Offaly Senior Footballers 2025

[Snotser123]

What's wrong with Kyle Higgins ? Is he injured or just not making himself available ? Has anyone actually had it confirmed about Flynns absense for the league I haven't seen it anywhere only on here and iv read plenty of waffle on here before that wasn't true ...as for Tierney and Hyland we don't know extent of injuries so let's try be positive ...league still 8 weeks away ...however I am in agreement playing division two teams without Flynn or Hyland would some blow...we were so light attacking wise outside of the starting - forwards last year ...defense we had some wriggle room but nothing on bench attacking wise

[The bear]

Looking forward to the league, we are down a few bodies judging by the above, however I do think that this is a long term project and yes mickey Harte might go in the next year or 2 but id imagine DK will want a few years after that on his own. He did 5 with 20s id imagine something similar with seniors. Great games to look forward to in 2026
Dk was manager on he's own, prob worse reign in a long time, 2 year beaten by teams like London in tullamore wicklow and limerick, he's not a senior county manager, to be fair to him though he did stay and helped out harte where other men wouldn't so credit to that. We missing the 2 big leister teams so we should surely fancy that, although I suspect Kildare and meath will be thinking the same.

[frankthetank]

https://www.offalyexpress.ie/news/home/ ... -made.html

Just on a point of pedantry here. We weren’t drawn at home to Laois. That sentence in the article infers the first team out has home advantage. This is not the case.

We have a home/away arrangement with Laois hence the game being held in OCP as our last Leinster Championship game vs Laois was our 8 point victory in OMP in 2024.

Interestingly we haven’t hosted Laois in a Leinster Championship game since 2003. Niall McNamee’s 2nd ever championship game for Offaly if memory serves. The first being the drawn game betwen the sides 2 weeks previously.

[DurrowBoy17]

Any update on John Furlong's knee injury??

[SearingDrive]

https://www.offalyexpress.ie/news/home/ ... -made.html

Just on a point of pedantry here. We weren’t drawn at home to Laois. That sentence in the article infers the first team out has home advantage. This is not the case.

We have a home/away arrangement with Laois hence the game being held in OCP as our last Leinster Championship game vs Laois was our 8 point victory in OMP in 2024.

Interestingly we haven’t hosted Laois in a Leinster Championship game since 2003. Niall McNamee’s 2nd ever championship game for Offaly if memory serves. The first being the drawn game betwen the sides 2 weeks previously.

A young Niall Mc Namee started for Offaly that day. Laois got a draw, thanks to a late Mick Lawlor score, there were claims the ball was thrown in the build up.
Laois won the replay in Tullamore, with a young Ross Munnelly starring for Laois, who later won the Leinster title.

[Tmacmahon]

The division two league is fast becoming a massive ask for our management and players. I feel for DK and MH and id say they will be given some allowance by the county board because offaly missing 5 or 6 starters is a huge dint

Cillian Bourke, patrick Dunican, Cathal flynn, Kyle higgins, aidan bracken ,shane Tierney, Dylan hyland, john furlong, all injured or in Cillians case gone. At least 4 long term

Outside of that sawer from dublin injured and Mckeon from clara not going in ,

We must be at thr bare bones

Aim will to be competitive in every game in the league, beat laois in championship and possibly get bodies back and win the Tailteann

[Superhans75]

I think we should be reasonably hopeful
For the league we are missing players and injuries ect but
It's a squad system
Micky and Declan are not wet behind the ears
It's probably the most important league campaign in 20 years
The squad have the talent and for the first time I can remember there is no
Friction or infighting. ( A big bonus )
I'm looking forward to league to be honest it's more important than the Leinster championship.
Stay dry

[Hyper]

There's that many lads gone,not enough there for a scrap!!!

[Hyper]

Any report from game v Galway yesterday?

[Superhans75]

Didn't we play Clare yesterday?

[DurrowBoy17]

The division two league is fast becoming a massive ask for our management and players. I feel for DK and MH and id say they will be given some allowance by the county board because offaly missing 5 or 6 starters is a huge dint

Cillian Bourke, patrick Dunican, Cathal flynn, Kyle higgins, aidan bracken ,shane Tierney, Dylan hyland, john furlong, all injured or in Cillians case gone. At least 4 long term

Outside of that sawer from dublin injured and Mckeon from clara not going in ,

We must be at thr bare bones

Aim will to be competitive in every game in the league, beat laois in championship and possibly get bodies back and win the Tailteann

The fact of the matter is, whether or not people want to try and deny it or not, Declan Kelly has an awful lot to answer for with all these injuries!

I know for a fact Declan has gone against past S&C advice to build up slowly and then peak. His methods are very separate the men from the boys early. Weed out any 'Bluffers', and I've heard this from several players that are in there or have been in there. So much so, Chris Combs the physio had a recent row with Declan over there workload.

If you go through the injuries.
Kyle Higgins - Osteopubis (Overtraining)
Shane Tierney - Osteopubis (Overtraining)
Dylan Hyland - Osteopubis (Overtraining)
Paddy Dunican - Cruciate (Could be anything, but overtraining definitely could be a factor)
Cathal Flynn - Shoulder (Not from Overtraining)
Furlong - Hurt Knee in club game
Aidan Bracken - Unkown.


But also remember Deck Kelly's u20 team how riddled of Injuries they were.
Keith O'Neill developed Osteopubis, As did John Furlong. Cormac Egan ripped the hamstring off the bone. Aaron Keelaghan the cruciate. The list goes on really...

Yes Injuries are always going to happen, but this cannot be a coincidance all of these injuries developing from the one man who's clearly flogging them?? He's old school and wouldn't have any time for someone turning up to training with an injury. He'd call them 'soft' I am told.
I actually think it is criminal how he is getting away with all of this. I was glad to hear Combs and him had a bust up over this last week. Because someone needs to stand up to this or else no one ever will.

[Hyper]

Didn't we play Clare yesterday?

The u20's played Clare. Well beaten.
Seniors were beaten by 15pts by Galway - allegedly

[Snotser123]

Some waffle been talked there ....Kelly's "got away with it" because he won an all Ireland only a few years ago just a few years ago with most of these players ...he then blooded most of them bravely and dropped a lot of senior pros in his first year and took a lot of stick for it ...last year prove he was correct in doing this ....won a league we had no right too and not one person I know thought we would get next to near winning in January so of course he's allowed "get away" with it....he's not popular clearly within Offaly but we have huge ability to run down our own in offaly...always have done ...wild accusations mentioning furlong and dunican in a list of players related to over training ...absolutely wild...both injured in club games ..o neill the express wrote a few weeks has had hip problems his whole life as have all his family so again absolutely wild to relate that to Declan Kelly...

[Snotser123]

Devasting injuries to us coming up to the start of the league now ....the stark reality is it will take an absolute miracle now to stay up when u look at the subs in forward areas last year that would have to come in to replace Bourke , Flynn and Hyland from the starting 15.....let alone Tierney if the rumour is true he will miss the start of the league ...does anyone know of any new forwards to be added to the panel maybe

[ah lethimoutwithit]

The division two league is fast becoming a massive ask for our management and players. I feel for DK and MH and id say they will be given some allowance by the county board because offaly missing 5 or 6 starters is a huge dint

Cillian Bourke, patrick Dunican, Cathal flynn, Kyle higgins, aidan bracken ,shane Tierney, Dylan hyland, john furlong, all injured or in Cillians case gone. At least 4 long term

Outside of that sawer from dublin injured and Mckeon from clara not going in ,

We must be at thr bare bones

Aim will to be competitive in every game in the league, beat laois in championship and possibly get bodies back and win the Tailteann

The fact of the matter is, whether or not people want to try and deny it or not, Declan Kelly has an awful lot to answer for with all these injuries!

I know for a fact Declan has gone against past S&C advice to build up slowly and then peak. His methods are very separate the men from the boys early. Weed out any 'Bluffers', and I've heard this from several players that are in there or have been in there. So much so, Chris Combs the physio had a recent row with Declan over there workload.

If you go through the injuries.
Kyle Higgins - Osteopubis (Overtraining)
Shane Tierney - Osteopubis (Overtraining)
Dylan Hyland - Osteopubis (Overtraining)
Paddy Dunican - Cruciate (Could be anything, but overtraining definitely could be a factor)
Cathal Flynn - Shoulder (Not from Overtraining)
Furlong - Hurt Knee in club game
Aidan Bracken - Unkown.


But also remember Deck Kelly's u20 team how riddled of Injuries they were.
Keith O'Neill developed Osteopubis, As did John Furlong. Cormac Egan ripped the hamstring off the bone. Aaron Keelaghan the cruciate. The list goes on really...




Yes Injuries are always going to happen, but this cannot be a coincidance all of these injuries developing from the one man who's clearly flogging them?? He's old school and wouldn't have any time for someone turning up to training with an injury. He'd call them 'soft' I am told.
I actually think it is criminal how he is getting away with all of this. I was glad to hear Combs and him had a bust up over this last week. Because someone needs to stand up to this or else no one ever will.

I heard Declan Kelly was seen chatting Steve Witcoff in the Court Hotel ahead of the publication of the 28 point plan on Ukraine as well, oh yeah, he's guilty of that as well!!