Galway GAA discussion thread

patmac

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Would hate to be the Loughrea keeper tonight. That goal took the momentum out of Loughrea for a long time. Nice to see some good sideline cuts especially seeing how wet it was out there. Johnny Maher was Johnny Maher. Good to see a new team on top though, especially knowing how hard they've been hit recently. Excellent year for David Burke but could have been a different story if Coen's great run ending with a goal. One of the more exciting matches I've seen this year.

It's always weird seeing Ryan for Craughwell outfield too. Decent finish in the shield match.

Willie_Power wrote: »

Lads and Lassies, I was a neutral at the game yesterday and St Thomas were a joy to watch, they held their heads and didn't retaliate when goaded and wronged by Loughrea and the referee. They deserve great credit for concentrating on hurling. Loughrea have been getting away with this behaviour for years at all levels, always operating on the edge, go back to 2006 and they had the ref on their side that day as well. Heard the Co. board Chairman on Galway Bay this morning and he more or less said that it was a fine sporting game yesterday and saw nothing wrong during the game.

MfMan wrote: »

And he's actually right for the most part. I was at the game and had the radio in my ear; analyst Conor Hayes correctly stated that both teams went out to hurl and were going for it. It was only near the end that a bit of silly stuff crept in and it would be a shame if this detracted from a fine Thomas' performance and victory.

Sickening attitude towards blatant thuggery that gives the GAA such a bad name, people need to act swiftly here and send out the right message.

meriwether

Grats wrote: »

I mentioned just a few incidents but if you want detailed analysis of the filth both Tipp and Galway got away with I can let you have it. And if you want to go back over the years I can give you plenty of Galway dirt for digesting. Sylvie Linnane is a Galway hero - a legend - for dishing out dirt during his hurling career. Tommy Walsh is a saint by comparison. You know full well that Galway club hurling is riddled with dirty play - and that's why you see nothing wrong with how your County team play. It's what you're use to watching. Thankfully the true hurling counties have better expectations and standards.

Who are the true hurling counties?

You've already ruled out Tipp, so it can't involve them.

fearruanua

fearruanua wrote: »

peterswellman, have you ever watched loughgiel hurl?? by the sounds of it you musn't have. i was in parnell park for their semi final last year(supporting na piarsaigh) and in croke park for their all ireland final and take it from me they are a serious outfit and it will take a very good team to dethrone them this year. here's hoping that st thomas' can do it but underestimate the men from the north at your peril.

I have, I watched them in the final last year and they're a very good team but the skill level in this St Thomas side is absolutely incredible. If you think they can out hurl Thomas', I suggest you watch more Thomas games. In some of the worst conditions ive ever seen in a hurling match yesterday they absolute destroyed Loughrea and wouldn't have at all been flattered by a 10 point win. St Thomas have the ability to go on and destroy club hurling for man years to come, not only in Galway but throughout the whole of Ireland.

I personally think Thomas are a very good team and have a line-up in attack that almost any senior intercounty team would be proud. The bigger pitches and better conditions will only suit Thomas fantastic brand of hurling.

meriwether

peterswellman wrote: »

I have, I watched them in the final last year and they're a very good team but the skill level in this St Thomas side is absolutely incredible. If you think they can out hurl Thomas', I suggest you watch more Thomas games. In some of the worst conditions ive ever seen in a hurling match yesterday they absolute destroyed Loughrea and wouldn't have at all been flattered by a 10 point win. St Thomas have the ability to go on and destroy club hurling for man years to come, not only in Galway but throughout the whole of Ireland.

I personally think Thomas are a very good team and have a line-up in attack that almost any senior intercounty team would be proud. The bigger pitches and better conditions will only suit Thomas fantastic brand of hurling.

Its very heartening to see David Burke and James Regan stamp their class on club games - they will be important county players for years to come, and they should be showing their class at this level.

Diabhal Beag

patmac wrote: »

Sickening attitude towards blatant thuggery that gives the GAA such a bad name, people need to act swiftly here and send out the right message.

I didn't condone it at all and you jumped to your conclusion straight away. I just felt that it went without saying how dirty Maher is. If you have any knowledge of the club scene in Galway you'll know it gets absolutely fiercely competitive. It was actually an excellent match considering the conditions and forgive me for not wanting to point out the blatantly obvious. Forgive me for being positive in light of a great match played underwater.

patmac

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

I didn't condone it at all and you jumped to your conclusion straight away. I just felt that it went without saying how dirty Maher is. If you have any knowledge of the club scene in Galway you'll know it gets absolutely fiercely competitive. It was actually an excellent match considering the conditions and forgive me for not wanting to point out the blatantly obvious. Forgive me for being positive in light of a great match played underwater.

Fair enough, I am aware of how 'fiercely competitive' Galway club hurling is and I think that has held back the senior team for many a year, and I know it was a fine game but surely you must agree there is no room for thuggery on the pitch despite how well the game went and a lengthy ban should apply.

rebel girl 15

From Irish Examiner

Striking incidents overshadow Galway Hurling Final
Monday, November 19, 2012 - 07:45 PM

The Galway County Board are under pressure to react to the unruly scenes which marred yesterday’s Galway Senior Hurling Championship final.

St Thomas were crowned champions after beating Loughrea 3-11 to 2-11 in their first ever senior county final appearance at Pearse Stadium.

But experienced referee Eoin Shaughnessy, together with his linesmen and umpires, failed to punish players for a series of off-the-ball offences.

The deferred TV coverage on TG4 captured a couple of notable striking incidents involving St Thomas star Richie Murray, who scored a hat-trick of goals, and Loughrea’s two-goal ace Johnny Maher.

An alleged stamp by Murray on Loughrea’s Damien McClearn was missed by the match officials, while two obvious strikes by Maher, in full view of the referee and umpires, also went unpunished.

A YouTube video of the 57th minute incident involving Maher has surfaced, showing the Loughrea full-forward lashing out at defenders Sean Skehill and Robert Murray.

Referee Shaughnessy had just awarded a penalty to Maher when the Loughrea target man retaliated and hit Skehill and Murray with his hurley, causing the pair to need medical treatment.

The referee was seen to consult with his umpires but no action was taken regarding Maher’s conduct and he proceeded to fire the penalty to the net, cutting St. Thomas’ lead to 3-11 to 2-11.

Maher, who got married on Friday, then had a chance to level the game in deepest injury-time but his shot was blocked and duly cleared to safety.

It was Loughrea’s fifth Galway SHC final defeat in 10 years and could be followed by some disciplinary action from County Board, with calls from some quarters for Galway chiefs to act over the performance of the match officials.

Diabhal Beag

patmac wrote: »

but surely you must agree there is no room for thuggery on the pitch despite how well the game went and a lengthy ban should apply.

Another thing that goes without saying. Nobody wants thuggery in hurling but you'll always have some headcase up against you waiting to give you a whack. He's being punished already by folks who never watch hurling but saw the youtube videos.

ShamoBuc

Missed the game yesterday and only just the clip of Maher in the lead up to the pen - the full forward was ridiculous in his actions but the umpires and ref were a total disgrace in how they dealt ( or didn't) with it.
Might try to watch the whole game later as it apparently has a few incidents and there's only I'm a bloody celeb on!

Utopia Parkway

Grats wrote: »

I mentioned just a few incidents but if you want detailed analysis of the filth both Tipp and Galway got away with I can let you have it. And if you want to go back over the years I can give you plenty of Galway dirt for digesting. Sylvie Linnane is a Galway hero - a legend - for dishing out dirt during his hurling career. Tommy Walsh is a saint by comparison. You know full well that Galway club hurling is riddled with dirty play - and that's why you see nothing wrong with how your County team play. It's what you're use to watching. Thankfully the true hurling counties have better expectations and standards.

Dear oh dear.

Listen Kilkenny can dish it out just as much as they receive it. Probably even more so.

Utopia Parkway

As much as Maher could have received 2 red cards for striking yesterday the game was actually played in a good enough spirit until right at the end when ONE player lost the rag a bit. The fact that the ref somehow failed to punish him for the incident is the big talking point IMO as it was utterly incompetent officiating.

MfMan

peterswellman wrote: »

I have, I watched them in the final last year and they're a very good team but the skill level in this St Thomas side is absolutely incredible. If you think they can out hurl Thomas', I suggest you watch more Thomas games. In some of the worst conditions ive ever seen in a hurling match yesterday they absolute destroyed Loughrea and wouldn't have at all been flattered by a 10 point win. St Thomas have the ability to go on and destroy club hurling for man years to come, not only in Galway but throughout the whole of Ireland.

I personally think Thomas are a very good team and have a line-up in attack that almost any senior intercounty team would be proud. The bigger pitches and better conditions will only suit Thomas fantastic brand of hurling.

Easy now, easy. I remember last year on another BB, after Tipp destroyed Waterford in the Munster final, one pundit declared that Tipp would dominate the next few years in the same way KK had for the past few. We see how that turned out. Thomas' are indeed a very skillful team and play a very attractive brand of hurling, particularly on a dry sod. Don't forget though that the latter stages of the AI club championships are often played on heavier pitches. Let them win one first and talk a bit then - leaving yourself a hostage to fortune otherwise.

I really hope the likes of David Burke, Conor Cooney and James Regan can transfer their club form to the county team; they've sometimes struggled to impose themselves at the higher level.

Fireball07

gigawatt2007 wrote: »

Lads just saw the video of the Johnny Maher carry on around the penalty.

Q1 How did he stay on the pitch
Q2 How was he not floored by one of the Thomas's team

If the GAA don't go an ban him for at least a year they should be ashmed of themselves. Shocking carry-on:

http://www.joe.ie/gaa/gaa-news/video-johnny-mahers-few-minutes-of-madness-in-the-galway-county-final-yesterday-0030635-1

Just saw the incident now... and it's almost beyond belief. All the incidents looked to be in front of the referee, all worthy of a red card. I'm an advocate of "hard" play, on the edge stuff is what all the best teams have, like it or not. And in the heat of battle, people act rashly, it's true.

But what Johnny Maher did was completely out of order, waaaaay out of line. I suppose it's good that the St. Thomas didn't react...but I found it baffling tbh. Surprised he wasn't flattened tbh (not that I'm saying that should have happened, but it's a lot more usual....all but 1 of their players seemed to just ignore it basically)

nagirrac

Fireball07 wrote: »

Just was the incident now... and it's almost beyond belief. All the incidents looked to be in front of the referee, all worthy of a red card. I'm an advocate of "hard" play, on the edge stuff is what all the best teams have, like it or not. And in the heat of battle, people act rashly, it's true.

But what Johnny Maher did was completely out of order, waaaaay out of line. I suppose it's good that the St. Thomas didn't react...but I found it baffling tbh. Surprised he wasn't flattened tbh (not that I'm saying that should have happened, but it's a lot more usual....all but 1 of their players seemed to just ignore it basically)

I would imagine they (St. Thomas' players) were interested in winning their first county title since 1907. Getting the penalty overturned was a much more sensible and cool headed approach at a time when Loughrea were coming at them hard and have a history of pulling games out of the fire. They did the right thing and the ref made a balls of it by not throwing the ball in for retaliation after the foul.
Well done St. Thomas', another county title for a south Galway club can only be good for Galway hurling.

daaaycent boy

Went to watch the match as a neutral supporter, good hard game of hurling but Johnny Maher's actions were a disgrace to say the least! I thought he was going to get the line but nothing! I don't know what the officials were at! After that incident I was delighted St. Thomas won the match, they did deserve it in the end. It will be interesting to see how they get on the AI Club Championship.

I suppose Eoin Shaughnessy was a bit like Christy Helebert 'I ref it like I played it'!!!

jordainius

Johnny Maher was an idiot, but its not his fault he wasn't sent off. I don't believe in criticising referee's but he struck a fella in the nuts and pulled across a second player right in front of the referee.

I can't think of a worse refereeing decision than this one. That he at the very least didn't pull Maher aside and tell him to calm the hell down is in itself astonishing. He has no excuse, he saw it very clearly; Referee's usually make wrong decisions because they didn't properly see an incident, which is understandable, but this was almost cowardly, he saw everything. He should never get a high profile game again.

flogging a dead horse

Just looking at the highlights. Richie Murray lucky not to be sent off for stamping on Damien McCleran. You can McCleran roar during the incident.

flogging a dead horse

For the Loughrea free that Maher got the goal, the ref gives the yellow card to the wrong Burke. Kenneth got the yellow Sean should have got. Despite them being brothers, booking the wrong man is bog-standard refereeing.

darragh085

it was a great game and delighted to see thomas win it. what maher did was a disgrace but has always got away with that type of dirty play. in the semi final in front of the umpire he punched fergal moore twice in the kidneys and got away with that as well.

jaysusREF

betting update

peterswellman wrote: »

I have, I watched them in the final last year and they're a very good team but the skill level in this St Thomas side is absolutely incredible. If you think they can out hurl Thomas', I suggest you watch more Thomas games. In some of the worst conditions ive ever seen in a hurling match yesterday they absolute destroyed Loughrea and wouldn't have at all been flattered by a 10 point win. St Thomas have the ability to go on and destroy club hurling for man years to come, not only in Galway but throughout the whole of Ireland.

I personally think Thomas are a very good team and have a line-up in attack that almost any senior intercounty team would be proud. The bigger pitches and better conditions will only suit Thomas fantastic brand of hurling.

peterswellman, I wouldn'r disagree with that too much. Conditions were terrible and St Thomas played some very good hurling in spite of that but they faded in the last 10 minutes. They'll need to up their fitness levels because those Antrim lads will run all day. They'll pressure your hurling and outlast you.
Paddy Power says
Outright Betting Hide


Ballyhale Shamrocks 9/4 Thurles Sarsfields 11/4 Loughgiel Shamrocks 7/2 St Thomas 11/2 De La Salle 15/2 Oulart the Ballagh 10/1 Kilcormac/K

William Hill says
5/2
Ballyhale Shamrocks

7/2
Thurles Sarsfields

4/1
Loughgiel
9/2
St Thomas

7/1
De La Salle

10/1
Oulart the Ballagh
12/1
Kilcormac Killoughey

MfMan

jordainius wrote: »

Johnny Maher was an idiot, but its not his fault he wasn't sent off. I don't believe in criticising referee's but he struck a fella in the nuts and pulled across a second player right in front of the referee.

I can't think of a worse refereeing decision than this one. That he at the very least didn't pull Maher aside and tell him to calm the hell down is in itself astonishing. He has no excuse, he saw it very clearly; Referee's usually make wrong decisions because they didn't properly see an incident, which is understandable, but this was almost cowardly, he saw everything. He should never get a high profile game again.

He might have had sympathy for Maher, he only got married last Friday. He will I feel (and hope) have to face the rigours of GAA justice yet though.

cat in the sack

peterswellman wrote: »

Not a hope in hell will they match them for hurling.

you seem to forget that it took ST. Thomas two games to beat a poor Gort side
the same Gort that were well beaten by Coolderry last year in the all ireland semil final, who later were well beaten by Loughiel shamrocks in the final.

great win for your club, but ye don't half let in go to yer head. the likes of
Thurles Sarsfields and Ballyhale are way ahead of ST.Thomas

buck65

Not so sure about that, St Thomas' were excellent yesterday.
great win some fantastic hurling, Loughrea? talk about chokers 1 win out of 6 county finals!
Johnny Maher should have been carded on about 3 different occasions and sent off on two more, hopefully he gets a long ban.

Utopia Parkway

cat in the sack wrote: »

you seem to forget that it took ST. Thomas two games to beat a poor Gort side
the same Gort that were well beaten by Coolderry last year in the all ireland semil final, who later were well beaten by Loughiel shamrocks in the final.

You can't always say A beat B so they will obviously lose to C. Hurling (or any other sport in fact) doesn't work like that. It's all about how teams match-up.

These are local derbies so they are always fought tooth and nail. Gort and St Thomas are neighbours. So are Loughrea and St Thomas in fact.

MfMan

MfMan wrote: »

Easy now, easy. I remember last year on another BB, after Tipp destroyed Waterford in the Munster final, one pundit declared that Tipp would dominate the next few years in the same way KK had for the past few. We see how that turned out. Thomas' are indeed a very skillful team and play a very attractive brand of hurling, particularly on a dry sod. Don't forget though that the latter stages of the AI club championships are often played on heavier pitches. Let them win one first and talk a bit then - leaving yourself a hostage to fortune otherwise.

I really hope the likes of David Burke, Conor Cooney and James Regan can transfer their club form to the county team; they've sometimes struggled to impose themselves at the higher level.

I don't recall there being a club team out there atm that come close to even rivaling Kilkenny in terms of dominance of both competitions. Well it's my opinion that they will one, maybe not this year but certainly in the coming years with the selection of players and talent they have coming through.

Three very young lads. One of them won an all-star and totally controlled the county final. Another is comfortably top scorer in the Galway Championship but from play and set pieces. The other is a gifted player who with some early scores can really be incredibly dangerous. That's not even including Richie Murray, Bernard Burke and Kennth Burke who have all had some involvement with Galway senior panels in the past.

thesultan

basillarkin

Richie Murray should not have been on the pitch to score the last 2 goals, one of the lowest things i have seen done on any playing field

flogging a dead horse

basillarkin wrote: »

Richie Murray should not have been on the pitch to score the last 2 goals, one of the lowest things i have seen done on any playing field

+1

Definitley should have got red.
However the violent antics of Johnny Maher were almost comical.

Squareball

flogging a dead horse wrote: »

For the Loughrea free that Maher got the goal, the ref gives the yellow card to the wrong Burke. Kenneth got the yellow Sean should have got. Despite them being brothers, booking the wrong man is bog-standard refereeing.

Easy mistake to make I would think......Just read somewhere there are 6 Burke brothers on the team!!

smoking gun

Richie Murray should not have been on the pitch to score the last 2 goals, one of the lowest things i have seen done on any playing field[/Quote]
100%.Hopefully him and that other "gentleman" get it back one day.Pure tramp acting.