Div 1A NHL 1993

cms88

This is something i came across and thought was interesting. Division 1 of the 1992/93 hurling league.

Group stage
25 October 1992 Tipperary 0-15 - 1-10 Limerick Semple Stadium, Thurles
25 October 1992 Down 4-7 - 2-7 Offaly McKenna Park, Ballycran
25 October 1992 Antrim 1-14 - 0-9 Kilkenny Casement Park, Belfast
8 November 1992 Limerick 0-14 - 0-11 Down Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
8 November 1992 Offaly 1-9 - 0-14 Antrim St. Brendan's Park, Birr
15 November 1992 Kilkenny 1-9 - 1-10 Tipperary Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
22 November 1922 Kilkenny 1-10 - 0-8 Limerick Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
22 November 1992 Tipperary 1-15 - 0-7 Offaly Semple Stadium, Thurles
22 November 1992 Antrim 3-4 - 3-11 Down Casement Park, Belfast
7 March 1993 Limerick 2-9 - 0-15 Antrim Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
7 March 1993 Down 2-5 - 0-14 Tipperary McKenna Park, Ballycran
7 March 1993 Offaly 2-8 - 0-19 Kilkenny St. Brendan's Park, Birr
21 March 1993 Limerick 3-15 - 3-8 Offaly Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
21 March 1993 Tipperary 1-17 - 2-10 Antrim Semple Stadium, Thurles
21 March 1993 Kilkenny 1-11 - 1-12 Down Nowlan Park, Kilkenny

The highlighted results make for some interesting reading. It would be unthinkable nowadays for Down and Antrim to even compete at that level now, not to mind actually get results.

Now i know at the time the league wouldn't have been held it the same regard as it is now but the results are impressive all the same.

D9Male

That is interesting. On another thread there is discussion on how closed the hurling championship is to new entrants, with the same 10 counties filling the quarter final places perennially.

I don't disagree with that, but I have been travelling around the country a bit with my U11 young fella to hurling and football blitzes, and it strikes me that there are some seriously impressive hurling clubs scattered around the North. Certainly at the underage level. What with the popularity of hurling recently, and the decent facilities up there, it wouldn't surprise me to see a county like Antrim join the top table in the next 10 years. They were quite good in division 1B if memory serves me correctly, with Dublin and Galway struggling to beat them. The championship wasn't as good, but still....

Cushendall, Loughgiel and Ballycastle are all tidy enough at underage level from first hand and second hand experience. I guess it is just a case of them getting critical mass.

PTH2009

The timings were really unusual back then too. League Games in Oct/Nov and then a gap til feb/mar. I suppose that was the days of the one chance championship with no back door.

Stationmaster

Numerous players have mentioned down through the years that they'd get a letter from the county board a week or a few days before the first league game and that's how they'd know that they were on the panel for the year. None or very little training for the Oct/Nov matches.

I remember in 95, Clare's first league as All Ireland champions was in Kerry where they ended up being beaten. Hard to see it happen now.

donnem33

Martin Breheny actually spoke about this but in relation to the number of All star nominations both Antrim and Down got in the 80s/90s. Pity to see neither team now competing in the Liam McCarthy competition

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/comment-hurlings-elite-tide-rises-but-lesser-teams-sinking-fast-into-obscurity-37239748.html

CrabRevolution

D9Male wrote: »

That is interesting. On another thread there is discussion on how closed the hurling championship is to new entrants, with the same 10 counties filling the quarter final places perennially.

I don't disagree with that, but I have been travelling around the country a bit with my U11 young fella to hurling and football blitzes, and it strikes me that there are some seriously impressive hurling clubs scattered around the North. Certainly at the underage level. What with the popularity of hurling recently, and the decent facilities up there, it wouldn't surprise me to see a county like Antrim join the top table in the next 10 years. They were quite good in division 1B if memory serves me correctly, with Dublin and Galway struggling to beat them. The championship wasn't as good, but still....

Cushendall, Loughgiel and Ballycastle are all tidy enough at underage level from first hand and second hand experience. I guess it is just a case of them getting critical mass.

Antrim have spent the entirety of history on the cusp of the top 10, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

Themselves and Laois have traditionally been in limbo; usually too good for Meath/Westmeath/Carlow, but not good enough to compete at Liam MacCarthy level. They'll get the odd shock win (usually against Offaly, e.g. Antrim 1989, Laois 2015) but nothing sustained.

It seems to have changed a bit lately though. Westmeath and Carlow have caught up with Antrim, with Meath and Kerry also getting wins against them in recent years. They don't quite stand out from the chasing pack as much as they used to.

threeball

CrabRevolution wrote: »

Antrim have spent the entirety of history on the cusp of the top 10, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

Themselves and Laois have traditionally been in limbo; usually too good for Meath/Westmeath/Carlow, but not good enough to compete at Liam MacCarthy level. They'll get the odd shock win (usually against Offaly, e.g. Antrim 1989, Laois 2015) but nothing sustained.

It seems to have changed a bit lately though. Westmeath and Carlow have caught up with Antrim, with Meath and Kerry also getting wins against them in recent years. They don't quite stand out from the chasing pack as much as they used to.

If the gaa directed the money, time and effort they put into building white elephant stadia, into developing hurling instead they'd have 4 to 5 more competitive counties within 10yrs.
Most of these places have vibrant underage environments already. Our club played a few teams from Mayo at underage lately and they had some lovely little Hurlers that wouldn't be out of place in any club in Galway Kilkenny or cork. Come 14 they'll get a football shoved into their hands and told if they have any aspirations to play in croke park they'd better focus on that.

Niles Crane

threeball wrote: »

If the gaa directed the money, time and effort they put into building white elephant stadia, into developing hurling instead they'd have 4 to 5 more competitive counties within 10yrs.
Most of these places have vibrant underage environments already. Our club played a few teams from Mayo at underage lately and they had some lovely little Hurlers that wouldn't be out of place in any club in Galway Kilkenny or cork. Come 14 they'll get a football shoved into their hands and told if they have any aspirations to play in croke park they'd better focus on that.

Maybe these players just want to pay football because their county has tradition in the sport.Playing football for Mayo means something playing hurling fro a county like that doesn't.

I think it would take a good deal longer than 10 years to turn a football stronghold with little hurling into a proper hurling county able to compete at the highest level.Some counties like Offaly,Antrim,Laois are genuine hurling counties and have fallen away completely in the last decade.

cms88

One thing i noticed is the scoring was "normal" (no 0-32 to 2-25), more goals being scored, only occasionally point tallies went over the 20 mark, and at that it was rarely over 21/22). I assume there was less scores from frees as well.

The point one frees as well, is a reason i think the likes of Down could compete at that level then, Nowadays teams will hit scores from long range all day long