U20 hurling 2026

[Anon444]

This game will put any notions of Leo O’Connor getting the senior job to bed. The hurlers aren’t there, but the naivety to play this Kilkenny team man on man when they are clearly superior is crazy. As far as I’m concerned, these young lads have been thrown to the wolves.

[pigeon house biffo]

What a complete waste of everyones time

[Offaly Hero]

This is deeply concerning.

Beaten in the minor last year by Laois (hammered). Beaten in the minor this year by Westmeath. And now this slaughtering by KK - worse than any beating we got in what we thought were the dark days of underage 10 years ago.

All is not good underage. If the county board is listening and proactive - an urgent review of the set up is needed.
We are all realistic, we have a small population divided by two codes. But this is deeply, deeply worrying and should not be considered acceptable. No fault goes to the players who are of course trying their best.

[private joker]

Wait till next year.

[Lone Shark]

Every underage manager's job is to take the players at his disposal and to lead a coaching group that will improve those players, and make them the best that they can be, individually and collectively. The only way to assess that is to measure how they stand relative to where the same group of players was at the younger age grades. In the case of this particular group, that appears at first glance to reflect poorly on the current management team, but also, very well on the minor management team from three years ago.

On the broader picture....

Absolutely, there is a wider issue about the strength of Offaly hurling across the board, though on that, I feel some comparison where Roscommon football, where I live now, is appropriate.

Roscommon football is also a small catchment area in that the county is all football, but it is a smaller county than Offaly to begin with. This year they've won the Connacht U-20 title already, they're strong favourites to win the minor on Friday night, and they have a decent chance, albeit underdogs, in the senior on Sunday. In a nutshell, they're in a great shape.

That is despite the fact that:

(1) There is no COE/training centre in the county, to the point that many of the county teams have to train in places like Creggs and Bekan, outside Roscommon.
(2) There is one decent-sized secondary school in the county, which is Roscommon CBS. Coláiste Chiaráin (in Monksland) recently got a new building and I would suspect they will get stronger in time, but the rest are either very small schools, or players go to school outside the county in Athlone, Ballinasloe, Ballyhaunis, Carrick-on-Shannon, Lanesboro etc. So the success can't really be pinned on schools.
(3) There are some very good coaches involved, and the likes of Shane Moran (current county minor manager) is headed for bigger things I imagine - but it's not like Roscommon coaches are getting poached by club and county teams from around Connacht, or in places like Offaly and Westmeath. In fact a significant number of the top clubs in the county have gone outside the county to get coaches and managers.


So if it's none of those things, what's left? To me, it goes back to the clubs. Now, it does help that in a monocultural county, fixtures are laid out to suit clubs that play football and only play football, but for me a lot of it stems from the fact that you have big powerhouse clubs like Pearses, Clann, Brigid's and to a lesser extent Boyle and Roscommon Gaels that are all big but also very capable operations. The standard of club football in Roscommon is outstanding, to the point that it's often demoralising for me to watch it - there are clubs in Offaly that are Senior A, and they wouldn't stand out in the Roscommon IFC. The current Roscommon intermediate champions (Strokestown) would probably be on a par with Rhode/Edenderry/Shamrocks, and yet they will be around 25/1 or so to win the Roscommon SFC.

And to me, that's what's missing in Offaly underage hurling at the moment. At underage, Kilcormac-Killoughey are a machine, doing everything right (it seems) - and obviously it's not possible for a Lusmagh, Kinnitty or Coolderry to match that with the small numbers at their disposal, and Tullamore will always have more players that prioritise football.

But there's no reason why the likes of Ballinamere, Rynaghs, Birr, and to a lesser extent Belmont, Shinrone, Shamrocks etc can't start believing that there is more that they could be doing internally rather than expecting Offaly GAA to hold their hand. All of those teams have good groups occasionally it seems, but then they'll have times when they're miles off too. You'll never see a Roscommon underage championship where Pearses/Clann/Brigid's/Gaels are in the bottom half of the 18-20 participating teams.

I stress that I'm not saying that any of these clubs are sitting back and doing that (leaving it to the county) and obviously I would hope that within Offaly GAA admin and executive, there is a constant drive to be better, to improve standards and to create a better environment for clubs and players to thrive.

Ultimately however, if we are to get back to an era where we can consistently mix it at that Waterford/Wexford/Clare level, with occasional big days against KK/Tipp etc. mixed in, we're going to have to see every bit as much ambition and drive from within the clubs as is needed from the county.

[Offaly Hero]

Every underage manager's job is to take the players at his disposal and to lead a coaching group that will improve those players, and make them the best that they can be, individually and collectively. The only way to assess that is to measure how they stand relative to where the same group of players was at the younger age grades. In the case of this particular group, that appears at first glance to reflect poorly on the current management team, but also, very well on the minor management team from three years ago.

On the broader picture....

Absolutely, there is a wider issue about the strength of Offaly hurling across the board, though on that, I feel some comparison where Roscommon football, where I live now, is appropriate.

Roscommon football is also a small catchment area in that the county is all football, but it is a smaller county than Offaly to begin with. This year they've won the Connacht U-20 title already, they're strong favourites to win the minor on Friday night, and they have a decent chance, albeit underdogs, in the senior on Sunday. In a nutshell, they're in a great shape.

That is despite the fact that:

(1) There is no COE/training centre in the county, to the point that many of the county teams have to train in places like Creggs and Bekan, outside Roscommon.
(2) There is one decent-sized secondary school in the county, which is Roscommon CBS. Coláiste Chiaráin (in Monksland) recently got a new building and I would suspect they will get stronger in time, but the rest are either very small schools, or players go to school outside the county in Athlone, Ballinasloe, Ballyhaunis, Carrick-on-Shannon, Lanesboro etc. So the success can't really be pinned on schools.
(3) There are some very good coaches involved, and the likes of Shane Moran (current county minor manager) is headed for bigger things I imagine - but it's not like Roscommon coaches are getting poached by club and county teams from around Connacht, or in places like Offaly and Westmeath. In fact a significant number of the top clubs in the county have gone outside the county to get coaches and managers.


So if it's none of those things, what's left? To me, it goes back to the clubs. Now, it does help that in a monocultural county, fixtures are laid out to suit clubs that play football and only play football, but for me a lot of it stems from the fact that you have big powerhouse clubs like Pearses, Clann, Brigid's and to a lesser extent Boyle and Roscommon Gaels that are all big but also very capable operations. The standard of club football in Roscommon is outstanding, to the point that it's often demoralising for me to watch it - there are clubs in Offaly that are Senior A, and they wouldn't stand out in the Roscommon IFC. The current Roscommon intermediate champions (Strokestown) would probably be on a par with Rhode/Edenderry/Shamrocks, and yet they will be around 25/1 or so to win the Roscommon SFC.

And to me, that's what's missing in Offaly underage hurling at the moment. At underage, Kilcormac-Killoughey are a machine, doing everything right (it seems) - and obviously it's not possible for a Lusmagh, Kinnitty or Coolderry to match that with the small numbers at their disposal, and Tullamore will always have more players that prioritise football.

But there's no reason why the likes of Ballinamere, Rynaghs, Birr, and to a lesser extent Belmont, Shinrone, Shamrocks etc can't start believing that there is more that they could be doing internally rather than expecting Offaly GAA to hold their hand. All of those teams have good groups occasionally it seems, but then they'll have times when they're miles off too. You'll never see a Roscommon underage championship where Pearses/Clann/Brigid's/Gaels are in the bottom half of the 18-20 participating teams.

I stress that I'm not saying that any of these clubs are sitting back and doing that (leaving it to the county) and obviously I would hope that within Offaly GAA admin and executive, there is a constant drive to be better, to improve standards and to create a better environment for clubs and players to thrive.

Ultimately however, if we are to get back to an era where we can consistently mix it at that Waterford/Wexford/Clare level, with occasional big days against KK/Tipp etc. mixed in, we're going to have to see every bit as much ambition and drive from within the clubs as is needed from the county.

Your comparison of Roscommon to Offaly, while containing many valid points, is missing one absolutely key point of information.
Which is, there is nowhere near the same numbers devoted to hurling in Roscommon, proportionally, as there is in Offaly.
People from Four Roads GAA look away now, but let’s get real - Roscommon play in the fourth tier championship - the Nicky Rackard Cup.

The vast, vast, vast, majority of Roscommon's 70,000 population are devoted to one code and one code only - Gaelic football - which you definitely can not say about either code for Offaly’s 83,000 population.
This is the key point that can not be forgotten if you are going to go down the route of ‘Roscommon good/Offaly bad’ type of comparison.

A fairer comparison would be - which county with a football or hurling population of 40,000 is much better than Offaly?

[Lone Shark]

Your comparison of Roscommon to Offaly, while containing many valid points, is missing one absolutely key point of information.
Which is, there is nowhere near the same numbers devoted to hurling in Roscommon, proportionally, as there is in Offaly.
People from Four Roads GAA look away now, but let’s get real - Roscommon play in the fourth tier championship - the Nicky Rackard Cup.

The vast, vast, vast, majority of Roscommon's 70,000 population are devoted to one code and one code only - Gaelic football - which you definitely can not say about either code for Offaly’s 83,000 population.
This is the key point that can not be forgotten if you are going to go down the route of ‘Roscommon good/Offaly bad’ type of comparison.

A fairer comparison would be - which county with a football or hurling population of 40,000 is much better than Offaly?

The numbers aren't wrong, but even if you take it that most of Roscommon's population is football-first (true) and that Offaly is broadly 50/50 (true) it's also true that while you won't get MANY intercounty hurlers out of the football first area, you will get an odd few. This year's minor team proves that. Plus, you have a decent swathe of Offaly that is dual code, so while in some cases individual players will play both, it's also the case that you'll have players that are very good at football and not so much at hurling, and vice versa. There could well be young lads in Castlerea, Boyle and Strokestown that would be very good at hurling if they had the chance, but they'll never know.

In a nutshell, I don't like the concept that we should see ourselves as two distinct areas that happen to be united in the one county. Every one of the 83,000 people that lives here either will be, is or was eligible to play for Offaly, and even if you're much more likely to find a footballer in Edenderry and a hurler in Birr, there are happy exceptions to that norm. We're in a much better position than a 40,000 or 50,000 population county that plays one sport, and one sport only (if there was such a thing).

And if you ever hear me say anything remotely close to "Roscommon good/Offaly bad", I'll promise you here and now that it's AI-generated, it's not me. I wouldn't swap my home county for anywhere, but that doesn't mean that I don't think we can learn from other places that are doing things well. And in this instance, I just am a little bit wary of going too far down the road of expecting the county executive to be the cure for all our ills, when in SOME cases, a significant chunk of the problem dwells a little bit closer to home.

[Superhans75]

I feel sorry for the players today
There young they will get over it
But for one or two it could be the straw that breaks the camels back and walk away from the game I fear that
You can bring in stats about population
But one thing nobody is talking about is the lack. Of males been born in the last 15 years very noticeable where I'm living and I have cousins who are school principals have noticed this big change in demographics.
People are having children later that tends to bring more female births
Majority of famous Sports( males) stars are born to younger mothers
Times have changed
The county board can't change that but they can plan .
This county board is very poor probably the worst for a long time.
But to do nothing is madness.

[Lone Shark]

I feel sorry for the players today
There young they will get over it
But for one or two it could be the straw that breaks the camels back and walk away from the game I fear that
You can bring in stats about population
But one thing nobody is talking about is the lack. Of males been born in the last 15 years very noticeable where I'm living and I have cousins who are school principals have noticed this big change in demographics.
People are having children later that tends to bring more female births
Majority of famous Sports( males) stars are born to younger mothers
Times have changed
The county board can't change that but they can plan .
This county board is very poor probably the worst for a long time.
But to do nothing is madness.

I have to say Superhans, I never know what's coming from your posts, you have a very strong relationship with the element of surprise!

Addressing that issue in bold is probably asking a lot of any county board, but I'd love to hear the response if it gets brought up at the next monthly meeting....

[faithfulfanatic]

I feel sorry for the players today
There young they will get over it
But for one or two it could be the straw that breaks the camels back and walk away from the game I fear that
You can bring in stats about population
But one thing nobody is talking about is the lack. Of males been born in the last 15 years very noticeable where I'm living and I have cousins who are school principals have noticed this big change in demographics.
People are having children later that tends to bring more female births
Majority of famous Sports( males) stars are born to younger mothers
Times have changed
The county board can't change that but they can plan .
This county board is very poor probably the worst for a long time.
But to do nothing is madness.

I have to say Superhans, I never know what's coming from your posts, you have a very strong relationship with the element of surprise!

Addressing that issue in bold is probably asking a lot of any county board, but I'd love to hear the response if it gets brought up at the next monthly meeting....

Perhaps that could be a topic of conversation for Donal Og when he next meets Adam Hogan’s mother

[faithfulfanatic]

People from Four Roads GAA look away now, but let’s get real - Roscommon play in the fourth tier championship - the Nicky Rackard Cup.

If you want to get really real, Roscommon play in the third tier championship - the Christy Ring Cup.

[Faithful Future]

Just on the Leo O'Connor comments above.. I'm neither for or against his future senior managerial prospects but the skill gap I saw today in kilkenny and last week against Dublin was far more deep rooted than a season of coaching.

Players 18, 19 and 20 lacking fundamental striking, catching and hurling awareness skills (I could give 20+ examples today) point to a problem in coaching in the 10 years previous, not tactical setups over a 6 month period.

Adding to that, it was men against boys in almost every single position physically. Questions need to be asked...

[Lone Shark]

Just on the Leo O'Connor comments above.. I'm neither for or against his future senior managerial prospects but the skill gap I saw today in kilkenny and last week against Dublin was far more deep rooted than a season of coaching.

Players 18, 19 and 20 lacking fundamental striking, catching and hurling awareness skills (I could give 20+ examples today) point to a problem in coaching in the 10 years previous, not tactical setups over a 6 month period.

Adding to that, it was men against boys in almost every single position physically. Questions need to be asked...

I'll be accused of having an agenda for writing this, but it is literally saying what I see - this level of a gap was not there three years ago at minor level, when the two teams also played in a knockout game.

The strength aspect, fair enough to a certain extent, though when it's the third year of a term, at least some of the responsibility for that falls on the current management too. Strength work should not be a priority until players are too old for minor, the focus should be flexibility, mobility, movement etc. up to that point, so it kind of is on the U-20 management to be the main driver behind that aspect of player development.

Finally, if players come into a county U-20 set up and they lack striking, catching and awareness skill, then that might not be ideal, but it's for the management to take a step back and try and address that as best they can, tactics have to go out the window as a lower priority. If I'm a Leaving Cert English teacher and a class comes into me unable to conjugate a verb or construct a sentence correctly, then my job is to try and fix that. Not to just complain about it, and then to go ahead and open up Macbeth anyway and expect them to understand the nuance and meaning in the soliloquys.

[Small Biff]

The first 30 mins yesterday was surely our lowest point in over 40 years at any level. 4 16 to 0 2 down at halftime against a misfiring Kilkenny.

An opponent we competed so well with when losing by 2 15 to 0 14 points in a highly competitive fixture just 3 short years ago.

Serious questions need to be asked about the management of this group.

[private joker]

I think mgt just hanging around waiting to see what JK does.