Leinster SHC 2011-Dublin v Offaly

[Plain of the Herbs]

It would be very difficult to counter Dublin’s physicality. It’s all very well to be ‘inspired’ but any of those counties you mention have alot of work to do to catch up.

Clare and Limerick would traditionally be physical counties and, in time, may well counter Dublin in that regard. Clare, though, seem to be throwing all their saffron and blue eggs in the 2009 U21 basket. They should note that Limerick won 3 such titles and are still waiting for them to make a sustained effort at Senior level.

Offaly need to change the way the whole county hurls and there is no-one to take a lead in this regard. Discouraging ball-handling is slowly killing the county as young lads are roared at for running with the ball and are hopelessly underprepared for the high catching that most other counties can do at their ease. They are also underequipped to deal with defending against handpassing moves and with opposing attackers running at them at creative angles.

Kilcormac had made moves to change their style a few years ago, and that brought them to a county Final appearance. They threw that baby out with the bathwater when they got shut of John Leahy, and that they brought in a series of Birrmen says much of the willingness to change their ways at that club.

With each passing year Offaly have slid further from the top as hurling develops rapidly nationally. When is the nettle going to be grasped regarding moving on? I don’t know, and it’s possible this year’s relegation will be glossed over as “ah, if Division 1 had ten teams we’d be in it”, which is to miss the point completely.

Then again, look at Drumcullen. They missed the 1966 revolution, never mind the 1980 one, and all subsequent revolutions, and they still carry delusions of adequacy. It’s not encouraging at all.

Does anyone think the emergence of Dublin can inspire the likes of Offaly, Wexford, Clare, Waterford and Limerick to become competitive again?

Would Offaly be in a position in a year or two to take part in a more competitive All Ireland championship like it was in the 1990's before Cody re-established Kilkenny and the other traditional counties stranglehold on hurling.

[bracknaghboy]

Theres 2 problems. Underage/general county club hurling approach and theres the seperate problem of getting the most out of your senior intercounty team We fail on both counts for both hurling and football.
If Anthony Daly and his team had taken over Offaly 4 years ago I reckon we would be where Dublin are now. 4 years ago when the teams met we would have always be fancied to beat them Instead we got the bould Joe Dooley and after 4 years we have gone back, have no settled team, are in Divsion 2 and confidence is at a real low.....as low as it has been in modern times. Daly has moulded his players into fast strong men who can catch a ball under pressure and they now fear nobody.
The same for football. Look at Kildare they got Kieran McGeeney and he was brought unreal professionalism to the cause and they are now a feared side.....they won't be found wanting when it comes to fitness. Instead we have Cribbin who on the basis of what I have seen doesn't know his head from his arse, was ran out of Laois 10 years ago and the team is cronically unfit for senior football. The way Offaly lads were puffing and blowing after 20 mins in Mullingar a couple of weeks ago doesn't say much for 4 months of training under Criddin. We never get the right people.

[townman]

A trimming is inevitable now, isn’t it? Feckitt, Dublin were awesome. They’re as good as anything that’s in Munster at the moment anyway. Bracknaghboy is right, they out-Kilkennyed Kilkenny. Kilkenny didn’t like it either and there were quite an amount of nasty strokes pulled.

The Dublin football supporters were out in force to support the hurlers today – for the first time since 1997. They’ll have liked what they saw. Parnell Park will almost certainly be all-ticket now.

But shure Joe will be proud of them. And it’ll all be grand. Forty times.

Well lads what do we think now??

Looks like we could be in for a long day at the office. They're very strong, very fit and excellent in the air. And unlike us they have a tangible game plan. I'd be very worried that we could be on the receiving end of a trimming.

you have to remember Galway were awesome in last years league final and beat Cork well, they were very lucky to beat offaly after and well rubbish in the leinster final
as for Cork they went on to hammer tipp and through away the munster final. in a way i was glad to see Dublin winning as its good for the game plus we will have no hope
in offaly now lambs to the slaughter is what they will be calling it, if they were to hurl tonight i would say Dublin, but i just think we might have a say in it come 29 may
we will be big underdogs the next day as the Dubs were on sunday i wouldn't write is off to much yet the tight pitch in parnell might help us plus we have 3 or 4 forwards that
on a good day they will give Dublin something to think keep the faith

[GreatDayForTheParish]

Does anyone think the emergence of Dublin can inspire the likes of Offaly, Wexford, Clare, Waterford and Limerick to become competitive again?

Would Offaly be in a position in a year or two to take part in a more competitive All Ireland championship like it was in the 1990's before Cody re-established Kilkenny and the other traditional counties stranglehold on hurling.

I too thought this recently.
The hurling setup across all grades in the county has been so dispiriting for so long now that in a sense I almost, almost hope that Dublin do hand out a good beating to Offaly in a few weeks time, followed by the Metropolitans embarking on a good Championship run. Maybe then, finally, the county board may awake from the slumber that has put Offaly hurling on the road to insignificance these last 10 years.
It's no secret how Dublin have improved, through sustained and concentrated effort on their underage scene for the last decade. Simple really and if Dublin get their just rewards then one could only hope that Offaly would see the sense to follow suit.

On a side note, I found that a desperately dispiriting league campaign, even before we were relegated. With the underage setups as they are it's hard to know where the light at the end of the tunnel is.

[Plain of the Herbs]

While I don’t disagree with you, I do think there’s more of a link between the overall underage situation and the County Senior set-up than you are suggesting.

I’m not sure appointing Anthony Daly would have been the panacea that Offaly hurling needed though. Let’s suppose Daly had been appointed, would the players have bought into the intensive training regime? We can’t say for sure. Would Daly have been under as much pressure from board level to produce a successful team, or would he have been censured and ultimately fired/resigned for attempting to change the precious Offaly style? Remember Daly had dozens of hurlers at his disposal who were well able to catch a ball in the air, whereas John McIntyre had only Kevin Brady.

Remember there was outrage for the entire two years of Mike McNamara’s management (and I myself would have led that charge if we had uibhfhaili.com back them), with Padraig Horan enquiring if it was greyhounds or hurlers were being trained. Yet Ger Oakley, in that Christmastime interview in the Tribune, looked back with approval at McNamara’a approach and noted the regret of many hurlers when he was forced out with a year of his term still to go.

I would state that that’s not a defence of Dooley’s stewardship on my part, merely pointing out that a particular manager isn’t the sole reason for Dublin’s success and that appointing Joe Dooley over Anthony Daly was not the day it all went horribly wrong. I am also emphasising the unsuitability of the way the skills of hurling are handed down currently. I don’t know enough about the football to know if it’s the same there.

Theres 2 problems. Underage/general county club hurling approach and theres the seperate problem of getting the most out of your senior intercounty team We fail on both counts for both hurling and football.
If Anthony Daly and his team had taken over Offaly 4 years ago I reckon we would be where Dublin are now. 4 years ago when the teams met we would have always be fancied to beat them Instead we got the bould Joe Dooley and after 4 years we have gone back, have no settled team, are in Divsion 2 and confidence is at a real low.....as low as it has been in modern times. Daly has moulded his players into fast strong men who can catch a ball under pressure and they now fear nobody.
The same for football. Look at Kildare they got Kieran McGeeney and he was brought unreal professionalism to the cause and they are now a feared side.....they won't be found wanting when it comes to fitness. Instead we have Cribbin who on the basis of what I have seen doesn't know his head from his arse, was ran out of Laois 10 years ago and the team is cronically unfit for senior football. The way Offaly lads were puffing and blowing after 20 mins in Mullingar a couple of weeks ago doesn't say much for 4 months of training under Criddin. We never get the right people.

[Plain of the Herbs]

I think the lead is going to have to come from the grassroots, from the clubs, as it did in the 60s and 70s when the more stylish ’Rynagh’s and Kinnitty overthrew the established clubs.

That is why it is such a pity that John Leahy was got shut of by Kilcormac. There were a few years there when that Kilcormac team were playing a team game, as were Shamrocks and Ballinamere. I remember being at a match in Kilcormac a few weeks after they lost the semi-final to Birr in 2008 and I was chatting an elderly club member who had no hesitation in letting me know that Kilcormac’s problems were the management and the goalkeeper. Shamrocks never recovered from losing to Lusmagh in 2007 in KIlcormac, while Ballinamere appointed some former Offaly hurlers to their management and they reverted to the ‘hockey’ stuff again.

Maybe the Ballinamere / Clara / Brosna Gaels combination might take a lead. I haven’t seen them hurl this year so I don’t know.

Finally, it’s worth pointing out that, of the Offaly Express’ ‘hurling team of the round’ in this week’s paper, 12 of the 15 are not currently on the county panel!

Finally, finally, this isn’t about aping other counties and the way they do things. Rather it is about being better prepared to counteract teams who are better prepared and who hurl as a team.

Does anyone think the emergence of Dublin can inspire the likes of Offaly, Wexford, Clare, Waterford and Limerick to become competitive again?

Would Offaly be in a position in a year or two to take part in a more competitive All Ireland championship like it was in the 1990's before Cody re-established Kilkenny and the other traditional counties stranglehold on hurling.

I too thought this recently.
The hurling setup across all grades in the county has been so dispiriting for so long now that in a sense I almost, almost hope that Dublin do hand out a good beating to Offaly in a few weeks time, followed by the Metropolitans embarking on a good Championship run. Maybe then, finally, the county board may awake from the slumber that has put Offaly hurling on the road to insignificance these last 10 years.
It's no secret how Dublin have improved, through sustained and concentrated effort on their underage scene for the last decade. Simple really and if Dublin get their just rewards then one could only hope that Offaly would see the sense to follow suit.

On a side note, I found that a desperately dispiriting league campaign, even before we were relegated. With the underage setups as they are it's hard to know where the light at the end of the tunnel is.

[Bord na Mona man]

At the moment, I think the difference between Offaly and Dublin is more to do with preparation (long & short term) rather than just ability.

In the last couple of years, Offaly have shown in isolated performances that there is collective ability in the side, however haphazardly it comes to the surface.

However, I don't believe Joe Dooley entered into this league campaign with much ambition beyond beating Wexford and showing up for the other fixtures. While Dublin hardly expected to win the League, they went out determined to try and win every game. They pushed at the door and it opened for them.

By developing good habits and doing the right thing, Dublin now have built momentum and confidence. By showing little ambition beyond just surviving as a Division 1 county, Offaly are now left needing to leap from the quicksand of mediocrity and pull off an against the odds performance.

In the finest of Offaly traditions, there may be a rabbit pulled from a hat and an unlikely win got against Dublin. The old sages might hoot about how the rale hurlers from Offaly bate dem newbies Dubs with their fancy academies and the like.

However, that will only paper over the cracks for the deluded few who still don't want to see them.
It won't keep repeating itself and year on year Dublin should continue to forge ahead of Offaly. You can only beat back the tide so long with a shovel.

[townman]

the game could be in croker now which might be no harm at all that parnell park is a graveyard for offaly in both hurling and football.

[old yellar]

Jayus I d fear for ye more in croke park. Big and open spaces. Jayus they ll run all over the place at ye. It needs to be crowded and slow for ye to succeed, a veritable dogfight.

[Bord na Mona man]

About two months ago, I was hoping for the move to Croke Park as Dublin had traditionally been a team that relied on the Parnell Park comfort factor - In much the same way that Offaly do/did with Birr. A 1/4 full Croke Park would have been less intimidating than a packed Parnell Park.

Now though, it looks like Dublin are becoming a Croke Park team. Moving their league game there was a masterstroke, as they thrived in the Croke Park open spaces, instead of relying on bullocking teams out of it in Donnycarney.

If the game does get moved to Croke Park, the Offaly county board should make sure that it still counts as a home fixture for Dublin in the home-away agreement between the counties.

[Killer B]

from hoganstand

Dubs' Croker switch given green light
05 May 2011

The Leinster Council has given the go-ahead to Dublin's Leinster SHC quarter-final clash with Offaly being moved to Croke Park.

Dublin had requested that the game be switched from the 10,000-capacity Parnell Park after 42,300 watched their historic NHL final victory over Kilkenny at Croke Park last Sunday. And their wish was granted last night when the game was fixed for Sunday, May 29 at 2pm at GAA headquarters.

No decision was made on a possible double-header with the other quarter-final which will feature Wexford and the winners of the first round tie between Antrim and Laois.

Dublin's new found popularity on the back of their first NHL success since 1939 has been welcomed by GAA president Christy Cooney.

"It's tremendous for the hurling championship, it's given the Leinster championship a massive boost," he said yesterday.

[Lone Shark]

Dooley furious at venue decision


01 November 2010


Joe Dooley is on a collision course with the Offaly county board after next year's Leinster SHC first round clash with Dublin was fixed for Parnell Park.

Dooley, who recently agreed to continue as hurling manager for a fourth season after much deliberation, is furious that his team are being forced to travel to the Donnycarney venue on May 29 after they Offaly county board agreed to a Leinster Council proposal that all preliminary round and quarter-final ties be played on a home and away basis in 2011.

(Taken from HS)

I wonder how Joe feels now. Oddly enough, as the fixture drew closer, it became more and more apparent that Dublin were the better and faster team and thus Parnell Park actually could have been a levelling factor. Now we're looking at going to the wide open spaces of Croke Park, where Dublin have already hurled three times this year, and there will be at least 30,000 Dubs in attendance.

Careful what you wish for and all that.

[townman]

didn't matter where the game was played, offaly were and still are underdogs and they will be as hard beaten in parnell as croker so
where it is won't make a differ. if you look back to last years game with Galway everyone was saying that we would be ran silly bye a Galway team
that had just gave Cork a lesson in the league final in thurles.

It's good that the dubs won the league they are the team with all the media and papers and will be wrote up big time now, wheres offaly can work away
on there own without any paper or media talk or players on the papers every day of the week. i am looking forward to this game i think with what happen
to Shane Dooley in tullamore in the league game i think Joe Dooley will have offaly ready for the Dublin game. and i for one will think we will take this bye 2 to 4
point win, you never know what will happen on the day and when offaly have no hope or underdogs thats when we could strike watch this space....

[Plain of the Herbs]

The Wexfordsupporters site is reporting that Offaly beat Wexford 2-15 to 2-12 in a Challenge match in Oulart earlier this evening. Great preparation for facing the most physically strongest side in the history of hurling in a few weeks time - arrange a challenge match with a team full of 5'8"s. Fail to . . .

[townman]

The Wexfordsupporters site is reporting that Offaly beat Wexford 2-15 to 2-12 in a Challenge match in Oulart earlier this evening. Great preparation for facing the most physically strongest side in the history of hurling in a few weeks time - arrange a challenge match with a team full of 5'8"s. Fail to . . .

a here plain of the Herbs aren't you just going a little over board about this Dublin team fair enough they won the league but when the Liam McCarthy is gave out
at the end of the summer and if Dublin don't win it no one will remember who won the league. i for one wouldn't say they were the strongest side in the history of
the game, they might have been the fittest team in the league alright. but come july or august tipp,kilkenny,maybe Galway and waterford will be as fit as them then.