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Players Transferring Clubs To Win Medals

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One of the main ethos behind the gaa is the parish rule is paramount. You play for where you live, where you come from. The Jack McCarron transfer from Curries, a small junior club in Monaghan struggling for numbers, to Scotstown, a powerhouse in Monaghan football. Going for medals rather than playing and helping the club that took him on as a youngster. Now I don't know the ins and outs of it all. His father was a scotstown man and he may have wanted to play for them too and win senior champs like his father did. Now I see these talented Offaly twins looking to leave their small junior club Ballyskenach- Killavilla to join Shinrone, lately Offaly senior hurling champions. Surely this is for exposure to a higher standard of hurling and to benefit them. Totally bereft of the gaa parish rule thinking. What do posters think of this? Players leaving their home club, the club that accepted them, their friends, neighbours and community in search of winning titles with another club? Any other examples in your county? Best example I have against it is Richie Hogan, hurled with his local club Danesfort. Won an All Ireland club junior champ with danesfort before he won inter county senior champ with Kilkenny. Could have hurled for anyone. Is this rife in the GAA?? leitrim4sam (Leitrim) - Posts: 672 - 26/01/2024 20:39:37 2522252 Link
That McCarron transfer has destroyed our senior club scene sadly. Scotstown have FIVE adult senior teams. Only two other clubs in Monaghan can field a third team, never mind five. That's how unfair their population advantage is in comparison to the rest of the county. It's 4 (arguably 5) parishes combined. Only for Conor McManus, they'd have won 10 of the last 11 championships. The worst part of the transfer is that Currin were in senior only 4 / 5 years ago. HB245 (Monaghan) - Posts: 248 - 26/01/2024 21:26:29 2522260 Link
Parish rule scrapped in a few cases east and west of the county here in the last number of years. Not too sure how it stands now as precedents have been set. Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 1272 - 26/01/2024 21:51:27 2522264 Link
Replying To leitrim4sam: "One of the main ethos behind the gaa is the parish rule is paramount. You play for where you live, where you come from. The Jack McCarron transfer from Curries, a small junior club in Monaghan struggling for numbers, to Scotstown, a powerhouse in Monaghan football. Going for medals rather than playing and helping the club that took him on as a youngster. Now I don't know the ins and outs of it all. His father was a scotstown man and he may have wanted to play for them too and win senior champs like his father did. Now I see these talented Offaly twins looking to leave their small junior club Ballyskenach- Killavilla to join Shinrone, lately Offaly senior hurling champions. Surely this is for exposure to a higher standard of hurling and to benefit them. Totally bereft of the gaa parish rule thinking. What do posters think of this? Players leaving their home club, the club that accepted them, their friends, neighbours and community in search of winning titles with another club? Any other examples in your county? Best example I have against it is Richie Hogan, hurled with his local club Danesfort. Won an All Ireland club junior champ with danesfort before he won inter county senior champ with Kilkenny. Could have hurled for anyone. Is this rife in the GAA??" I think it's important to accept that not all cases are the same. Sometimes the scenario is different I.e a really talented committed player with a club that has no ambition and team-mates that don't give a toss, can be very frustrating? sligo joe (Dublin) - Posts: 795 - 26/01/2024 21:55:11 2522266 Link
It's going on country wide ,look at ur man from mayo ,(can't think of his name)his club gets relegated from senior and off he goes to try win an all ireland with Castlebar, thank god castlebar didn't even win a county title after he transferred.... Timmy86 (Sligo) - Posts: 304 - 26/01/2024 22:31:33 2522273 Link
Replying To sligo joe: "I think it's important to accept that not all cases are the same. Sometimes the scenario is different I.e a really talented committed player with a club that has no ambition and team-mates that don't give a toss, can be very frustrating?" It can be frustrating but still it's your club - why not they set a precedent, set a standard, a benchmark. Stay there and help improve others. It's your home place - your club - instead of saying "sod this, I'm off lads" leitrim4sam (Leitrim) - Posts: 672 - 26/01/2024 22:56:53 2522275 Link
Kerry wrestling with abolishing the Parish Rule. It doesn't exist in Cities either. Seanfanbocht (Roscommon) - Posts: 1960 - 27/01/2024 00:19:14 2522282 Link
Replying To Timmy86: "It's going on country wide ,look at ur man from mayo ,(can't think of his name)his club gets relegated from senior and off he goes to try win an all ireland with Castlebar, thank god castlebar didn't even win a county title after he transferred...." Club transfers within county are definitely a hot debate, there are genuine reasons for transfers other than glory e.g.moving house more than 30min away, perhaps a falling out of some sort, bullying can go on in clubs that might seem a bitta craic to some. gaelsboy (Leitrim) - Posts: 567 - 27/01/2024 01:06:51 2522285 Link
It's a hard one to call. Why should a talented young lad struggle along with a club that can barely field a team while another club nearby has all the supports and structures to maximise his potential? I think times have changed. liam500 (Wicklow) - Posts: 187 - 27/01/2024 08:29:25 2522294 Link
I think the GAA should have a rule that if a club is able to field say 3 adult teams then no transfers should be allowed inward to that club… Shane Walsh transferring to Kilmacud who field 5/6 teams is just wrong… If Walsh wanted to go to Dublin but only had a choice of teams fielding 2/3 teams he might not have been so keen… These sort of medal hunting transfers only serve to make the big clubs stronger and the smaller clubs destined to struggle… ForeverBlue2 (Cavan) - Posts: 3029 - 27/01/2024 09:27:45 2522303 Link
Replying To Timmy86: "It's going on country wide ,look at ur man from mayo ,(can't think of his name)his club gets relegated from senior and off he goes to try win an all ireland with Castlebar, thank god castlebar didn't even win a county title after he transferred...." Done Vaughan. I remember there was a big controversy over 10 years ago when Eamon Fennel transferred to St Vincents FoolsGold (Cavan) - Posts: 2825 - 27/01/2024 10:51:43 2522317 Link
Replying To ForeverBlue2: "I think the GAA should have a rule that if a club is able to field say 3 adult teams then no transfers should be allowed inward to that club… Shane Walsh transferring to Kilmacud who field 5/6 teams is just wrong… If Walsh wanted to go to Dublin but only had a choice of teams fielding 2/3 teams he might not have been so keen… These sort of medal hunting transfers only serve to make the big clubs stronger and the smaller clubs destined to struggle…" Are you saying Walsh should've transferred to a smaller Dublin club when he moved to Dublin? What if Crokes were the closest to where he is now living? Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 13884 - 27/01/2024 11:11:30 2522322 Link
As someone said above, the times have changed. There's a lot more committment needed to play a high level of hurling or football these days. I don't think a player should be held back from wanting to get the best out of themselves and their career. Some clubs don't have the same drive or ambition a others and I don't think a player who wants more should have to just deal with it because it's their home club. I agree some of them can look bad, say Walsh's one, no connection to any club and just happens to pick the top team in the county when there were probably 10 other very good clubs to go to. But then can you blame him, he wants what's best for number 1. Overall though I don't think it's as major an issue and some make it out to be. There's only really ever a handful of these type of transfers people reference. In the most part they just don't happen and the majority of players wouldn't do it. Low2Joe (Wexford) - Posts: 54 - 27/01/2024 11:56:32 2522334 Link
We don't have too many internal transfers in Longford. The main transfer operators in the county in past years was Longford Slashers who used to poach a lot of the more talented players from nearby Young Grattans. In recent years they brought in Peter Foy from Cashel but then he jumped ship to a neighbouring county and another club fond of the transfer system, St. Lomans. Other than that there's a lad in the county who I think is on his 4th Longford club and 6th in total! Spinx (Longford) - Posts: 1328 - 27/01/2024 12:16:13 2522339 Link
You could just ban transfers within counties where the player is moving from a non-senior club to a senior club skirge7 (UK) - Posts: 254 - 27/01/2024 12:39:16 2522343 Link
Replying To Viking66: "Are you saying Walsh should've transferred to a smaller Dublin club when he moved to Dublin? What if Crokes were the closest to where he is now living?" What if we specifically picked where he lived so he could join Kilmacud? skirge7 (UK) - Posts: 254 - 27/01/2024 12:40:34 2522344 Link
Replying To skirge7: "What if we specifically picked where he lived so he could join Kilmacud?" What if he did? Are you suggesting the GAA have any right to tell someone where they should live?! Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 13884 - 27/01/2024 13:22:36 2522362 Link
If that is the GAA ethos then how come I was once subbed for a player who wasn't from the parish? nor was he at training the week before. Also I noticed in my local club they sometimes have players in the seniors who aren't from the parish and they are played before people who are from here. For example the club had a player on the team who was from the neighbouring club who are a successful senior tier club. He moved to this intermediate/junior club to finish his career, instead of playing for his own clubs reserves. There are other examples of players who had a father from here but never grew up here themselves playing before locals. It seems to be that the GAA like to virtue signal about their ethos but when it comes down to it they would sell out locals for a chance at success. PattyONeill (Derry) - Posts: 246 - 27/01/2024 13:59:54 2522373 Link
Replying To Viking66: "What if he did? Are you suggesting the GAA have any right to tell someone where they should live?!" You can't really stop these transfers especially in cities as there are boundary loopholes but i can assure you Crokes were not the club close to where Walsh was living in Dublin. TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8157 - 27/01/2024 14:11:32 2522378 Link
Replying To TheFlaker: "You can't really stop these transfers especially in cities as there are boundary loopholes but i can assure you Crokes were not the club close to where Walsh was living in Dublin." Which would be the closest club? I don't know exactly the area he is living in except that he's on the South side. Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 13884 - 27/01/2024 16:51:44 2522412 Link