GAA Notes 24th October 2011

Post date: Oct 23, 2011 10:9:4 PM

Sponsored by Tallow Area Credit Union

Tallow GAA Club Lotto- supported by Kearney's Restaurant

24/10/11 Numbers Drawn 4,5,8,18 No Winner

Consolation Prizes Damien Moore, Bridie Martin, Mick Kenneally, Eamonn Donnelly Promoter Colin Sice

Next Draw Lukies 1/11/11 Jackpot €17,000.

Comhbhron

On behalf of Tallow GAA Club we extend our deepest sympathies to the O Hara family of New Street Tallow on the sad passing of Benny O Hara. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam

Reflections on the county final

While it wasn't quite reminiscent of Marlon Brando's final breaths talking about 'the horror, the horror' in Apocalypse Now, the county final defeat left us, both as a team and as a club, bruised and wondering what is next for our team. We're not the first team to surpass expectations, play really well to get to a final and be overwhelmed in it. It happened to Limerick's Na Piarsaigh just two years ago in the 2009 Limerick county final when they scored just three points and were destroyed by Adare. They returned this year to win in some style, beating Ahane by 11 points. Comparing their two county final teams there wasn't a huge turnover in personnel but it has to be said that one of their significant additions was Limerick minor and u21 star Shane Dowling and that Kevin Downes was still a minor in 2009. Still there's no such thing as a guaranteed future star and it's doubtful that everyone in Na Piarsaigh was pretty relaxed and confident about the future after the losing the county final so heavily. The lesson is that you never know who or what will come through from the underage ranks and the addition of one quality forward over the next few years would have a big impact on our chances of closing the gap to Ballygunner and De La Salle.

We can also take a lead from the Dublin team that became All Ireland champions this year just two short years after being handed a footballing lesson by Kerry. They turned the situation around by making sure that every forward worked like a dog to regain possession when their attack was stopped. Granted, it's much easier to do this in football than in hurling but it's something the Clare team of the 90s did to effect too. Despite having only one marquee forward to speak of, they didn't do badly at all. Talking to anybody from the teams we played in the latter stages of the championship the one theme they keep coming back to is the strength of our defence. If we keep that unit intact and injury-free it's a building block that most teams would gladly accept.