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Hurling strongholds in footballing counties and vice versa?

Hawkeye9212

I'd be interested to know which areas in each county buck the trend and have a preference for the minority sport in their county or at least compete at a similar level in both sports. I know that Burt in Donegal has a strong hurling tradition.

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Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Tooreen in Mayo. There are some hurling loving villages on the Roscommon-Galway border. Four Roads won the Connacht club hurling championship in 1988.

RMAOK

So does this thread exclude strong duel counties like cork and Galway (for example)?

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

RMAOK wrote: »

So does this thread exclude strong duel counties like cork and Galway (for example)?

A strong hurling club in Connemara or north Galway would presumably be as much a rarity as it would be in Mayo.

Hawkeye9212

RMAOK wrote: »

So does this thread exclude strong duel counties like cork and Galway (for example)?

Nope.

RMAOK

Railyard in Kilkenny is often mentioned as a football stronghold in the county.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Not quite the same, but Waterford has a great record in women's football, whereas the men's team is very weak.

sportsfan90

While Cork has historically been competitive in both codes, hurling is by far the preferred sport. But in large areas of west Cork, it's entirely football with no hurling whatsoever. I remember being brought there as a child and passing a club ground, the nets behind the goals had very large mesh. I couldn't understand it at the time, that surely the sliothar would pass through the net every time. Obviously the nets were designed with just football in mind.

That's not to say many from that area don't have an interest in watching hurling - I'm sure there's plenty from West Cork that will be travelling to the U20 hurling final tomorrow.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

sportsfan90 wrote: »

While Cork has historically been competitive in both codes, hurling is by far the preferred sport. But in large areas of west Cork, it's entirely football with no hurling whatsoever. I remember being brought there as a child and passing a club ground, the nets behind the goals had very large mesh. I couldn't understand it at the time, that surely the sliothar would pass through the net every time. Obviously the nets were designed with just football in mind.

That's not to say many from that area don't have an interest in watching hurling - I'm sure there's plenty from West Cork that will be travelling to the U20 hurling final tomorrow.

How popular is football in the stronger hurling areas?

sportsfan90

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

How popular is football in the stronger hurling areas?

It's mixed but most still try to be some bit competitive even at junior level. Unlike the football areas, pretty much every predominantly hurling club will also field football teams. I can think of only two that don't, although there may be others. So there are actually more football clubs in Cork than hurling.

[Deleted User]

North West Kerry.

Draw a triangle, Tralee north to Listowel, Tralee west to Ballyhigue, and the coast as the third side.

Everything in that triangle is hurling.

The 8 teams in the county championship come from there.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

I once met a girl from that part of Kerry and she said they barely played football at all.

conor05

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

I once met a girl from that part of Kerry and she said they barely played football at all.

Hurling mad area in that part of North Kerry. As passionate as any part of Kilkenny or Tipp. Young lads going round with Hurley’s, hardly any footballs to be seen.

I have went to one or two of their county finals back in 2012/2013, and there was close to 6,000 at it.

Great occasion and the rivalry was ferocious.

The problem is they only have 8 serious senior clubs to pick from, they would need another 8 again to match the top teams in Liam McCarthy.

They have a few quality players at the minute, particularly Shane Conway from Lixnaw.

[Deleted User]

Kerry county hurling final is tomorrow by the way.

Causeway v Lixnaw.

Kerrydude1981

Kerry clubs play each other too much, too many competitions

St Brendan's played Causeway in the semi final last week and that was their third meeting of the year and they have one more game to play against each other before the year is out, the county league final

Kerry clubs should look into playing games in Limerick or Cork district leagues, Dr Crokes hurlers played in Duhallow Junior league this year

Utopia Parkway

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Kerry county hurling final is tomorrow by the way.

Causeway v Lixnaw.

By God.

Bonniedog

Is Brendans basically the same club as Ardfert?

I know Brendans don't play in black and white.

kksaints

St Mullins in Carlow would be a traditional hurling stronghold in a predominantly football county.

cms88

Bonniedog wrote: »

Is Brendans basically the same club as Ardfert?

I know Brendans don't play in black and white.

Technically two clubs. Ardfert in football and St Brendans in hurling. Some lads from the other hurling clubs play football with them

DellyBelly

RMAOK wrote: »

So does this thread exclude strong duel counties like cork and Galway (for example)?

I'm afraid Cork ain't strong anymore

Bass Reeves

Hurling is usually played in the better land in a county. As one friend of mine used to say. You cannot find a sliotar in the rushes

Bonniedog

cms88 wrote: »

Technically two clubs. Ardfert in football and St Brendans in hurling. Some lads from the other hurling clubs play football with them

I remember Johnny Egan played hurling for Kerry and won two club All Irelands with Ardfert, I think, about 15 years ago,

Bonniedog

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Hurling is usually played in the better land in a county. As one friend of mine used to say. You cannot find a sliotar in the rushes

North County Dublin and Meath be exceptions to the good land part!. Hurling didn't exist in north county until relatively recently. Not exactly sure what the history in Meath is, but imagine it be similar.

Hurling in city was brought by people coming here from places like Tipp particularly in early 1900s.

castletownman

In Wexford, Oulart the Ballagh, Buffers Alley and Rathnure would be the three predominatedly hurling strongholds, with the first two neighbours and the third in a small pocket of their own in the blackstairsmountains. To be fair to the Alley, at least they more often than not field a football team at junior B level but the other two don't concentrate on it as a rule (even though Rathnure won a senior football title in 1950s!). It must be said though that the majority of clubs within the county would side towards hurling.

The football pockets wouldn't be as concentrated, although it probably could be argued that the countryside around New Ross is probably football-orientated considering the amount of senior clubs in the code from that area. My own club Castletown and Kilanerin are definitely 'football first' and are indeed the only two senior teams north of Enniscorthy and are surrounded by clubs in the district that concentrate on hurling (with Naomh Eanna and Ferns the only two at the top grade). But Castletown and Kilanerin still compete in hurling and will actually meet in the Inter A quarter finals in a fortnight (well under different names

).

There is a sort of snobbery towards football in the county though. Shelmaliers and Starlights are the last two senior football champions, and are dual. But a lot of 'experts' claim its impossible for a dual senior club to win a hurling title because of the extra workload, when often it works the other way with momentum etc. St.Martin's too have had massive underage success, have a tonne of talent coming through, won a maiden senior football title in 2013, get to the quarter-finals at least in the competititon every year, and always seem to claim that football is a hindrance to their hurling credentials!

conor05

Bonniedog wrote: »

I remember Johnny Egan played hurling for Kerry and won two club All Irelands with Ardfert, I think, about 15 years ago,

Kilmoyley seems to be a real hurling stronghold in North Kerry. No football played at any grade in Kilmoyley

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Bonniedog wrote: »

North County Dublin and Meath be exceptions to the good land part!. Hurling didn't exist in north county until relatively recently. Not exactly sure what the history in Meath is, but imagine it be similar.

Hurling in city was brought by people coming here from places like Tipp particularly in early 1900s.

Hurling was historically played more in the south of the country. The midland bogs generally act as a northern boundary on the sport. Places that didn't have a history of it didn't take it up when the GAA was founded.

Road-Hog

Dunmore East (Gaultier being clubs name) in Waterford is a football only area surrounded by 2 x hurling only clubs ie Ballygunner and Passage.

Mantis Toboggan

Seems that in general the hurling clubs compete at some level in football but the football clubs generally ignore hurling.

Bonniedog

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

Hurling was historically played more in the south of the country. The midland bogs generally act as a northern boundary on the sport. Places that didn't have a history of it didn't take it up when the GAA was founded.

So there was hurling in south Meath before GAA?

There was a junior club in Garristown north Dublin in early 1900s but story was that they only started when they saw city teams playing. Maybe they had some tradition after all.

Likewise the only "native" county senior hurling team before 1920 was Thomas Davis in Tallaght. Which again perhaps suggests some pre 1884 connection.

1373

If Tripp’s John McGrath was a dub ,he’d be playing next Sunday

HartsHat

Hurling in Meath is very strong in Trim (30 odd hurling championship to 1 in football) and some of the areas around have no interest in football at all:

Boardsmill (play a bit of football but they're obsessed with hurling)
Killyon (Hurling only)
Kiltale (Hurling obsessed with football on the side)
Rathmolyon (Hurling only)