What regions embrace or dismissive of LoI football?

[legendz]

Cork seem to get decent support. Limerick hasn't embraced Premier Division football at all. Sligo seem to get good support from what I've seen. What regions are embracing LoI football? What regions are generally dismissive?

[Nesta99]

What regions are generally dismissive?

The island of Ireland!

[jinxy lilywhite]

I disagree re cork. Attendance's are good and should be applauded but from a city near 200,000 and god knows the surrounding environment their attendance is pretty petty IMO. Also they only have one team that seems to go from bang to bust in every generation.

In comparison with other sports the vast majority of folk are dismissive of the league.

Some warranted and others unwarranted.

[adamd164]

Traditionally football would be strongest in the former Garrison towns that had British forces bases and therefore played more football than GAA (e.g. Longford, Sligo) and most of the east coast (notably Louth, Dublin).

Whereas other areas (including a lot of the West/South West) have always been GAA strongholds where football - especially Irish football - is hated.

[adamd164]

I disagree re cork. Attendance's are good and should be applauded but from a city near 200,000 and god knows the surrounding environment their attendance is pretty petty IMO.

Yeah but I would also say it's also easier to galvanise a smaller town into a sense of local pride and involvement, which to be fair Dundalk and Sligo both tap into.

On the whole, attendances are poor for the whole league but some teams have the potential to be much bigger than they currently are with a bit of success.. e.g. Waterford, Derry, Limerick. Galway would get good crowds if competitive in the Premier.

[jinxy lilywhite]

Fair point lads and tbh honest I never considered a geographical divide in cork. Would or could Cork city provide a second side if there is possibly a part of the city unrepresented?
That is considering Cobh being a separate area

[Pablo Escobar]

Fair point lads and tbh honest I never considered a geographical divide in cork. Would or could Cork city provide a second side if there is possibly a part of the city unrepresented?
That is considering Cobh being a separate area

The fact that a major portion of our support come from within the general area of Turners Cross (including myself) would suggest that it would be possible. The metro Cork area has 410,000 people. When the club moved to a different area of the southside (Bishopstown) we lost a large portion of our support. This suggests that a second club, in a perfect world, could probably be supported. But any second club would surely act as a drain on the current Cork City.

[Jofspring]

Limerick doesn't embrace LOI soccer at all in my opinion. It's been the same regular heads for years. English football is king in Limerick, then junior soccer. Even at that no one really supports junior football, it's mainly made up of a few club men here and there and the players that play for the clubs. The only way we could really up the crowds is if we were consistently around the top of the table, winning trophies and playing nice football. Anything other than that and people will stick to their English and junior teams.

[White Horse]

The building of railways in Ireland was much more significant than the GAA/Provo slur of "garrison town". Dundalk is a case in point. Football was brought by railway workers, not soldiers.

[adamd164]

The building of railways in Ireland was much more significant than the GAA/Provo slur of "garrison town". Dundalk is a case in point. Football was brought by railway workers, not soldiers.

Just to be clear, I didn't intend it as a slur above.. and I am not a GAA fan at all. The opposite.

There is a clear link between the strength of the GAA in many counties and weakness of football in those regions, there may be a number of reasons that this is the case and I'd accept railways could be one!

[White Horse]

Just to be clear, I didn't intend it as a slur above.. and I am not a GAA fan at all. The opposite.

There is a clear link between the strength of the GAA in many counties and weakness of football in those regions, there may be a number of reasons that this is the case and I'd accept railways could be one!

I know you didn't and wasn't trying to make out that you did.

"Garrison town" is one of those cliches that people use while ignoring the complex social history of Ireland.

[citybone]

The fact that a major portion of our support come from within the general area of Turners Cross (including myself) would suggest that it would be possible. The metro Cork area has 410,000 people. When the club moved to a different area of the southside (Bishopstown) we lost a large portion of our support. This suggests that a second club, in a perfect world, could probably be supported. But any second club would surely act as a drain on the current Cork City.

If there was a second team in Cork they would have to be in the northside, around the Blackpool area would be best. cant see it happening and a second tea would hurt cork city's crowds but not a lot maybe 10/20%. There would be more people in cork to League of Ireland games in total if it did happen and a Cork Derby would be a certain sell out.

Cork city B team in the First Division would play in Bishopstown in front of 50-200 fans. Too far out of town and being the same club would not help supporter wise.

[The Donie Forde]

Cork can't support two teams any more; it's an ongoing struggle to support one.
In over 90 years of LOI football in the city, there has never been a northside team and there never will. Suggesting a team in the Blackpool area is just ridiculous. You might as well suggest a team in Farranree or Knocknaheeny or Mayfield...

Cork is, first and foremost, a GAA city and a GAA county - the most successful GAA county on the island, if you total up All-Ireland titles at all grades over the history of the GAA.

Sure, there is a LOI soccer culture in Cork, but it is a clearly minority pursuit. Why Cork clubs repeatedly fail is primarily down to the strength of the GAA. Of course, there have been more insane/ineffective/incompetent/egomaniacal chairmen at the helm in Cork than any city on the planet should have to suffer, but the essential problem is because it's a minority sport - much like in most of the country.

Also, the thing about the string of collapsed clubs over the decades is embarrassing and shameful. That's fully accepted. But, really, to hear that fact constantly being derided by (particularly) Dublin LOI fans is just laughable, considering (at my last count) the capital has had more than twice as many collapsed/lost LOI clubs than Cork.

Sadly, clubs going to the wall is far from a uniquely Leeside speciality. Even of the so-called long-established clubs, how many have not actually folded (many more than once) only to resurface with a new limited company running them and simply retaining the original club's name, leaving a stream of unpaid debts in their wake?

[Dodge]

Cork city B team in the First Division would play in Bishopstown in front of 50-200 fans. Too far out of town and being the same club would not help supporter wise.

The first team wasn't far off those figures when it moved to Bishopstown.

[pateen]

Lived in Galway for 7 years and never thought Galway United carried huge interest. Always tended to be the EPL.
Local soccer is very stong in Tipperary where I'm from.
Tipperary, Clonmel and Carraig all have decent followings for their local clubs

[outspoken]

For me this thread really is pointless (no offence) because as long as there is success and 'big events' the bandwagoners will surface in every county. Your talking about the strength of football in garrison towns ie longford but our home attendances show that to be complete tripe. The people of Longford are up there with galway as kings of the bandwagon and will follow any kind of success as our play off attendances proved last season.

[White Horse]

Lived in Galway for 7 years and never thought Galway United carried huge interest. Always tended to be the EPL.
Local soccer is very stong in Tipperary where I'm from.
Tipperary, Clonmel and Carraig all have decent followings for their local clubs

I always found that football is not that big in those areas where it's called "soccer".

[dundalkfc10]

I always found that football is not that big in those areas where it's called "soccer".

Plenty of people in Dundalk call it soccer!

[jinxy lilywhite]

Do they? serious question.

Association football is always Football or tippy tappy, Gaelic Football is either Bogball or Gaelic and hurling is hurling.

Cant remember if I ever heard the word "soccer" said

[dundalkfc10]

Do they? serious question.

Association football is always Football or tippy tappy, Gaelic Football is either Bogball or Gaelic and hurling is hurling.

Cant remember if I ever heard the word "soccer" said

Most kids who play both sports, would call Association football Soccer