. Basically you can finish in the top four, or the bottom two, and once you're definitely going to land in one of those two sectors, you've no incentive to keep trying. Group two of the SHC is more or less done and dusted already after only two rounds. Kinnittyman's system looks bang on to me, there's an incentive for every spot.

We're not trying to reduce games here, but all too often there have been cases where these games are basically just league matches.

You also have situations like a few years ago, where in the last round of games in the SFC, Clara were down to play St Brigids and Ferbane were down to play Gracefield. Clara were already going to top the group and avoid Rhode, and it was only because the club upheld sporting integrity that they played the game. Practically, they would have been much better advised to concede a walkover and play a challenge match against a good side behind closed doors rather than play a match against a Brigids team fighting for their lives, where injuries were a real possibility. I know that could happen in any system, but surely to God we should be looking to try and minimise the likelihood, because one of these days a manager will get the backing of his club and in that situation they will concede a walkover because it'll be in their own interests.

Overall, it's just annoying that we seem to do things halfways all the time. You have a system in Kilkenny where teams play five round robin games, then everyone qualifies for a straight knockout. For whatever reason, that works down there, partially due to the absence of football so players don't have that ,any games of consequence. In Westmeath, they have to balance some dual clubs so they have six team groups, with more or less Kinnittyman's system, admittedly without the home advantage thing.

We started with the Kilkenny system, then Tullamore win the championship without winning a group game and everyone says it's wrong - so we end up with this miserable, half way to nowhere compromise that really doesn't do what it's supposed to.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Yea, but by definition, there are going to be a certain number of meaningless matches no matter how many come out of the group, whether it's two, three, four, five or six. I don't see a situation where every game is going to define every club's year.

The problem of having quarter-finals, while at the same time giving teams a bye into the semi-final (whether by having two or three groups) is that the team(s) who go straight into the semi-finals are going to go four weeks without a game. That's not fair either. And if there happen to be an odd number of teams in a group and the group-topper goes straight to the semi-final they could go six weeks without a match.

Everyone wants a situation where every game is win-or-bust, but the reality is you can only get knocked out once a year.

Five games is not the problem - the problem is that many of them are meaningless. Basically you can finish in the top four, or the bottom two, and once you're definitely going to land in one of those two sectors, you've no incentive to keep trying. Group two of the SHC is more or less done and dusted already after only two rounds. Kinnittyman's system looks bang on to me, there's an incentive for every spot.