Ireland's malign influence on sports

MrCreosote

Seeing Pat McQuaid at the women's road race yesterday made me sick. He's never done a tap for women's cycling- quite the opposite. In fact his influence on cycling from doping control to new races has only been negative. An utter disgrace.

Got me thinking about all the other Irish scandals like Michelle Smith, and the Cian O'Connor fiasco, and now the latest betting scandal. Roy Keane. And on and on.

Let's face it- our influence on global sports is generally a bad one. Too much cheating and cute hoorism.

Pisco Sour

MrCreosote wrote: »

Seeing Pat McQuaid at the women's road race yesterday made me sick. He's never done a tap for women's cycling- quite the opposite. In fact his influence on cycling from doping control to new races has only been negative. An utter disgrace.

Got me thinking about all the other Irish scandals like Michelle Smith, and the Cian O'Connor fiasco, and now the latest betting scandal. Roy Keane. And on and on.

Let's face it- our influence on global sports is generally a bad one. Too much cheating and cute hoorism.

0/10

gaffer91

MrCreosote wrote: »

Seeing Pat McQuaid at the women's road race yesterday made me sick. He's never done a tap for women's cycling- quite the opposite. In fact his influence on cycling from doping control to new races has only been negative. An utter disgrace.

Got me thinking about all the other Irish scandals like Michelle Smith, and the Cian O'Connor fiasco, and now the latest betting scandal. Roy Keane. And on and on.

Let's face it- our influence on global sports is generally a bad one. Too much cheating and cute hoorism.

What tripe. You've cherrypicked examples of a few isolated incidents over the last 16 years. AFAIK even the betting scandal is only related to one athlete.

Has it occurred to you that other countries have sporting scandals too, between doping and bust ups and whatever else? Doping in many countries seems to be practically institutionalised by this stage- are we worse in our contributions than the old East Germany, China and so on? We're not exactly world beating trend setters but I don't think we're anything to be ashamed of either.

fryup

MrCreosote wrote: »

Let's face it- our influence on global sports is generally a bad one. Too much cheating and cute hoorism.

nah, too much GAA

Pisco Sour

gaffer91 wrote: »

What tripe. You've cherrypicked examples of a few isolated incidents over the last 16 years. AFAIK even the betting scandal is only related to one athlete.

Has it occurred to you that other countries have sporting scandals too, between doping and bust ups and whatever else? Doping in many countries seems to be practically institutionalised by this stage- are we worse in our contributions than the old East Germany, China and so on? We're not exactly world beating trend setters but I don't think we're anything to be ashamed of either.

Come on! It's a blatant wind-up! He's good at that sort of thing.

MrCreosote

gaffer91 wrote: »

What tripe. You've cherrypicked examples of a few isolated incidents over the last 16 years. AFAIK even the betting scandal is only related to one athlete.

Show me the highlights then that balance these out. We're always told about how we "punch above our weight" in terms of sport. My point is that we punch above our weight in the bad aspects of sport too.

The Michelle Smith thing was a huge scandal across the world- that American coach mentioned her the other day when he was referring to unbelievable performances of the Chinese swimmer. Pat McQuaid? Single-handedly holding back an entire sport.

Of course it's nothing on the scale of the East Germans. But it's nothing to be proud of either.

ecoli

You Forgot our mad priest Cornelius Horan

Despite this we have contributed a hell of alot to sport in recent years also

Sonia O Sullivan arguably one of the greatest women distances runners ever,

Katie Taylor being instrumental in womens boxing being in the Olympics in the first place.

Our Boxers who held themselves well despite some dodgy decisions against them in Beijing.

Irish Fans recieving an award at the Euro's this year and became a talking point amongst the whole sport

Ricky Simms is the agent to one of the most iconic Sprinters ever

Two World class Sports therapists who are world renound working on some of the worlds greatest athletes (Ger Hartmann and Anothony Geoghegan)

One of the most decorated coaches in Athletics history in Br. colm o'connell
In the same time span we have seen alot of positives to.

For a small nation we actually have contributed a significant amount

brandon_flowers

We've a few lads that are handy enough at the golf.

I think they've won 6 Pitch n Putt Majors in the last 6 years, only the USA have won more in that period.

fryup

ecoli wrote: »

Ricky Simms is the agent to one of the most iconic Sprinters ever

Two World class Sports therapists who are world renound working on some of the worlds greatest athletes (Ger Hartmann and Anothony Geoghegan)

One of the most decorated coaches in Athletics history in Br. colm o'connell

an agent:rolleyes: therapists & coaches:cool:

nah its the people on the podium who get the glory and recognition and ireland have had too few imo.........and don't give me that a sure we're a small country crap so is the likes of Denmark, Sweden, New zealand and they have had far more glory than us

the problem is...there' too much emphasis on bogball in this country we should be concentrating on international sports

SuperInfinity

malignant* (not trying to be a grammarian, it just looks so wrong the way it is).

desaparecidos

fryup wrote: »

the problem is...there' too much emphasis on bogball in this country we should be concentrating on international sports

To what end?

MrCreosote

SuperInfinity wrote: »

malignant* (not trying to be a grammarian, it just looks so wrong the way it is).

ma·lign (m-ln)
tr.v. ma·ligned, ma·lign·ing, ma·ligns To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about; speak evil of.


adj.1. Evil in disposition, nature, or intent.
2. Evil in influence; injurious.
3. Having or showing malice or ill will; malevolent.



Either is fine actually.

SuperInfinity

Either is not fine actually. Malign is a verb, malignant is an adjective.

Didn't you ever hear of "to malign someone"? Or "he maligned her". You really think that you could say: "she had a malign effect on him".

edit: well ****, dictionary.com is saying you can say that. That pisses me off, the way the common trend seems to be that saying anything any way is always correct. I guess you were right, but I have never in my life heard it being said like that before and if I heard it in real life I would assume it was incorrect (I'll just add that the idea of dictionary infalliability is absurd, especially since you can go through a couple to find a result you wish).

Dan man

SuperInfinity wrote: »

Either is not fine actually. Malign is a verb, malignant is an adjective.

Didn't you ever hear of "to malign someone"? Or "he maligned her". You really think that you could say: "she had a malign effect on him".

Of course you can, that makes perfect sense. Not that it matters though.

MrCreosote

I've heard "malign influence" plenty of times. It has a more refined air than "malignant"

markesmith

If your grandchildren ever ask you, "What was boards.ie like back in the day?", just show them this thread.

Sound of Silence

fryup wrote: »

nahthe problem is...there' too much emphasis on bogball in this country we should be concentrating on international sports

Let's just destroy the pillar of countless rural communities in the hope of winning a couple more medals every four years.

MrCreosote

Sound of Silence wrote: »

Let's just destroy the pillar of countless rural communities in the hope of winning a couple more medals every four years.

I'm not just talking about being crap at international sports.

I'm talking about the wholesale destruction of sports (Women's Cycling/Pat McQuaid), failure to tackle institutionalised doping (Men's Cycling/ McQuaid again), <snip> and toddler-esque tantrums on the world's biggest stage (Keano).

Sonia O'Sullivan and to a lesser degree Katie Taylor I can agree have redressed the balance a bit. But they kind of get lose in the long list of other shameful behaviour

ecoli

fryup wrote: »

an agent:rolleyes: therapists & coaches:cool:

nah its the people on the podium who get the glory and recognition and ireland have had too few imo.........and don't give me that a sure we're a small country crap so is the likes of Denmark, Sweden, New zealand and they have had far more glory than us

the problem is...there' too much emphasis on bogball in this country we should be concentrating on international sports

I think they still play an important part in the sport.

Bolt came along and has been effectively carrying the sports image so an agent here is pretty crucial in the sports image on a global basis here.

I do agree with this point. There is a direct comparison between us and Finland here in terms of athletics. Both attained independence around the same time yet Finland looked to sport as a way of creating a international identity compared to Ireland who used national sports in an aim to create a cultural identity. The result was runners such as Paavo Nurmi and a long tradition of distance running and athletics.


Similarly Kenya had the same approach though not as applicable but same mindset applies the aim to use sport to create an international identity for the nation

premierstone

Maybe this thread could be offered as a reason why we haven't had more so call success..................its definitely proof that there are a large number of reta*ds and gobshi*es in the country for definite.

We have a very respectfull total of 23 Olympic medals, a competitive Soccer and Rugby team, one of the strongest Golfing nations in the World, world renowned leaders in Equestrian, a leading nation in Boxing, Stephen Roche and Sean Kelly are two of the most famous Cyclists of all time etc. etc.

Sound of Silence

If there's one thing we inherited from the English, it would be our capacity for endless moaning and self-deprecation.

The examples that the OP serves up as evidence of Ireland's supposed negative global image are in no way unique when it comes to International Sport. So much doping and dealing goes discreetly under the radar, that whatever actually manages to be dragged up into the light of day by the media is but a tiny drop in the ocean when it comes to International Sport. Any professional athlete would tell you this.

Then we have people like Fryup who seem to think that the only purpose Sport serves is for Ireland to gain some sort of global acclaim. Medals are everything. People like this often seem to forget the huge efforts local GAA Clubs make to provide some sort of pride and self-esteem for bored teens. For all their efforts, I'm sure the Coaches and volunteers would love that their past time is regarded simply as "bogball" by some condescending fools.

bull_ring

MrCreosote wrote: »

Seeing Pat McQuaid at the women's road race yesterday made me sick. He's never done a tap for women's cycling- quite the opposite. In fact his influence on cycling from doping control to new races has only been negative. An utter disgrace.

Got me thinking about all the other Irish scandals like Michelle Smith, and the Cian O'Connor fiasco, and now the latest betting scandal. Roy Keane. And on and on.

Let's face it- our influence on global sports is generally a bad one. Too much cheating and cute hoorism.

i seriously doubt ireland has a dodgy rep when it comes to the olympics , its widely believed that one half of germany won hundreds of medlas down the years while under the influence of something stronger than weetabix

china insists on advanced notice for when drugs testers arrive from the international olympic committee

fryup

premierstone wrote: »

We have a very respectfull total of 23 Olympic medals,.

23 medals in what 80 yrs? nah thats not anything to be proud of..Michael Phelps nearly has that amount on his own

premierstone wrote: »

a competitive Soccer and Rugby team,,.

:rolleyes: did you see the euros?

premierstone wrote: »

world renowned leaders in Equestrian,

in horse racing yes but unfortunately thats not an Olympic sport, in showjumping and eventing we should be doing alot better

premierstone wrote: »

a leading nation in Boxing,,,.

leading?? the odd silver and bronze in Bejing..in Athens we got nothing..the last time we got gold was 20 yrs back..hardly world leading

premierstone wrote: »

Stephen Roche and Sean Kelly are two of the most famous Cyclists of all time etc. etc.

that was way back in the 80s ffs

Sound of Silence wrote: »

If there's one thing we inherited from the English, it would be our capacity for endless moaning and self-deprecation.

well at least when the Brits are self critical they actually do something constructive about it...look at all the medals they've got so far

Sound of Silence wrote: »

Then we have people like Fryup who seem to think that the only purpose Sport serves is for Ireland to gain some sort of global acclaim. Medals are everything .

yes medals aren't everything.. but i'd just wish we would be a bit more ambitous in this country instead of the "ah sure didn't we do well to get there" attitude ...anyway nothing wrong with global success remember the pride we had in the past with Eamon Coughlan, Sonia O'Sullivan, John Tracey, Michael Carruth but my gripe is that these successes are too few and far between

Sound of Silence wrote: »

People like this often seem to forget the huge efforts local GAA Clubs make to provide some sort of pride and self-esteem for bored teens. For all their efforts, I'm sure the Coaches and volunteers would love that their past time is regarded simply as "bogball" by some condescending fools.

Ok i confess i don't like the GAA

I think the GAA as an organisation breeds terratorialism, xenaphobia and the worst kind of irish inward looking narrow mindedness I just wish they had less influence in this country so that more young people would take up international sports.

bull_ring

fryup wrote: »

23 medals in what 80 yrs? nah thats not anything to be proud of..Michael Phelps nearly has that amount on his own



:rolleyes: did you see the euros?



in horse racing yes but unfortunately thats not an Olympic sport, in showjumping and eventing we should be doing alot better



leading?? the odd silver and bronze in Bejing..in Athens we got nothing..the last time we got gold was 20 yrs back..hardly world leading



that was way back in the 80s ffs



well at least when the Brits are self critical they actually do something constructive about it...look at all the medals they've got so far




yes medals aren't everything.. but i'd just wish we would be a bit more ambitous in this country instead of the "ah sure didn't we do well to get there" attitude ...anyway nothing wrong with global success remember the pride we had in the past with Eamon Coughlan, Sonia O'Sullivan, John Tracey, Michael Carruth but my gripe is that these successes are too few and far between



Ok i confess i don't like the GAA

I think the GAA as an organisation breeds terratorialism, xenaphobia and the worst kind of irish inward looking narrow mindedness I just wish they had less influence in this country so that more young people would take up international sports.

i wish the behemoth which is the GAA had less influence aswell but that said , i do realise how important an institution it was down the years in this country , its time it became just a sport though rather than a cultural and national movement

i dont agree that it breeds xenophobia , thats nonesense , i accept its quite inward looking and parochial

FishBowel

premierstone wrote: »

a leading nation in Boxing

We're 28th in the Olympics medal table for boxing. What's leading about that?

MrCreosote

bull_ring wrote: »

i seriously doubt ireland has a dodgy rep when it comes to the olympics

I'd say for most we are an irrelevance. But the things that they might think are:

"Ireland- aren't they the country that doped their horse"
"Ireland- aren't they the country that doping cheat Michelle Smith came from" (and getting a 4 year ban for sample tampering makes her a doping cheat)
etc etc.

Don't underestimate the Michelle Smith- she's remembered very well overseas and regularly features on Top 10 Olympic Scandal lists.

A Disgrace

The only problem I have with the GAA is the fact that so many great and potentially great sports-people are swallowed up by them, and don't get the chance to prove themselves internationally - I'd say there are a large amount of current Footballers and Hurlers who could be great at other sports, but a combo of agressive recruitment and demanding training means they'll never even know it.

The GAA is a good organisation, but because it's confined almost exclusively to this island and accounts for a huge amount of players, we're left with an even smaller pool of potential athletes for other sports, and thus an even smaller pool of people to impress on the world stage.

If only we could get Gaelic games into the Olympics.

Sound of Silence

fryup wrote: »

well at least when the Brits are self critical they actually do something constructive about it...look at all the medals they've got so far

Do what exactly? Do you often compare us to Nations with twenty times our population and an infinitely larger budget to invest in their athletes?

I don't.

yes medals aren't everything.. but i'd just wish we would be a bit more ambitous in this country instead of the "ah sure didn't we do well to get there" attitude ...anyway nothing wrong with global success remember the pride we had in the past with Eamon Coughlan, Sonia O'Sullivan, John Tracey, Michael Carruth but my gripe is that these successes are too few and far between

The whole cavalier attitude that you serve up as an example of the defeatist Irish Character is certainly not a unique trait to us.

If you happen to watch the BBC Olympic coverage you will see that they too share this positive and supportive attitude toward their athletes. A good example was the recent Women's synchronised diving contest; the Commentators knew that the British athletes had little chance of winning, but yet they still went out of there way to commend the dedication shown by their athletes. I'm sure this attitude was shared by the wider British public.

If we truly value our Olympic success, then we must understand that the problem does not lie with the Irish Character, but with a lack of focus and investment by the Sports Minister. We'll have a Sporting revolution.

Ok i confess i don't like the GAA

I think the GAA as an organisation breeds terratorialism, xenaphobia and the worst kind of irish inward looking narrow mindedness I just wish they had less influence in this country so that more young people would take up international sports.

It breeds territorialism?

In what sense? Are you perhaps mistaking inter-County rivalry with some sort of searing and savage hatred? I assume you also think we're indoctrinated to despise the English with every fibre in our bodies.

Having played for numerous GAA Clubs, I can say with confidence that whatever supposed indoctrination occurred must have been done late at night in some dark locked room far from prying eyes, because I know from experience that all available time is spent huffing and puffing during exercise routines and drills. I assume that my Coach must have been gently whispering some Nationalist propaganda in my ear while I was doing push-ups.

I don't know what he would have whispered into the ears of my Lithuanian and Coloured teammates ears. I shiver to think!

bull_ring

A Disgrace wrote: »

The only problem I have with the GAA is the fact that so many great and potentially great sports-people are swallowed up by them, and don't get the chance to prove themselves internationally - I'd say there are a large amount of current Footballers and Hurlers who could be great at other sports, but a combo of agressive recruitment and demanding training means they'll never even know it.

The GAA is a good organisation, but because it's confined almost exclusively to this island and accounts for a huge amount of players, we're left with an even smaller pool of potential athletes for other sports, and thus an even smaller pool of people to impress on the world stage.

If only we could get Gaelic games into the Olympics.

of course their are many gaa stars who would have excelled in any number of other sports , sports stars tend to be multi talented , always amazes me when people seem taken aback at the suggestion that the strength and dominance of the GAA might hurt us in international sports , its an undeniable and obvious fact

their is a cultural pressure to play GAA , especially in rural ireland , i witnessed it growing up

Sound of Silence

bull_ring wrote: »

of course their are many gaa stars who would have excelled in any number of other sports , sports stars tend to be multi talented , always amazes me when people seem taken aback at the suggestion that the strength and dominance of the GAA might hurt us in international sports , its an undeniable and obvious fact

their is a cultural pressure to play GAA , especially in rural ireland , i witnessed it growing up

There's a fundamental question that really needs to be asked here.

What's more important: Ireland's global sporting success, or the continued existence of a large and well funded Sporting Organisation that provides an outlet for countless rural kids who simply don't have access to many other Sporting facilities.

If you consider Ireland's global success to be more important, do you believe that Ireland even has the infrastructure or funding available to realise this dream?

MrCreosote

Sound of Silence wrote: »

There's a fundamental question that really needs to be asked here.

What's more important: Ireland's global sporting success, or the continued existence of a large and well funded Sporting Organisation that provides an outlet for countless rural kids who simply don't have access to many other Sporting facilities.

It is possible to have both.

Look at Australia with Aussie Rules and League, NZ with rugby, USA with American football and baseball. They all do pretty well in olympic sports too.

Personally I've no issue with the GAA- it's an amazing organisation, the amateur ethos is fantastic. The problem I think is mostly with the media who give it huge and totally disproportionate exposure- and have nothing about other minority sports. It's even worse with horse racing- shouldn't even be in the sports pages IMO.

KrazeeEyezKilla

While the presence of the GAA doesn't help Ireland most countries have more than one popular team sport which swallows up much of the talent. Even the team sports that are in the Olympics don't offer great medal potential. Lithuania has a smaller population than Ireland yet has an excellent record at Basketball but finished 4th in 2004 & 2008 and so have no medal to show for it since 2000. Any country where Basketball, Handball or Water Polo is popular will be devoting a lot of resources into sports where it is incredibly hard to win a medal.

sleapy235

I see there's the usual types on here who love finding an excuse to attack the GAA, some serious chips on shoulders about the GAA in this country, and then they're the ones who accuse the GAA of being backward. Get over the fact ye couldn't make the local u14 team lads. The GAA is one of the greatest amateur porting organisations on earth and is our single greatest contribution to sport. It's not only a pillar of countless communities in Ireland but also provides many Irish emigrants with a social outlet and improved opportunities to find work and accomodation.

Also regarding this figure of 23 medals won by Ireland at Olympics thats an inaccurate figure really as Irish athletes won much more than that prior to independence but these medals are credited to Great Britain, even in days before National Olympic Committees when the participants even declared themselves as representing Ireland. And a huge amount of Irish athletes won medals representing the USA too. Many of the great early Olympians were Irishmen, especially in events such as the hammer where we were true pioneers of the event. A lot of this owed to a strong local athletics tradition prevalent throughout Ireland at the time which is not there anymore.

fryup

Sound of Silence wrote: »

In what sense? Are you perhaps mistaking inter-County rivalry with some sort of searing and savage hatred? I assume you also think we're indoctrinated to despise the English with every fibre in our bodies.

Having played for numerous GAA Clubs, I can say with confidence that whatever supposed indoctrination occurred must have been done late at night in some dark locked room far from prying eyes, because I know from experience that all available time is spent huffing and puffing during exercise routines and drills. I assume that my Coach must have been gently whispering some Nationalist propaganda in my ear while I was doing push-ups.

I don't know what he would have whispered into the ears of my Lithuanian and Coloured teammates ears. I shiver to think!

well back in the day it did have political overtones with the ban, and the ban on "foreign games" in their stadia and in the north the ban on members of the security forces

ok maybe its not as narrow-minded these days but it still promotes a insular clanish parochial ethos (that rally in cavan a prime example)

Sound of Silence wrote: »

Do what exactly? Do you often compare us to Nations with twenty times our population and an infinitely larger budget to invest in their athletes? !

i'm not comparing us to the UK..the reason i mentioned the UK is because you said they have a self depreciation attitude like us....maybe so...but they use it constructively by getting results

and if you read my earlier post i compared ireland to other similar countries of size & population > Denmark, New Zealand etc and they're Olympic record is much better so why can't ours be

Sound of Silence wrote: »

The whole cavalier attitude that you serve up as an example of the defeatist Irish Character is certainly not a unique trait to us.

If you happen to watch the BBC Olympic coverage you will see that they too share this positive and supportive attitude toward their athletes. A good example was the recent Women's synchronised diving contest; the Commentators knew that the British athletes had little chance of winning, but yet they still went out of there way to commend the dedication shown by their athletes. !

but synchronise diving is not a sport the British have a strong tradition in so thats why the commentators were sympathetic had it been athletics rowing or cycling in which they have a strong tradition they would have been a lot more critical and rightly so

now in caparison > we have a strong tradition in all things equine so by right we should be much more competitive in showjumping and eventing, yet all the RTE commentators can say is (when we lose again) .."ah didn't they do well all the same" :rolleyes:

its this slack attitude that we need to shake off as Roy Keane mentioned during the euros

Sound of Silence

fryup wrote: »

well back in the day it did have political overtones with the ban, and the ban on "foreign games" in their stadia and in the north the ban on members of the security forces

ok maybe its not as narrow-minded these days but it still promotes a insular clanish parochial ethos (that rally in navan a prime example)

The ban on members of the Security Forces taking part in the Organisation ended eleven years ago with an overwhelming vote in support of it's abolishment.

The rule only ever really gained support in Northern Ireland due to the fact that harassment by Security forces was a very real problem in Nationalists areas. The Security Forces somehow felt that membership of the GAA was tantamount to supporting the PIRA, and as such felt that any actions taken against members were wholly justified.

Hell, they even took possession of one of my local Club's grounds without it's permission, then had the audacity to regularly land helicopters in the middle of the pitch during Football matches.

i'm not comparing us to the UK..the reason i mentioned the UK is because you said they have a self depreciation attitude like us....maybe so...but they use it constructively by getting results

They get results because they happen to have a much larger population to cherry pick from, and a significantly larger fund to invest in their athletes.

Proportionally we're not even that different in terms of the number of Summer Olympics medals we've gathered over the years - that's even if we ignore the first four or so games we missed as a nation.

and if you read my earlier post i compared ireland to other similar countries of size & population > Denmark, New Zealand etc and they're Olympic record is much better so why can't ours be

However, You have to ask yourself why this is. I guarantee you that it has little to do with the Irish character as eejits like Roy Keane might have you believe.

There's obviously something allowing talented Irish Athletes to slip between the cracks before their potential is realised. Whether that's simply a serious lack of investment or a wholly inept system, is difficult to know for certain. Organisations like the IFA are good examples of how talent can Haemorrhage quickly. The IRFU on the other hand has managed to transform Irish Club* Rugby into an unstoppable European Juggernaut, whilst British Clubs continue to struggle.

Two different approaches. Two different results.

johne30

Sound of Silence wrote: »

Do what exactly? Do you often compare us to Nations with twenty times our population and an infinitely larger budget to invest in their athletes?

I don't.



The whole cavalier attitude that you serve up as an example of the defeatist Irish Character is certainly not a unique trait to us.

If you happen to watch the BBC Olympic coverage you will see that they too share this positive and supportive attitude toward their athletes. A good example was the recent Women's synchronised diving contest; the Commentators knew that the British athletes had little chance of winning, but yet they still went out of there way to commend the dedication shown by their athletes. I'm sure this attitude was shared by the wider British public.

If we truly value our Olympic success, then we must understand that the problem does not lie with the Irish Character, but with a lack of focus and investment by the Sports Minister. We'll have a Sporting revolution.



It breeds territorialism?

In what sense? Are you perhaps mistaking inter-County rivalry with some sort of searing and savage hatred? I assume you also think we're indoctrinated to despise the English with every fibre in our bodies.

Having played for numerous GAA Clubs, I can say with confidence that whatever supposed indoctrination occurred must have been done late at night in some dark locked room far from prying eyes, because I know from experience that all available time is spent huffing and puffing during exercise routines and drills. I assume that my Coach must have been gently whispering some Nationalist propaganda in my ear while I was doing push-ups.

I don't know what he would have whispered into the ears of my Lithuanian and Coloured teammates ears. I shiver to think!

Don't be taking us all for fools please. the previous statments are not far of the mark. The gaa was founded as a political and cultural organisation with a sport attached to look respectable . It has been shameful over many years in it's hatred towards its fellow irish men and its association with the church . Many gaa people are deluded and often think that they have the best game in the world lol. We badly need to widen our sporting habits and how is the gaa goin to do this . The won't even agree to sharing public funded facilities in many towns . and i doubt we will see too many of our foreign visitors staying with gaa into the future. Sure hurling is only a minority game and hardly exists above dublin in most of the country, national game , don't think so .

johne30

Sound of Silence wrote: »

Let's just destroy the pillar of countless rural communities in the hope of winning a couple more medals every four years.

Yea destroy bigots , i all for it . when you want to start

johne30

ecoli wrote: »

You Forgot our mad priest Cornelius Horan

Despite this we have contributed a hell of alot to sport in recent years also

Sonia O Sullivan arguably one of the greatest women distances runners ever,

Katie Taylor being instrumental in womens boxing being in the Olympics in the first place.

Our Boxers who held themselves well despite some dodgy decisions against them in Beijing.

Irish Fans recieving an award at the Euro's this year and became a talking point amongst the whole sport

Ricky Simms is the agent to one of the most iconic Sprinters ever

Two World class Sports therapists who are world renound working on some of the worlds greatest athletes (Ger Hartmann and Anothony Geoghegan)

One of the most decorated coaches in Athletics history in Br. colm o'connell
In the same time span we have seen alot of positives to.

For a small nation we actually have contributed a significant amount

Grasping at straws. we contribute very little to world sport in reality . just to many people take gaa serious and actually dismiss other big international sports. pity

StupidLikeAFox

johne30 wrote: »

Sure hurling is only a minority game and hardly exists above dublin in most of the country, national game

If you are saying hurling is a minority game outside Dublin I dont think you could be more wrong. I don't think GAA has a negative effect on other sports. If a fella has a chance at a soccer/rugby career or a GAA career he will choose the soccer/rugby 9 times out of 10, its a lot easier to fall back on the GAA rather than vice versa

Its also worth noting that USA have a grand total of zero boxers left in the Olympics, while Ireland are still contenders for a couple of medals.

johne30

ColHol wrote: »

If you are saying hurling is a minority game outside Dublin I dont think you could be more wrong. I don't think GAA has a negative effect on other sports. If a fella has a chance at a soccer/rugby career or a GAA career he will choose the soccer/rugby 9 times out of 10, its a lot easier to fall back on the GAA rather than vice versa

Its also worth noting that USA have a grand total of zero boxers left in the Olympics, while Ireland are still contenders for a couple of medals.

Look the gaa have a bad effect on sport in general, they can be very bigoted and nasty towards other sports and they tend to get involved in stuff way outside their sphere. sure in some parts of the country the refuse to share public funded facilities with other sports. They were a policital movement when founded and just attached a sport to be respectable and compared to say rugby in n zeland which is an obbession there but the clubs there encourage other sports and even fund some minority ones in a local area . gaa wouldn't ever do this

bull_ring

johne30 wrote: »

Yea destroy bigots , i all for it . when you want to start

i just want to disassociate myself from the comments about how the GAA is bigoted

i dont accept that at all , im not anti GAA and as ive said already , i believe it has been the single most possitive force for good of all the major institutions in this country since its foundation

that said , i think its gets a disproportionate level of priveledge from the state , the reason young kids in ireland have no opportunity to partake in various sports is due to the fact that the GAA takes up so much space , pointing this out is not hating on the GAA

the same is likely true for rugby in new zealand or cricket in places like india

Sound of Silence

johne30 wrote: »

Don't be taking us all for fools please. the previous statments are not far of the mark. The gaa was founded as a political and cultural organisation with a sport attached to look respectable . It has been shameful over many years in it's hatred towards its fellow irish men and its association with the church . Many gaa people are deluded and often think that they have the best game in the world lol. We badly need to widen our sporting habits and how is the gaa goin to do this . The won't even agree to sharing public funded facilities in many towns . and i doubt we will see too many of our foreign visitors staying with gaa into the future. Sure hurling is only a minority game and hardly exists above dublin in most of the country, national game , don't think so .

You have a very narrow minded approach to the GAA.

The GAA don't share their grounds? Jasus, I better tell that to the Soccer team that's currently using the Club up the road from me! Maybe I should also tell that to the Kickboxing Club who use the Clubhouse, not to mention the Yoga instructor who hosts classes upstairs. It's up to the individual Club whether they feel like they want to host "foreign Sports", and they often vote in favour of this.

But let's just say you're right about the GAA refusing to share their resources. Do you honestly believe that it would be particularly unusual for a Sporting Organisation to hold on to it's resources and grounds? Do you not think they would be concerned about sharing their Grounds with a Soccer Club, and then have to deal with constantly conflicting schedules? It's often not practical.

The GAA is doing what it was built to do - providing an outlet for local Communities to take part in Sport and stay active and healthy.

bull_ring

ColHol wrote: »

If you are saying hurling is a minority game outside Dublin I dont think you could be more wrong. I don't think GAA has a negative effect on other sports. If a fella has a chance at a soccer/rugby career or a GAA career he will choose the soccer/rugby 9 times out of 10, its a lot easier to fall back on the GAA rather than vice versa

Its also worth noting that USA have a grand total of zero boxers left in the Olympics, while Ireland are still contenders for a couple of medals.

whatever about dublin or perhaps cork , you are completley wrong about rural ireland , any handy young fella at soccer , rugby or any other sport will eventually come under pressure to focus on either hurling or gaelic football , ive seen it many times

it simply defies all logic to insist that the enormous presence of the GAA does not hit other sports growth prospects

bull_ring

ColHol wrote: »

If you are saying hurling is a minority game outside Dublin I dont think you could be more wrong. I don't think GAA has a negative effect on other sports. If a fella has a chance at a soccer/rugby career or a GAA career he will choose the soccer/rugby 9 times out of 10, its a lot easier to fall back on the GAA rather than vice versa

Its also worth noting that USA have a grand total of zero boxers left in the Olympics, while Ireland are still contenders for a couple of medals.

the usa has never taken olympic boxing seriously

the top nation in professional boxing has a lesser record at the olympics than the likes of cuba , russia or even china of late

bull_ring

johne30 wrote: »

Look the gaa have a bad effect on sport in general, they can be very bigoted and nasty towards other sports and they tend to get involved in stuff way outside their sphere. sure in some parts of the country the refuse to share public funded facilities with other sports. They were a policital movement when founded and just attached a sport to be respectable and compared to say rugby in n zeland which is an obbession there but the clubs there encourage other sports and even fund some minority ones in a local area . gaa wouldn't ever do this

i lived and worked in new zealand , the rugby community there are every bit as unfriendly to other sports as the GAA community are in ireland , more so i would say , thier contempt for soccer is far worse than here

bull_ring

Sound of Silence wrote: »

You have a very narrow minded approach to the GAA.

The GAA don't share their grounds? Jasus, I better tell that to the Soccer team that's currently using the Club up the road from me! Maybe I should also tell that to the Kickboxing Club who use the Clubhouse, not to mention the Yoga instructor who hosts classes upstairs. It's up to the individual Club whether they feel like they want to host "foreign Sports", and they often vote in favour of this.

But let's just say you're right about the GAA refusing to share their resources. Do you honestly believe that it would be particularly unusual for a Sporting Organisation to hold on to it's resources and grounds? Do you not think they would be concerned about sharing their Grounds with a Soccer Club, and then have to deal with constantly conflicting schedules? It's often not practical.

The GAA is doing what it was built to do - providing an outlet for local Communities to take part in Sport and stay active and healthy.

the GAA should not have a monopoly in the area of providing sporting outlets for kids in rural ireland , if other sports got a larger share of funding , people could join other sports clubs

mathepac

MrCreosote wrote: »

... Got me thinking about all the other Irish scandals like Michelle Smith ...

Do you have evidence that Michelle de Bruin cheated for her outstanding performance at the 96 Olympics.

Evidence mind you, not what you believe, what you heard, what you think, assume or were told by yet another bar-stool expert or an article you read, written by a pre-Junior Cert "journalist" in Ireland's ****e-est Daily.

MrCreosote wrote: »

...
Got me thinking about all the other Irish scandals like ... the Cian O'Connor fiasco. ...

I agree. It's a disgrace that this proven cheat and doper is going back to the Olympics

MrCreosote wrote: »

...
Got me thinking about all the other Irish scandals like ... Roy Keane. ...

Ah sure poor auld Keano, what's a few broken legs, a career or two ended prematurely, the national team left in the lurch, he's a grand lad, and from Cork you know boy, sure how could he be bad?

Sound of Silence

bull_ring wrote: »

whatever about dublin or perhaps cork , you are completley wrong about rural ireland , any handy young fella at soccer , rugby or any other sport will eventually come under pressure to focus on either hurling or gaelic football , ive seen it many times

it simply defies all logic to insist that the enormous presence of the GAA does not hit other sports growth prospects

Come under pressure?

That's a very ambiguous statement to make. You do realise that human beings are capable of self-determination? Nobody is linked to the GAA in that degree, to the point that they're unable to follow other Sports.

What you're describing is just peer pressure. It exists in every single institution across this planet. If I'm a Champion Boxer, do you think my Club would be happy if I simply dropped out and took up Kickboxing? I'm sure a few words would be said, and not all of them positive.

Sound of Silence

bull_ring wrote: »

the GAA should not have a monopoly in the area of providing sporting outlets for kids in rural ireland , if other sports got a larger share of funding , people could join other sports clubs

Because we all know that other Sporting Institutions are literally crawling over each other to get their fingers in the pie that is rural Ireland.

If the GAA disappeared from rural Ireland, do you honestly believe that other Sporting facilities would literally pop out of the ground to provide for these people?

It ain't a Monopoly. It's just that nobody else is going to bother providing for these people.

fryup

sleapy235 wrote: »

I see there's the usual types on here who love finding an excuse to attack the GAA, some serious chips on shoulders about the GAA in this country, and then they're the ones who accuse the GAA of being backward. Get over the fact ye couldn't make the local u14 team lads.

ffs:rolleyes:

does it not dawn on you that some people in this country have no interest in GAA

Sound of Silence

fryup wrote: »

ffs:rolleyes:

does it not dawn on you that some people in this country have no interest in GAA

If you have no interest in the GAA, then that's fine.

But you're clearly trying to provoke some kind of response whenever you make all sorts of claims about it being institutionally bigoted and backward, whilst all the time referring to it as "Bogball".

You just seem slightly jaded about the Organisation on a whole, to a level which does not befit a man who claims to have little interest in it.