Thanks a million, JP! GAA 2024

[elguapo4]

As usual my expertise is shown up. Having written off Mayo, they immediately hammer Galway by 2.12 to 0.10 in the Connaught derby. Meanwhile, Donegal clearly look like they're going to spend as short a time as possible in the second tier, winning against Cork by 11 points, 1.20 to 2.06.

[Discordant Resonance]

Tyrone have Conn Fitzpatrick sent off against Roscommon, while playing against the wind, and still end up winning comfortably. Aside from the notable Donegal thrashing of Cork in Division Two, nothing else of note in that tier, while Down, Westmeath, Clare and Antrim take D3 opening honours. One of the bigger surprises came in Division Four, where Aaron Amond (brother of Newport legend Pádraig) netted to help Carlow win away to Tipperary.

[elguapo4]

Dessie Farrell's obvious indifference to the league is showing, Dublin 0 from 2 games as Mayo win by a point 1.12 to 0.14

[George C.]

Pretty pathetic from the Dubs, mediocre at best...

[elguapo4]

Meanwhile Laois manager Justin Mc Nulty had to combine his day job with managing them to a victory against Wexford. His day job being a MLA in Stormont, where he was required to be in attendance for the reopening of Parliament after two years

[Discordant Resonance]

Won the game, but lost the party whip as a consequence, so swings and roundabouts.

[Discordant Resonance]

A convincing victory for Kerry away to Monaghan - which may not be consequential in the broader scheme of things, but defeat would have seen the spectre of relegation raise its head, and newcomer Cillian Burke could be a name to watch for the Kingdom this summer. Kildare and Cork are on two defeats each in Division Two, which is increasingly Ulster dominated this term, and it looks like a long spring for both London and Waterford, who remain pointless in Division Four, where Leitrim, Carlow and Laois all boast 100% starts so far.

[Discordant Resonance]

Excellent article here about the less glamorous end of the hurling spectrum.

[Discordant Resonance]

The main talking points this week concerned Division Two, as Cork and Kildare both circle the Tailteann Cup drain after being pointless from three games, while Lilywhites manager Glenn Ryan is already feeling the heat from local media, and Donegal and Armagh look poised for immediate returns to the top flight with 100% records. Derry are powering ahead in the top-flight, while Kerry have returned to form through Messrs Clifford, and Monaghan and Roscommon appear doomed. Down and Westmeath are making the D3 running, while both Laois and Leitrim are 100% in the bottom tier. Waterford are the worst county in Ireland, yet to record any points, after London secured a creditable draw against Tipperary.

[elguapo4]

The main talking points this week concerned Division Two, as Cork and Kildare both circle the Tailteann Cup drain after being pointless from three games, while Lilywhites manager Glenn Ryan is already feeling the heat from local media, and Donegal and Armagh look poised for immediate returns to the top flight with 100% records. Derry are powering ahead in the top-flight, while Kerry have returned to form through Messrs Clifford, and Monaghan and Roscommon appear doomed. Down and Westmeath are making the D3 running, while both Laois and Leitrim are 100% in the bottom tier. Waterford are the worst county in Ireland, yet to record any points, after London secured a creditable draw against Tipperary.

I watched the first half of Kildare v Armagh on Sunday, and fuck me with Kildare were beyond dire. They looked like a team that could plummet straight through the third tier as well.

Meath will probably do enough to survive, although manager Colm O'Rourke wants another "tweak " of the calendar because he's been without a few players who were playing in the Sigerson Cup ( the inter University tournament). If they're that good Colm old son, I can't wait to see you set Leinster on fire.

My friend from Dublin married a woman from Limerick. Unfortunately for their kids they decided to bring them up in Meath!

[elguapo4]

As expected, Limerick give the Dubs a hiding in Hurling 3.30 to1.18. In the football though, Dublin are scoring at will, and currently lead Kerry 2.08 to 0.05.

[elguapo4]

Dublin nine points ahead at ht. Normally that would be enough, but you can never count out Kerry.

[Discordant Resonance]

Dublin win by ten in the finish - a bit more respectability for the first 20 minutes of the second half, but Kerry were far too open, and didn't seem able to press at all, meaning the Dubs could run straight through them, and pick off scores almost at will.

[George C.]

Always good to put the 'kingdom' to the sword.

UTDs.

[George C.]

Anyway...

[elguapo4]

In the 1st Division Derry look unstoppable, if Mickey Harte cynical, as they make it four from four in thrashing Galway, who now look in danger of the drop. At least Monaghan have the warm glow of beating Dublin in Croke Park, another defeat, this time to Roscommon means they're odds on to lose their top flight status. Hapless Kildare lose again, and are all but doomed.

[elguapo4]

Dublin are slowly building up a head of steam. Having beaten Kerry, last night they went to unbeaten Derry, and came away with an impressive six points victory.

Mayo are also disproving my predictions, as they had a comfortable win over Roscommon, who are now being dragged into the relegation battle.

Kerry host Tyrone today, as they both wish to bounce back from recent defeats, while Galway take on Monaghan, the losers of which are almost certainly down.

[elguapo4]

Kerry win by 4 points, 0.18 to 1.11. We're into extra time in Monaghan ,with Galway currently 8 points ahead, 3.12 to 0.13, so with two games to go it's looking like second division football next year for the Farney men.

[Discordant Resonance]

An intruiging final two rounds of the Football League - both Dublin and Kerry would be expected to win their concluding two fixtures, and if Mayo defeat Derry at home (eminently plausible), a scenario emerges where the top four could all finish on ten points, with the league final pairing decided on points difference. Elsewhere, Donegal and Armagh appear poised to make instant returns to the top-flight, at the expense of Monaghan and Roscommon, though Tyrone and Cavan are not out of the relegation and promotion equations, respectively. Kildare could suffer the ignominy of becoming the only pointless team in any of the four divisions, Down and Westmeath appear set for promotion to Division Two (which could help them this summer in the Sam Maguire calculations), and Laois should mathematically seal their elevation to Division Three this weekend.

[Discordant Resonance]

As predicted, Armagh and Donegal had comfortable wins over Cavan and Kildare, so it seems probable there will be four Ulster sides in the 2024 top-flight - if Monaghan lose this evening, their relegation will be confirmed. Cork defeated Meath to move to mid-table, and the second D2 relegation place is between Louth and Fermanagh, the former winning their H2H clash this evening, but with four and three points respectively, it'll be a nail-biter. Clare defeated Antrim to move onto 10 points in Division Three, the same as both Down and Westmeath, who meet tomorrow, while Limerick have been relegated to D4 after losing to Wicklow. In the bottom tier, Laois (10 points) lost surprisingly to Leitrim (8 points), and Longford also reached that mark after overcoming Carlow. Wexford could also enter the fray here, but an unplayable pitch caused their clash with Tipp to be postponed.

In hurling, Clare will play Tipp and Limerick will face Kilkenny in the semi-finals after the final round of league fixtures, with last year's double winners drawing with Galway, the Banner defeating Offaly after seemingly being out of the game for the duration, Kilkenny defeating Waterford and Tipp thrashing Antrim. Elsewhere, Cork were too strong for Wexford and Dublin overcame Westmeath. No county was relegated, as the league is being re-organised into a new format for 2025:

Division 1A:
Clare
Cork
Galway
Kilkenny
Limerick
Tipperary
Wexford

Division 1B:
Antrim
Carlow
Dublin
Laois/Down
Offaly
Waterford
Westmeath

[Discordant Resonance]

Here's how we stand after Round 6:

Division One:

Derry's comfortable win over Mayo virtually guarantees them a league final berth, and Dublin will be expected to join them at home to Tyrone. Roscommon will be relegated, unless they pull off an improbable win in Derry, and while Kerry and Galway could respectively reach the final or be relegated, it very much has the aura of a dead rubber.

Division Two:

Armagh and Derry have been promoted, and Kildare relegated, so Fermanagh must defeat Cavan to avoid the drop, while Louth meet Kildare in a potential Leinster championship rehearsal.

Division Three:

Down face Clare with the Banner needing to defeat the table-toppers to secure promotion, while Westmeath will expect to secure their own elevation away to Sligo. Offaly are favourites to avoid the drop at home to pointless Limerick, while rivals Wicklow must travel to Antrim.

Division Four:

Laois should rubber-stamp Division Three status against hapless Waterford, but Leitrim, Longford and Wexford are all tied on eight points, with the latter two meeting in the final round, and the Shannonsiders at home to Tipperary. If Longford and Leitrim both win, the former will be promoted on the H2H rule, but that would favour the Connacht county if they and Wexford are victorious.

[MrLeam]

pointless Limerick

Hosted by Richard Osman and Pam Ayres

[Discordant Resonance]

He must thought it sounded clever at the time:

https://twitter.com/fintancox/status/1773813515150651409

[Discordant Resonance]

To wit, a preview of this week's League finals:

Division Four: Laois vs Leitrim

Dedication to his position may have cost Justin McNulty the SDLP whip, but the O'Moore County have enjoyed a successful spring, with defeat to this evening's opponents the only blot in their copybook. Similarly, Andy Moran has made good progress with the Shannonsiders, with their elevation this term making up for 2023's near-miss, but facing a Connacht championship clash against Sligo next week, they may be less engaged here, with Laois enjoying an extra week off until their local derby against Offaly.

Division Three: Down v Westmeath

The Mourne County have been making most news this week for extra-curricular activities, with former goalkeeper Charlie Smyth receiving a contract from the New Orleans Saints. Again, the quirks in the calendar appear to make the Ulstermen favourites here, as they play a less than hectic Antrim side on the 13th, whereas Westmeath host Wicklow on the 7th.

Division Two: Armagh v Donegal

Both sides are guaranteed to be in the Sam Maguire draw later in the summer regardless, but neither may want to show their hands too early, so a degree of shadow-boxing may be evident tomorrow. Armagh have the softer provincial schedule, facing a rather weak Fermanagh side, followed by either Down or Antrim in the last four, whereas Donegal are likely to be eliminated at the first hurdle against Mickey Harte's rabid Derry outfit.

Division One: Dublin v Derry

A genuine clash of the top two in the Championship form rankings, with Dublin appearing set to go unbeaten for the remainder of 2024, and the Oak Leaf County hot favourites to retain their provincial crown, even if finding themselves on the same side of the draw as Donegal and Tyrone. The Blues five-goal salvo against an admittedly understrength Tyrone highlights the breadth and depth of their scoring range, and with no meaningful opponents until the All-Ireland series, they will be giving tomorrow's decider every due care and attention - Dublin by 10.

[Discordant Resonance]

Laois were comfortable D4 winners, Westmeath eventually overturned early Down dominance to prevail in Division Three, and Donegal edged out Armagh in the second-tier, but, appropriately, the best fare of all was served up in the Division One decider. Dublin initially started the better, but Derry soon got a grip on proceedings, particularly in midfield, and would surely have been irked to only be at parity during the half-time break. Slowly, however, they built up a four-point lead, and while Dublin responded with a goal of their own, the Ulstermen appeared poised for victory until Conor Lane awarded the All-Ireland champions a controversial injury-time free, precipitating extra-time. Again the Oak Leaf County goaled, and maintained that three-point advantage, until Dublin were awarded a "45" - the ref was then alerted by his umpires by a striking offence by Brian Fenton, he was dismissed, but the free still stood, resulting in an equalising goal! Still, Derry eventually won the shootout, so one could argue that justice was ultimately done.