As an exclusive perk, Irish News subscribers were given the chance to put their questions to our team of award-winning GAA writers.
Talking Points included the Ulster club semi-finals, rule changes, fitness levels, a revived hurling championship and more.
Check out the questions and answers below, and to be part of the conversation next time, you can subscribe to The Irish News here.
How do you see the Errigal Ciaran v Clann Eireann game going?
Kenny Archer: I might have made my mind up by the time I finish the match preview – and even then I’ll probably be wrong. Two well-matched teams, who even share the same initials, will be hard to separate.
Both have a wide range of scoring options beyond their big-name players, so curtailing Conor Turbitt and Barry McCambridge or the Canavans won’t be enough. A gut feeling that there’s more to come from Errigal than they’ve mostly shown so far, which may edge it for them.
Given the impending rule changes what county do you think is best equipped to benefit from the changes? (Kieran Donnelly)
Cahair O’Kane: No doubt in my mind that they will initially suit Kerry and Dublin best. They’re the two fastest teams at going from end to the other on a turnover, because they’re still more conditioned to use the boot than anyone else. Others will adapt but in 2025, they’ll have a head start.
Do you think that the winners of Division 1 in each county should also play in the Ulster club championship. If the Division 1 winners also win the Championship then the second placed team in the league enter the Ulster championship. Would this bring a bit of meaning back to Division 1 leagues where withstanding Tyrone all other counties Division 1 football leagues are a bit of a joke?
Cahair O’Kane: Someone suggested this to me a few months ago and I thought it was a great idea, with a few logistical challenges.
The more I think of it, there’s definitely merit in it. I agree that club leagues have become a joke. The one concern is that it might weaken a brilliant provincial series unless all nine counties buy in.
Hi, just wondering how the new rules are going to be implemented at club level and in particular down the grades?
Cahair O’Kane: In time they will be, but there’s a growing feeling that they won’t be implemented for the club season in 2025, that it will become a trial year before being introduced to the club in ‘26. The concern is that they might not come in at all. Has been worrying talk of the two-point/kickout arc being dropped. That would undermine the whole process.
After Ulster performed a clean sweep of all county titles in football this year, what can be done to get more Ulster counties competing for Liam McCarthy?
Kenny Archer: A lot – and also very little. Ulster hurling is competing against history, geography – and football. Realistically,
Antrim are competing ‘in’ the Liam MacCarthy, not ‘for’ it. Ulster counties need so much more to keep raising standards: most of all, more participants; more clubs in counties where there are very few; more schools involvement, from primary level onwards; more coaches and more coaching; more buy-in – and pay-out - from county boards; more support from Central Council; more matches against southern opponents.
Even getting one of the four counties in Division Two up to a higher level, and staying there, would be a positive step along what’s sure to be a long, hard road.
Which team in Ulster is best positioned to win an All-Ireland this year?
Neil Loughran: It is the obvious answer, but Armagh.
Having batted their heads against the wall for so many years, to the point that it felt as though they may have reached their ceiling, making the breakthrough should do wonders for their belief heading into 2025.
A couple of points, however. The proposed new rules, should they get the green light next week, will require a rethink of the zonal defensive approach that proved the bedrock of their summer success.
And then there is the cautionary tale of Tyrone in 2021. The Red Hands won that Covid Championship, but have been nowhere near since. Being the hunted is entirely different to being the hunter.
Donegal, in their second year under Jim McGuinness, will fancy their chances of pushing on again. That All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Galway must still sting, given the opportunity this year’s Championship threw up.
Tyrone with Malachy O’Rourke in charge, Derry might have another kick under Paddy Tally after a bizarre 2024. Interesting times ahead.
Why does Antrim continually underachieve?
Neil Loughran: That all depends on what your expectations are.
Antrim may be home to Ireland’s second city but getting the best out of Belfast, from a Gaelic Games perspective, is a huge challenge that has endured for years.
It took Dublin a long time - allied to huge, and intelligently targeted, investment - to get on top in this regard too, the net result of which has borne fruit in spectacular fashion across the past decade. It still feels as though Antrim are a long, long way from that.
There’s no doubt that, in the past, Antrim had a name for chaos. Maybe mud still sticks to a degree, but that is probably unfair given the work going into elevating standards in more recent times.
The Casement Park saga has been a huge impediment to progress, but the establishment of the Saffron Business Forum has helped bring a cohesion and focus to their endeavours that was not always there.
Darren Gleeson raised the bar in his five years at the helm of the hurlers – pushing Antrim out of the middle ground and towards the top tier. With that came a change in culture; rather than revolving door of players coming and going as they pleased, representing Antrim became a source of pride.
It became something to strive towards. Davy Fitzgerald’s appointment shows the ambition to kick on again.
The footballers haven’t followed quite the same trajectory, but have stabilised under Andy McEntee – steering clear of Division Four in consecutive years for the first time since the days of Liam ‘Baker’ Bradley, in what is an increasingly competitive landscape.
Could a revived Ulster Hurling Championship be a success and give the game across the province a higher profile? If it happened where would Antrim fit in - a bye to the final?
Neil Loughran: Having grown up enjoying the hot and heavy battles between Antrim, Down and Derry, I firmly believe there is a place for an Ulster Championship – with the manner in which it was disregarded, quite rightly, leaving a bitter taste.
Antrim are now mixing it with hurling’s elite in Division One and the Leinster Championship. Down have developed impressively in recent years, Derry are not far behind them, while remaining Ulster counties would all surely welcome some sort of provincial interaction.
Of course, nobody needs to see Antrim hockey a county operating levels below, so retaining their automatic bye to the final makes sense.
Do you think with the current fitness levels across all levels at GAA, the length of club and county games could be extended? Eamonn (Glengormley)
Andy Watters: There’s more of an argument for county than club here. Adding 20 extra minutes to a game would mean more space opening up in the closing stages but, on the flipside, that would mean even greater fitness levels would be required. That means more training for amateur players who are already making massive sacrifices.
What further role could the GAA play in the ongoing debate around the re-unification of Ireland?
Andy Watters: As a 32-county Association, I think the GAA plays a very positive role in this regard. The GAA works increasingly hard to promote the game across communities and that needs to continue.
What are your thoughts on on-field medal presentations after finals in the same way every other sport presents medals as opposed to in a box months later?
Andy Watters: I don’t see why medals couldn’t be given out straight away.
Of course you want to get your hands on it as quickly as possible but, then again, the main thing is that you’ve won one. The couple I won were received in the closed season and that was a chance to get the squad back together and then embark on another evening of celebration.