Injury Time 8nov2024

The program is sponsored by Kymore Abbey and Gardens. It's been a mild week weather-wise. There's plenty of football and hurling action happening. There's also a lot going on in the rugby scene. Anthony Curran, who works with Galway Bay Physio and has his own business, is a guest on the show. He provides treatments for soft tissue injuries and offers maintenance and recovery services. He studied in Bolton and worked with elite athletes there. The Galway United soccer club has had a successful season and there's a lot of excitement around the team. The women's team has been doing well, with Julianne Russell even playing for the national team. The club's academy players have also been getting international call-ups. Overall, the club is moving in the right direction and the off-season looks promising. This program is kindly sponsored by Kymore Abbey and Gardens, 095-52001. This program is kindly sponsored by Kymore Abbey and Gardens, 095-52001. Good evening, guys, and welcome to Injury Time here on Kymore Community Radio. It is Friday 8th of November. I hope you're all having a lovely week. It's been a very mild week, weather-wise, and it's great to see a nice bit of dry weather for the week as well. There's enough rain for the summer, so it's nice to see a small bit of sunshine and a bit of dry weather. Obviously, we're going to go into the tick of action, guys. Plenty of football, there's plenty of hurling this weekend. I see you have the senior title there with Keptagl and Loughrey in the senior hurling. And obviously, there is plenty of soccer action with West Coast United. All pictures are up online on their Facebook and Instagram page. Plenty of action, which is great to see. Locally-wise, there's so much going on in the rugby scene as well. Obviously, the GA season is finished now for the year. They all had a very fantastic year underage for Rensfield and Clifton, which is great to see. But we will go straight into the tick of action, guys, with Ed Seeker. Now, guys, we'll get straight into the tick of action. I see plenty of local action with rugby on this evening, but plenty of local action in the soccer as well. The end of the season with the Galvanisers have just ended a really successful season for the Galvanisers. It was great to see a big off-season coming so they can push on for bigger and better things for next year, please God. A guy on the line who has been involved with the Galvanisers, along with Galway Bay Physio, and recently set up his own business. A good local man who's been involved in soccer for many, many years and he's still a lot to give to the game. It's good to have Anthony Curran on the line. Good evening, Anthony. How are you keeping? Good, Delmar. How are you? Thanks for having me. Not too bad at all. Obviously, you've been involved with Galvanisers, but before we hit Galvanisers, you're working with Galway Bay Physio, and recently you've set up your own business as well, so feel free to give our listeners a little bit of background about yourself and the business. Yes, so I work in the city there for Galway Bay Physio most of the time, but they're now a couple of days a week in Letterfrack there, just beside the Diamond Hill Community Centre. There's treatment rooms in there, and I'd be in there now a couple of times a week. I've got an Instagram page called ACU Rehabilitation. Generally, just people get in contact through that or through Charmaine down at the Diamond Hill Community Centre. We just kind of cover soft tissue massages, deep tissue massages, any soft tissue injuries, sports, non-sports, anything like that. Yes, that's pretty much my day-to-day, really. Obviously, for all our clubs out there, feel free to get in touch with Anthony. I'm sure, especially with the rugby season in the peak of action, the soccer season in the middle of the season as well, and if Anthony needs me, you could be the man to fix it, as they say. Yes, obviously, we've had a few lads from the GAA season that have now just finished, obviously, but while they were going on there through the different rounds, we had a few lads kind of in and out, just in the build-up to games, just kind of maintenance more than anything. So you see a lot of that now, as well as, obviously, people come with injuries, but you don't have to be injured. It can be just as simple as maintenance or recovery for yourself as well. You've recently just finished your studies in Bolton. I'm sure that was a great experience over there to study at a high level. Yes, it was great to get over. Obviously, I started with GTI in Galway first, and that's originally how I got to Bolton. There was a link between the colleges. I'm not entirely sure how it even started, but it was great to get some exposure to places outside of Ireland. And then, obviously, once the pandemic was finished, like anyone else, I wanted to kind of get moving a bit again, so I decided to go abroad. Went over to Bolton, had a great three years there. During my time there, worked with some very high elite athletes, Olympic gold medalists, professional footballers and professional rugby players. It was a great experience that I probably wouldn't have got had I stayed where I am for the whole time. But I'm happy to have come back to where it's at now again. And that's exactly it. Obviously, the last two years have gone without it. They've gone professional in the last number of years. The level of professionalism has really gone to a new level as well within the club. On and off the field, there's a great deal of buzz with the club, and hopefully that will continue. Obviously winning the First Division title and then one of their highest ever finishes in the Premier Division in fifth place. There's a great deal of buzz around it, and I'm sure next season will be no different. And I'm sure they'll be definitely willing to push on and hopefully challenge for European places or even league titles. Yeah, well, you said it there. I think it's our highest finish in 30 years or something like that. So it's great. It's great for the club, obviously, to be making that progress and getting to that level again. But also, it's great for the city as well. We're getting big crowds down to Eamon DC Park for every home game that we had this season. I go to decent away support as well at every game. But then as well as that, I've been involved with the club for longer than before I went to college. I was doing just coaching casually here and there with the academy and stuff. And it's great to see the academy's progression every year as well, as well as just the first team. And you've got the women's team on top of that, who are obviously only a couple of years old now. But they're competing at the highest level that they can now as well. So it's great to see that the club's moving as one forward and challenging for everything possible. Well, that's exactly it. A big shout out to the ladies team. They're retaining the All-Ireland Cup. And that was a huge joy and even a very strong finish to the season. They weren't too far away from challenging for the league title as well. Filchers and his management team have done a tremendous amount of work to get where the club, where the women's game should be. And kind of looking that way with Julianne Russell getting on the international stage as well and scoring a couple of goals for her country. And it's great to see Gora get mentioned in that bracket when there's international footballers out there. And she's probably a role model for the likes of the younger players coming to the team there. The very young squad. Kate Thompson, Eve Dawson as well. They're all underage internationals. And they'll be looking up to Julianne Russell, I'm sure, to push on for the club. And hopefully they can challenge for more honours in the coming years. Yeah, of course. Julianne is a great role model to everyone. Boys and girls, it doesn't matter. She's a great role model. She's had a great career so far and she doesn't look like she's going to stop anytime soon either. She just seems to be getting better. But you've got across the club, even in academy level, there's a whole lot of international call-ups now. Over the last 12 months in particular, it's increasing. At the Women's Academy, you've got a couple there recently. And the Men's Academy, you've got a couple. And then you've got Alex Murphy there. He's recently just called up to the 21s again. Obviously, he's with Newcastle now. But starting out with Gowa United, it's great to have connections to the national set-up. Yeah, it's great to see even the likes of Kylie Fitzgerald doing so well at the minute as well. Potentially signing for Newcastle United as well. And I think the overall profile of the Golden Eagles has really got to a new level. And even looking at the first team there, you see the likes of Craig Cunningham coming back. He's played over 300 appearances over in England. Jimmy Conan coming back from England. It's ICD players coming back and taking the league series. And they'll come back and they want to win something with the club as well. It's definitely going in the right direction. And even on your job, Anthony, you're working with these lads that have international experience. Obviously, with Craig, unfortunately, he got a bad injury towards the end of the season. But the likes of Jimmy have played for England for numerous years. The professionalism and the high standard is definitely there to see. And I'm sure it's going to be an exciting off-season coming up because it'll be a challenging one. Because I'm sure John Caulfield and Ali Hawker will want to push on for a successful season this year. Yeah, obviously you mentioned Kyle. For me in particular, I can't really comment too much on the women's set-up and the players that have gone up there. But for the men's, I've worked closely particularly with Kyle Fitzgerald and Killian Tullis. Who recently have been on international duty again. And just a shout-out to Killian Tullis. I think they qualified for the elite stage of the U17s tournament with the national team there the other day. It's great to see he got his first team debut up in St. Pat's there with Scully United recently. And then he's doing things like that with the national team. It's just a bright future for the club on that front. But then you mentioned Craig and Jimmy as well. It's like nothing against the players who are already in the league. But it's great when you see lads coming back from that level in England who just have that higher experiences. And they've played at those higher levels. And they've got great professionalism, great attitude on and off the pitch. Like you said there, Craig got injured towards the end of the season. Still in training, still in the change room, still doing what he was doing before and after games. It's just he's not on the pitch. It's the only difference. But it's great to see them coming in with the extra little bit just from that higher level. Yeah, and you look at Conor McCormack who has played with Scully United Academy. And obviously a high standard of chamber of commerce in Derry City. He still has that hunger. He's probably 32, 33 years of age. And he's really calm and collected in a way. But he can get aggressive. He can get the lads going. He's a leader that you probably need in the league of Ireland. Yeah, you mentioned the best of both worlds. You need that balance. And I think Conor is that balance. He's an unbelievable captain. And that's someone who's not even in the playing team. They hear him way more than I do. But from what I see, he's an unbelievable captain. He's non-stop talking himself and even Brendan Carrick, the vice-captain. Between both of them now, when they've got the iron band, when they don't have the iron band, whether they're on the pitch, off the pitch, they're non-stop communicating with the lads. They're constantly demanding the highest levels that they can in games, on the training pitch, everything. And if you look at it with Ali Horgan and the main man, John Caulfield, two lads that have seen it all, have won trophies in the league of Ireland. And they've really brought the squad together. And they kind of die for each other. There's games there. They've fought and they've worked. The work rate has been unbelievable in that team. And they all work for each other. They all die for each other. There's something in that group that is special. And you can see it on the field. And I think you can see it off the field as well. They're all really very good. It's one big family. And by the looks of it, John Caulfield, he said in the Q&A there in the Carrick Hotel that he's signed 90% of the team already. And the signings will be announced over the coming months in the off-season just to keep the momentum going on the off-field side of things. But that's the sign of things to come, how they want to play for John and Ali. And I think there's definitely a bright future in the coming years for Galway ladders. Yeah, obviously, nothing sure on the re-signing part yet. That's totally down to John and Ali, and I'm sure that'll all come out in time. But it'll be great if you get most of those lads back. They all wanted to play for John and Ali, for the club, for the fans. They seem to enjoy the atmosphere in Eamon Deasy. They love competitiveness within the squad. And it's just great to watch. Even training sessions off the pitch, after training sessions, after games, before games. They're just normal humans that are just the nicest of people you could ever meet. The greatest respect for everyone around them. But always keeping it competitive and trying to be at the highest level possible. So it's great if we can get most of them back, obviously. And John and Ali, yeah, I suppose they're the front two of the bench. But there's a whole host of lads on that bench who are heading, kicking every single ball that's in play and out of play. And fighting every tackle that's going. Every decision the referee makes. It's as if there's more than 11 players on the pitch at all times. Yeah, it's great to see it. And for so long, Galway Knights were nearly like a soft touch. You'd be going up to the likes of Bohemians looking to get a draw. Sometimes at home games, we were probably a bit too soft. But it's gone completely the other way around. And clubs are hating coming to Emadisi Park. And they're hating to play against Galway Knights. So it's great to see it. And I think it'll be a bright future ahead for Galway Knights. The off-season is going to be exciting. The next season is going to be exciting. The whole club in general, from the academy to the women's to the men's, it's going to be another rollercoaster season next year. And I'm sure it'll be a fun one. And I'm sure, by the looks of it, this season is gone. The fans have really got behind them. There's 400 or 500 going to most games. It's great to see the way attendance goes these away games. And obviously, Emadisi Park has over 3,000, 3,500 at most games as well. So long may it continue. And I'm sure you'll have a brilliant season next year, please, guys. But moving closer to home, you are involved with the senior West Coast United team. They have kicked off the season there a few months ago. And it's been probably a mixed result in a way. But it's been a challenging time as well with a few injuries on the way as well. Yeah, it's been great to get into that kind of still more part-time role, more kind of casual role. But it's great to get into more coaching side of things as well, just to keep it fresh. I've obviously had a little bit of experience in that before. So it's nice to go and share it with the home club, myself and Trevor Conlon. They're kind of the main two, but then you've got multiple behind-the-scenes, including yourself, Damo, who's there at training sessions and matches. And, yeah, it's been a mixed season so far, as you say, with a relatively decent start and then got hit with a few injuries. And then, you know, obviously in the rural areas it can be tough for numbers of times. You know, if there's any sort of event on, things can always clash. So we've had tight squads here and there, injuries here and there, but it seems to be stabling now again and looking to kick on here now again. And ultimately the aim is promotion, but if that happens or not, we'd give it our best shot. That's exactly it. I see a bit of the younger players coming through, along with you've experienced obviously the likes of Robert, Robert Gannon, known fairly, still very experienced, Owen Gannon. But I see these young guys coming through, you know, the likes of Max Vailis, Mikey Conroy, you know, even Jack Regis. You know, them three have been probably there from the first day the academy started, you know, and it's a credit to them. And I see people, players from the first day of the academy making their way up to their first team and making their debuts in the first team. And, you know, it's great to see that as a sign of how the club has come a long way in that sense as well. So hopefully, I'm pleased that the season will get a few more wins on the bench. You're obviously playing this weekend. I think it's Barron at home on Saturday at 2 p.m. Hopefully a few supporters can come out and get behind you and hopefully you can get three points on the board. Yeah, hopefully, as you said, we're playing Barron. And now this week, Barron are another team that seems to be, you know, just coming to form now over the last couple of games. So it'll be a tough game, but a good one because we've got a decent result there at the weekend, away to Merlin Woods and a tough, sticky pitch. So, you know, we've got a big squad available the last couple of weeks, thankfully. So we'll be looking for a good result now this weekend against Barron at home. As I said, 2 o'clock kick-off on Saturday. But, yeah, like all those young lads you mentioned there, like there's plenty of them. I think a few of them have had their debuts this season with junior football. You wouldn't even know it with some of them. Some of them you'd think they've played before with junior football. They just take to it naturally. But, yeah, it's great to see so many young lads involved and then mixed with the older lads who have that experience at that level and letting the older lads kind of guide them along the way. Because junior football can be tough at times and, you know, it's nice to see a nice blend in the squad. Anthony, thank you very much. And just a quick one before you go. You can give just a small bit of detail about your business if anyone wants to get in touch with you once again. Yeah, so I've got an Instagram page, ACU Rehabilitation. We're based in the Diamond Hill Community Centre, so you can always get in contact with Germaine if you're in and around there. And she can contact me directly as well. All the details, there's an email specifically on the Instagram page and my phone number and all that. It's all on the Instagram page and in the Diamond Hill Community Centre. Perfect, happy days. And if any are listed out there, any coaches from GA, be it rugby, be it soccer, if there's any injuries out there, just get in touch with Anthony or Germaine in the Diamond Hill Community Centre and they'll look after you as best they can. Anthony, thank you so much and all the best for the season ahead for West Coast and all the best with your new business coming as well. Thank you so much for taking the time out for Colmar Community Radio and we'll hopefully catch you soon down the line. Thanks a million, Deva. No problem. Santa, Mrs Claus and his merry team of elves. Tickets now on sale at wildlands.ie. It's a double whammy at Brodericks Electrical for the month of November. Not alone can you get Black Friday deals every day for the whole month, but you can also get cashback offers on two of our biggest brands, AEG and Electrolux. 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Call Joices on 095-346-58 for more information. www.joicesbar.co.uk Massive night last night in Tannis Stadium for Seamark Rovers in the Conference League. They had a big win against TNF. John Kenny and Dylan Watts with the goals. TNF scored early. I think all the goals were actually in the first half. It was a big, big win for them. They have two wins and a draw. Dylan Watts and John Kenny with the goals. 2-1 at half-time. That was a full-time score. A big win against the New Saints of Wales. That makes them on 7 points. That is a great chance to qualify from the Conference League as well. We wish them all the best of luck. A couple of other results in that Conference League. Rangers drew 1-1. In Larenloft 2-1. There were a couple of results there as well. I think Chelsea won 8-0 in the end. Against a team that had only been formed in 2017. It was crazy. The League of War won 4-0. It was a very mixed bag of results. Manchester United won 2-0. Last year they won 2-1 against Porto. Plenty of action there. A big shout out to Seamark Rovers on their 2-1 victory as well. Then on the Champions League front. Aston Villa unfortunately lost to a controversial penalty. 1-0 in Belgium. Liverpool had a vast win. 4-0 against Bayer Leverkusen. Arsenal lost 1-0 away in Milan. Probably the shock of the night was Man City losing 4-1 on Tuesday night against Sporting Lisbon. That was a huge result. City had lost 2 games on the trough. That is a worrying sign for Pep Guardiola's side. They don't lose too many games like that on the trough. A big shout out was Real Madrid losing 3-1 at home to AC Milan. A big shout out to Celtic. Probably the biggest result in the Champions League was Celtic. They have struggled on numerous occasions in Europe. The standard has probably risen in the Champions League over the number of years. The Scottish league has always been a question mark on the quality of it. A massive 3-1 victory for Celtic. Long may it last against RB Leipzig of Germany. A big win for them. Bruce McDormand also won 1-0 as well at home. A Liverpool throne to a 4-0 victory. Plenty of European action there. A big shout out to the two teams wearing the green and white. That was probably the two big wins over the week in European football. We are going to have a quick little song. These boys retired. Semi-retired you could say. I was lucky to be in the Tree Arena for their last gig. I thought it was their last gig but they have announced a couple of more gigs. I think they have sold out Tolman Park next year in less than an hour. They are also playing in Liverpool next year as well. The retirement is definitely on hold. They are one hell of a band. I won't lie, the Sunday night in the Tree Arena was a special night. You don't know them for a band. They are probably hitting very close to their 80s. They are still building out tunes with passion. They are telling the story of Ireland and what it really was. I'm going to leave you with the Celtic Symphony. La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la-la-la That's where the lions sleep For then those evil eyes They have no place in paradise Graffiti on the wall It says that someone's going down a dig Graffiti on the wall On the shelf, on the shelf Graffiti on the wall It says we're magic, we're magic Graffiti on the wall Graffiti on the wall And it says Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Say Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Say Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Say Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Say Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Say Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Say Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah We went to each jungle deep For the paradise that we did seek With no trip for the week There was some western natives Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na From the Amazon to Borneo From Africa to Tokyo To the darkest jungles of the world But nowhere could I lose them Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na I roamed in circles every way He turned to me and he did say I think you're leaving me astray I want you to know me well Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Here we go again We're on the road again We're on the road again We're on our way to paradise We love the jungle deep That's where the lions sleep But in those evil eyes They have no place in paradise Graffiti on the wall The sound of the sun was going down I see graffiti on the wall On the shelf, on the shelf Graffiti on the wall It says, what magic, what magic Graffiti on the wall Graffiti on the wall It says, oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Say oo-ah-ah-ah-ah Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Say oo-ah-ah-ah-ah Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Say oo-ah-ah-ah-ah Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Say oo-ah-ah-ah-ah Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Say oo-ah-ah-ah-ah Oo-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Say oo-ah-ah-ah-ah G.P.A. Hurler and Footballer Awards for 2024 in the RDS where you had Galway's Paul Conroy being crowned Footballer of the Year and then Clare's Shane O'Donnell being named Hurler of the Year so two lads that have been on the probably on the field for a long, long time I think it must have been 11 years 11 years since O'Donnell's explosive attack I think he must have mentioned he got about three goals in one pitch and that kind of kicked off his career for Clare he's all the way from Irog in Ennis an unbelievable Hurler a well-deserved player of the year there in Hurling and he's been an ever-present in that Clare team he inspired them to the Allianz Division 1 and also the Liam McCarthy Cup as well as he did on the football side the ever-present Paul Conroy Paul he's been he's probably I think he's the first player from his club St. James to win an All-Star as well so that's a big one for St. James near Mirview and he's probably one of the Gaelic football's longest-serving outfield players he started his career for Galway in 2008 he scored six points on his league debut against Roscommon, he was a great player he's 35 years old he's a schoolteacher of Irish business he's the anchorman of the midfield for Galway he scored a magnificent 2-16 in the Championship this year three points in the final and he's won Player of the Month for July, he's an unbelievable player and to talk about this on the line I have the ever-present Fancy Foley, good evening Fancy, how are we keeping? Good evening Damien, how are you? Not too bad at all, now the two players I mentioned there that have been on the road a long, long time but they seem to be getting better with age Yeah, well absolutely and I'm sure most people even non-Galway people would be happy about the decision but he deserved it and you know at his age and everything else I think this is his best year for for quite a while and definitely deserving of what he achieved and seemingly and that's a good thing he hasn't any sign of hanging up his boots yet and now may continue but definitely a man was in the running as well but on most people's views Paul Connery deserved it and as I said a fitting tribute to a man who put so much into Galway club football and county football as well That's exactly it and it was only about three or four years ago when he had a very bad leg break and you know for a lot of players that come towards the end of their career would say you know that's me done I'll recover now from this and I'll hang up the boots you know but to come back from this injury and it was a bad leg break and to come back from that injury as you know 35 years and still to score 216 from a field this year for Galway was an unbelievable return you know Well definitely and even from the beginning even at the beginning there of the year things wasn't going that favourably at all but anyway he put all that behind him he got stuck in, put his injuries behind him and has reached the pedicle of success Well that's exactly it and we'll stick with gated football I think the team of the year was picked must be the first time ever when there was no Dublin or Kerry footballer in that starting 15 of the player of the year awards Yeah you know some people were well some people were a little surprised but I wasn't surprised because both of these counties mentioned have a monopoly for years and years and either team didn't do anything or any player of either team didn't do anything to enhance their position as being an all-star or a thing like that but it's a bit unusual because of the dominance of Dublin and Kerry in the last 10 years Having said all that Galway had a great representation and certainly every one of them were deserving, maybe a couple of more maybe could have got it but anyway they were unlucky All in all it was a big selection and you know that was a footnote Kerry, no Kerry, no Dublin and that's the way it worked out, that's the way it should have worked out and the Cliffords and the Callahans and they had to take a backseat and that didn't happen very much in the past but I hope it'll happen in the future more than it has happened in the past. That's exactly it and obviously we mentioned Dublin there we probably have to give a special mention to James McCarty who announced his retirement from Inter-County Football Would you believe it? He has nine times, he's nine Celtic Cross winners so he's nine All-Ireland winners, that's unbelievable 15 year career with the Dublin senior footballers he's been he's been a class act for the blue shirt there in the Dublin jersey and to record six in a row Ireland wins between 2015 to 2020 it's been huge and when you see the likes of Stephen Crookston and Michael Fitzsimons there they've all won Sears and other titles he's won an under 21 title two under 21 Leinster medals as well and he also capped in Dublin in that 2023 All-Ireland win as well for a guy that's been on the road a while he's he's Dublin through and through and I'm sure he'll have a well-earned well-earned retirement after this I've always, myself personally I've been Dublin supporter when they were going well and delighted that they made history as well because they deserved it but having said all that I rate Darren McCarty who retired there a couple of years ago and McCarty in the last few days I rate them as the backbone of the Dublin Victorious teams over the last two years them to me were the star watch that kept that Dublin team going the way they did go and they'll be a tremendous loss but having said that as you mentioned about nine All-Irelands and there's another man that has nine All-Irelands I think Fitzsimons and I don't hear Anthon as well as Crookston they haven't said Anthon about retiring yet but he has done the right thing he has retired, he'll be greatly missed no more than McCarty as Crookston will be when he retires as will Fitzsimons be when he retires but there's no mention of that yet and one footnote I have to make is this, the Blues will be there again come next year and they'll be a force in the championship and that is for sure I know there's a bit of a transition in Dublin now but there's a couple of young lads coming through and there's no bad footballer really in Dublin if you're wearing that blue of Dublin you're there on Mervs and you're there because they have such a wide range of cooler players to pick from in Dublin and if you're one of them in that 30 you deserve to be in that 30 so if you don't pull your weight there'll be players out there that'll want to be part of that panel so it'll be a big year for Dublin coming up now before we switch to Ireland now probably the big talk really was the changes to the game and I'm sure you have plenty to say about that I'm sure well I'm glad I got the opportunity because it was bothering me quite a bit since they were announced and I won't spend all day talking about it either but I watched the matches there the night, the weekend it was introduced and I saw the first Friday night there and Cranach and Linsda I thought Linsda were a team that didn't want to be there as the performance showed, I mean Cranach beat them well and with all the stars that had on the Linsda team but anyway to me that was a farcical night, that Friday night then it was followed up on Saturday and a lot of people mightn't agree with me but there was a lot of farce about Saturday as well and these new rules and these new regulations and all the rest but now I've talked to quite a lot of fellas and they all are of the same opinion that it hasn't done a hell of a lot to improve the standard of Gaelic football and that weekend didn't do anything to improve the standard of Gaelic football and then what bothered me and annoyed me really was this, you had a big committee and Jim Gavin I think was the chairman, a man I have and still have great respect for but I think they made a big in many aspects of the introduction of the new rules, firstly they had to go back on the 4 pints for a goal and 2 pints for a free so far out, that is not going before Congress and to me that was a farce that should never have been introduced and secondly the thing is it hasn't done away with what I think was the rules of the Gaelic football going the way it was, this hand passing it's still in play it was very much in play over the weekend it was introduced, it's still in play and to me that was the first thing that should have been looked at more seriously than it was and this thing about the goalie being up on the full forward line having the goalies in the past, the last couple of years that have gone out the gate when there was a wall and a fence between them the goalies, so to me farcical to a large extent some aspects of it I agree with but generally speaking it certainly isn't in my category to accept part of what was introduced well that's exactly it and it's it's not really improving the game at all they still have a lot to look at it's been probably one of the poorest championships in football and you know there's a lot of talk, a lot of changes a lot of experimenting as you could say and it hasn't done on the way as it should and it's a pity but hopefully things will come around and the game will improve in the next couple of years. Before we leave here Francie, we'll switch to Ireland, obviously Shane O'Donnell being named Hurler of the Year very unbelievable and if you're looking at the star 15 in that Ireland, it is an all Munster, all star team there now so plenty of cork, plenty of clay plenty of limerick and you know it's when you have a team like Hergerty in there, Shane O'Donnell Shane Barrett Tony Kelly there it's been a strong Munster year really in Ireland. Well from the point of view of Shane O'Donnell I'm sure lots of people would delight as well other than clear people but certainly I was because as you had mentioned there at the beginning, he got through bad injury patches in his career and he has come back after what, 11 years or something playing for Clare and he has reached the summit he is player of the year he deserves it and to have won it this year I think was most difficult because you had limerick there who were featuring, you know top class players you had cork who had some top class performances and you had Kilkenny I suppose as well and to achieve what he did, certainly he deserved it and certainly it was a boost and a great boost for Clare and certainly Clare our team that have gone to the top will continue to be effective for the coming year and people that deserve what they get and he was one of them well that's exactly it and it's great to see Munster side of things doing so well cork a great year for Clare and obviously limerick it was a great spectacle in the All-Ireland Final moving closer to home as well Curvin had a big win in the football in the senior football against Mike Cullen I think it was probably Curvin probably shaded there as well but probably an overall good year for both teams, Mike Cullen they had a few tough games leading up to it there I think there were the Toombs there, it was tough Mike Cullen has always been a decent side though, Curvin had an easy enough semi-final win over Salt Hill 111 to 5 points where Mike Cullen in the semi-final won 10 to Toombs there, 10 points and then obviously the final was 2-9 to 9 points to Curvin, as you say goals and that two goals were the difference between the two sides so a big win for Curvin, that'll push on and probably try for Connacht and the All-Ireland Well I watched, I mean I listened to a lot of the matches on Galway Bay but I watched that particular one, the final and I have to say as I stepped in and I feel still that Mike Cullen was disappointed, I was praying that Mike Cullen would win like a lot of us but it wasn't to be it wasn't to be because I know conditions were atrocious and everything else but I always say conditions are bad for one team, they're bad for the other team, very very I might as well say now, personal view, very very disappointed Mike Cullen's performance I thought you know until they gave away that stupid, stupid, stupid goal that the goalie gave away and I mean they were holding everyone up to that even though it was in the early stages of the match but in the overall context I thought Mike Cullen were poor and with the class of players they had they didn't produce it on the day Mike Cullen, Curvin looked supreme but they weren't as supreme as people think because I think Mike Cullen played fair, fair below pair and it told in the end And I think it was Kier Mulloy with the man of the match performance and as you say in poor conditions but both teams have to play in it and you know if one team is, as you said, if they weren't up to it or they just lacked that bit of sharpness Curvin will definitely have that experience to see games out and truly is what they did you know? Well I do hope that Curvin will continue on and probably win the All-Ireland but I'm only specifically talking about the county final and then you have Seiss well he's not as old as I am but he's he's old for a player of any calibre and he had a performance and the scores he got and everything else now that to me isn't reality because a 39 or 40 year old man shouldn't have that advantage over a younger opposition that is Berken or Empton so you know again without dwelling too long, Mike Holland wasn't at the races that day, they were played below par told in the end and then footnote to all that in is this, I saw there during the week that Michael Murphy is coming back from retirement for Dundee Gaal now I thought Jim McGuinness, you know I thought Jim McGuinness was, he fancies himself as the Alex Ferguson of Gaelic football but going after McGuinness at 35 years of age certainly isn't a step forward, it's a step backward in my opinion and maybe he just has to apologise for being nominated footballer of the year, maybe maybe a few more of them will be coming back up to 38, 40 so watch that space we will indeed you might have an unbelievable year for Dundee Gaal, you never know but Francie, it was a pleasure having you on same as that same as that and you know look after yourselves and keep safe and for your old buddies they're passing themselves off all reunited, men and women they're having a fantastic year and they can have a well earned break now in the off season and recharge the batteries as you say and I was talking to one of the top guys there one of them there last week Gaal reunited and the first man that was mentioned was you when they heard I was from Clifton well I hope that's a good sign, I hope it was all good words good luck to you thank you so much broadcasting on 87.8 and 106.1 FM you can also listen in to us from outside of the Connemara area on our website www.connemarafm.com www.connemarafm.com good morning to you and hope all is good with you on the lovely island of Sunday morning 09541616 if you'd like a song played yeah, Lee Dorsey followed by Captain Beefheart where else would you get it, Connemara Community Radio and I hope you can let's talk to our crew that was a great tune by Fairport Convention and Ice Come All, a wee bit of King going on there, we were dancing around the kitchen Patrick Eskett Radio from Connemara that's it for tonight hope that you'll tune in again next week Connemara Community Radio thank you very much for listening and I hope you enjoyed all of the music now guys that was Fancy Foley at All Things GA big congrats to Paul Conroy on winning Footballer of the Year at the GA All-Star Awards and it's first for St James' their first All-Star he's been an ever-present in the goal team the 35 year old, but he's still getting younger with age, which is what he's getting he's been a fine a fine brand of footballer at the minute, which is great to see so a big thank you to Fancy Foley for coming on the show and everyone in the show guys I had Anthony Kern from Galway Bay Studio and obviously he's set up his own business as well and he's involved with West Coast United and Galway United so it's great to see such a young person doing so well in sport as well and for anyone that wants to get into sport full time and make it as a job not more than a hobby he is an inspiration there too anyone that wants to get into sport and to be as a full time job because a lot of people think you don't get paid in these types of sports and stuff like that but it's great to see such a young guy doing so well he's got his qualifications in GTI and Bolton University and now he's involved with Galway United for the last couple of years with London and then also Galway Bay Studio and now onto his own business so we want to wish him all the best look and then guys just before we go, obviously plenty of will be featured in the next coming week as the show is coming to an end you can switch off the radio and turn on the TV and in about 10 minutes time you have Ireland versus New Zealand in the Viva Stadium in Dublin and that kicks off at 8.10pm and that is the start of the Autumn internationals where Ireland play four home games so it is Friday the 8th this evening along with Friday the 15th versus Argentina and all these four games are in the Viva Stadium in Dublin and that is kicking off also at 8.10pm and then Saturday the 23rd and Saturday the 30th of November Ireland play Fiji and Australia both at home with kick-offs, the afternoon kick-offs with 3.10 kick-offs so plenty of action for the Autumn now guys plenty of rugby that will be a nice warm-up before the Six Nations start on February 1st and the first game is against England so plenty of rugby action and I'm sure Connacht will be looking out for a few of these players that have started the season so well for Connacht as well so no doubt Bundiak will be one of them as well unfortunately guys that is it for me guys so you can sit sit up and relax, get the tea ready watch the Ireland and New Zealand game on RT and I'm sure you'll enjoy the weekend guys so be safe out there, if there's anyone travelling just be careful make sure you get there safe and sound and that is it for me guys .