Announcement

**Outside Agent** · 26-01-2015, 23:19

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Waterford winning the McGrath Cup is the story of the winter, without doubt.

Division 4: Promotion - Longford & Waterford.

Division 3: Promotion - Armagh & Tipperary
Relegation - Sligo & Clare

Division 2: Promotion - Kildare & Down
Relegation - Cavan & Westmeath

Division 1: Finalists - Dublin & Mayo
Relegation - Cork & Derry

Looking beyond that, and to the summer, I'll go for an All-Ireland semi-final line-up of Kerry V Tyrone and Dublin V Mayo, with a Kerry V Dublin final.

**Gangster Octopus** · 27-01-2015, 12:49

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

London news:

The Irish World, media partners to London GAA, have learnt that planning permission has been granted to the county board for the redevelopment of the Emerald GAA Grounds in Ruislip.

Subject to GLA (Greater London Authority) approval, work can now begin on the 3,900 capacity modern Ruislip in June, after London�s footballers play their home championship match against Roscommon on May 24.

Work was due to commence last September to be re-opened for London�s Connacht championship match in May 2015, but planning delays held up the work.

�This is great news, the hard work starts now,� London chairman Noel O�Sullivan told the Irish World.

To bring London GAA�s sporting facilities up to date, the new �4.17 million Ruislip stadium will have a new sheltered stand, terracing and be fully enclosed bringing it up to the level of county standard facilities in Ireland.

The GAA and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed details of the redevelopment of London GAA�s headquarters in Ruislip in March 2014.

**ursus arctos** · 27-01-2015, 12:50

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

There's no appetite for London (or New York, for that matter) to contest the league, is there?

**Diable Rouge** · 27-01-2015, 16:25

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

No, London actually enjoy Division Four, as they get at least three home fixtures and most of their opponents are at roughly the same level, so they've been finishing 5th/6th in recent seasons. New York have won the League twice in the Sixties - the "home" League winners used to travel to play in the States.

**Borracho** · 27-01-2015, 16:35

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

London play in the Connacht (i.e. the west of Ireland) section of the All-Ireland championship. They actually won a couple of games the year before last, against Sligo and Leitrim, which was quite an achievement in the circumstances.

**Diable Rouge** · 29-01-2015, 13:56

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

If a game is shown on Sky, and nobody watches, is it a success? Maybe they should have given the Irish contract to TG4, and left the UK to GAA GO.

**Diable Rouge** · 08-02-2015, 20:52

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Kerry actually win a game in February for the first time in four years, so appear safe from relegation at least! So far, only Cork have two D1 wins, with conversely, only Derry pointless. All we've learnt so far is that Leinster is the weakest province, with Laois and Kildare propping up the second tier, and Armagh will take time to revive, even while leading the third flight.

**Outside Agent** · 08-02-2015, 23:14

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Cork surprising many with two opening wins. I saw a good chunk of their win over Monaghan and it was surprisingly open and high-scoring for a February league game. I also saw Mayo give an exhibition in wasteful kicking in what was a great win for Tyrone. Unfortunately, I saw nothing of Dublin's win over Donegal, but I was delighted with how it evolved, with Dublin going down to 14 men but still kicking-on to win comfortably in the end.

Game of the campaign was in Aughrim today. Leitrim ran into a 9-0 lead, Wicklow responded with 11 straight points, and Leitrim managed one more, with it finishing 11-10 to Wicklow. You just don't see games follow such a pattern of scoring.

**Diable Rouge** · 14-02-2015, 16:44

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Slight shock this afternoon as reigning senior club champions, St. Vincent's of Dublin were eliminated by Corofin from Galway, giving hope to Austin Stacks and Slaughtneil in tomorrow's other semi. The junior final featured John Mitchel's from Liverpool, but they were defeated by Kerry's Brosna on a 0-8 to 0-5 scoreline.

**Diable Rouge** · 22-02-2015, 15:39

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Very tasty Kilkenny v Dublin game today - the Metropolitans swept into a 14-point lead against the Cats, and while the final margin was five (3-11 to 0-25), two of Kilkenny's goals were of the "garbage time" variety, going for broke to preserve respectability, and while there were three dismissals, it was a clean encounter for the most part. Spring form can evaporate rapidly, but following on from a 12-point hammering of Tipp, Dublin's 16-1 All-Ireland odds are worth an each-way sniff.

**Outside Agent** · 22-02-2015, 20:23

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

That was a very satisfying win for Dublin. You could feel the locals annoyance pouring down from the stands. Kilkenny folk don't like losing to Dublin, as they still don't rate them as a serious hurling team, and hurling snobs find Dublin's recent rise difficult to digest. Much better to lose to Wexford or Limerick. Kilkenny were unfortunate to lose a player, but given how they play close to the edge and how Cody uses his status to make (unchallenged) comments about referees, I've no sympathy for them when they're occasionally the victims.

Dublin were odds-on to finish bottom of Division 1. They're now top with the only 100% record.

**Borracho** · 22-02-2015, 21:50

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Diable Rouge wrote: the Metropolitans
the Cats

No! Please! No more.

**Diable Rouge** · 27-02-2015, 12:57

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Ah, Congress - the greatest congregation of middle-aged white men this side of the GOP Convention. On a brighter note, Kerry v Dublin in Fitzgerald Stadium promises excellent value for �10, and it has the added bonus of throwing in at the same time as the rugby.

**Diable Rouge** · 01-03-2015, 15:59

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Excellent second-half Kerry display sends them chuntering up the League table, and a semi-final berth should be secured with two more wins. A fine example of the great GAA schmozzle at the death, seemed to be 20 involved from both sides.

**Outside Agent** · 01-03-2015, 21:15

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Kerry were far better than Dublin. The scoreline didn't reflect the difference. Kerry won practically every loose ball in midfield and coped with the dreadful conditions better than Dublin. Bryan Sheehan kicked a couple of lovely points from play, but his dead-ball kicking into that breeze was nothing short of excellent. The long-distance free, kicked from the ground has been sadly discarded in the modern game. Spending my teens watching Charlie Redmond has moulded my feelings on this. Sheehan today got me all nostalgic for this lost art.

Nobody in inter-county football gets away with more thuggery than Kieran Donaghy. He was on a yellow when he clothes-lined Rory O'Carroll across the neck. Watching it happen, I said that if O'Carroll had stayed down expressing pain, and if the Dublin players had made a scene, then Donaghy may well have walked. I also said that it's the sort of challenge that Eoghan O'Gara always gets punished for. Lo and behold, ten minutes later O'Gara commits a similar challenge to Donaghy, the Kerry player on the receiving end stays down, a few Kerry lads get on to the referee, and O'Gara gets duly booked.

The distribution of black cards was purely random. It's a stupid addition to the rules.

**Diable Rouge** · 03-03-2015, 20:31

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

And Paul Galvin cancels his retirement.

**Outside Agent** · 03-03-2015, 22:27

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Tommy Walsh back from Australia. The Gooch back from injury. Now Paul Galvin back from retirement.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Kerry had fallen away and needed big names and big-game players back in the fold to help lift the struggling collection of youngsters. They're All-Ireland champions. I'm not sure it's going to be to the team's benefit.

It will be interesting to see how these returnees will be incorporated into the squad. And will all in the Kerry squad be happy with their return?

**Diable Rouge** · 04-03-2015, 13:30

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Outside Agent wrote: Tommy Walsh back from Australia. The Gooch back from injury. Now Paul Galvin back from retirement.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Kerry had fallen away and needed big names and big-game players back in the fold to help lift the struggling collection of youngsters. They're All-Ireland champions. I'm not sure it's going to be to the team's benefit.

It will be interesting to see how these returnees will be incorporated into the squad. And will all in the Kerry squad be happy with their return?

In this instance, you'd imagine only Galvin would be worse off - if it works out, Fitzmaurice gains, and if it doesn't, there's still a 25-man strong panel even excluding the minors.

**Diable Rouge** · 14-03-2015, 22:40

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Dublin hammered Mayo tonight in Castlebar, a reaction might have been expected, but certainly not by 14 points. Similarly, after Kerry's showing on Leeside, two points are essential, but Donegal will be eager for retribution in Tralee tomorrow.

**Outside Agent** · 15-03-2015, 00:34

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Big win for Dublin, as relegation was a real possibility had they lost today. Having started the campaign in Cork minus all of their best players, and by best, I mean Cluxton, McAuley, Flynn, Brogan & Connolly, they've slowly got these players back into the starting XV game-by-game. A win against an already-relegated Derry in the final game should be enough to secure a top four finish and a semi, and possible final, to look forward to in April.

I was disgusted with Dublin's two-point defeat to Clare in the hurling. A win would have almost certainly secured Division 1 hurling for next year. Dublin led from early right up to the final five minutes, when a late Clare goal got their necks in front. Davy Fitzgerald's drill sergeant methods have come to light this week, as two players who have been removed from the Clare panel revealed the reasons behind it and the manager's actions around this. I don't think anyone will be surprised to read that Davy Fitzgerald runs his panel in that manner.

**Diable Rouge** · 15-03-2015, 17:21

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

A most enjoyable and surprisingly clean game today, as Kerry just edged out a 2-13 to 2-11 thriller - some wayward passing by both sides, but with 28 scores, one can hardly complain, and kudos to the considerable away support, who were tireless despite their eight-hour journey. The division remains incredibly tight, and though Derry are virtually down and Cork have a cushion to the chasing pack, the other six counties could either reach the last four or be relegated. Speaking of which, it now appears a real prospect for Kilkenny after getting dished by Tipp - that manager must be on his last legs!

**Diable Rouge** · 17-03-2015, 18:09

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Most disappointing fare in today's club championship finals - firstly, King Henry Shefflin's Ballyhale Shamrocks thrashed Kilmallock by 12 points in the hurling, before a missed injury-time penalty epitomised Slaughtneil's display in losing 1-14 to 0-7 against Galway's Corofin.

**The Awesome Berbaslug!!!** · 21-03-2015, 20:47

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

When I was growing up, the schools in my town were not into sport, and no good at it. The only vaguely famous sports star was Brendan Cummins, who was four years ahead of me.

The year after I left, the three post primary schools all amalgamated, to form a community college. My parents taught there for a couple of years after it open. This move, combined with a doubling in the town's population, and the development of a number of all weather pitches has lead to a sort of sporting renaissance. Today was the conclusion of the journey of the girls gaelic football team, who progressed up through the age groups and grades like a fucking combine harvester smashing through a field of corncrakes. They lost the Senior A secondary school All ireland by a point to Glenamaddy. I first became aware of their prowess when I was in the local chipper, and perusing the local papers that they had lying around, and saw that the connaught champions from loughrea had lost 7-15 to 0-6 points to Colaiste Dun Iascaigh in the semi final of the Junior A All-Ireland.

The boys aren't quite as successful as the girls at Gaa, where the competition is much stronger and well established. They are however in the FAi Schools cup All ireland final next month, which hopefully pressages an upturn in form for Cahir Park. It has been a lean 40 years since the team of the 70's. Everyone is a little embarrassed at how Tommy O'Donnell worked out though. He fell in with a bad crowd and went astray.

**Diable Rouge** · 22-03-2015, 19:17

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Hurling QFs:

Tipp v Offaly
Cork v Wexford
Dublin v Limerick
Galway v Waterford

Even the Kerry hurlers could yet secure promotion, with a league final against Westmeath, before a potential play-off against Laois or Antrim.

Announcement

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

Will they be Kings? GAA 2015

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