In fairness, no less silly than a 10-team Northern division including 4 Donegal teams all located within about 40kms of each other would be. May as well make it a Donegal League so.Originally Posted by joey B
Great info, thanks for the insight cláirseach. I know the area but never made the connection. Makes much more sense now!
According to Irish Football Blog, it looks like they've now confirmed they haven't expressed interest.
Edit: tried to edit my post, seems like it was deleted instead.
What is the Irish Football Blog? Are they reliable?
It'll be interesting to see how the tiered academy structures takes off, whenever it does. Potentially up to 8 or 9 based on population size could/should target the top tier academy status. Possibly all LoI clubs should be looking to attain an agreeable medium tier academy. A basic academy might just be a case of having academy teams?
Any National League clubs should possibly be looking at having academy teams. Where those academy teams would fit in the national picture would have to be worked out. Should academies teams operate within leagues that reflect the academy grading e.g. top tier grade academies and possibly mid tier grade academies in one league, and all the basic academies within a separate academy league?
So there is potentially more interest in Donegal in supporting 4 or 5 clubs than one overall club where professional football might be attainable?
If that is the case it is a reflection of how different regions can be eh.. different! Seems Kerry and Mayo can get behind one club but again there is no one size that fits all and that's perfectly fine. Carlow and Kilkenny seem to think a joint approach suits them, and that's perfectly fine also.
https://foot.ie/forums/117-Kerry-FC
A Championship: 4 years - 8 first teams - 0 financially ruined. First Division '14: 7 first teams.
Opportunity lost for new clubs/regions to join the LoI family.
Think their credibility took several hits in the off season after coming out with outright 100% incorrect transfer rumours which were deleted after they were swiftly proved wrong
Paaatrick's Agletic
The best one ever was a year ago when they linked Sam Warde to Treaty.
Sam may be from Limerick, but he was residing in Australia at the time.
Mayo officially confirmed:
https://www.westernpeople.ie/sport/m...rid-50569.html
This is an interesting point and one that could probably branch off into a separate thread. I reckon you need the population to sustain a professional team at a national level but also the interest, which is generated in the main by the club's success both on and off the field.
I've seen it discussed elsewhere that the county team model is used to overcome parochial issues so everyone gets behind one team but I never thought this was a good solution as the team has to have a training pitch and playing pitch based somewhere so you can, at most, only cover two areas.
We've yet to see if Kerry, Mayo and CK United will go the same way as Kildare County, Kilkenny and Dublin City (and I really hope they don't) but should they establish themselves I think the difference will be that they came through the underage leagues. We're talking parents driving kids to training since they were 12, watching older cousins playing in the U19s, the cousins reffing the U14s, aunts and uncles organising club events, building the attachment, etc. That's why people stick with clubs when on-field success is not forthcoming and what separates a club from a team imho.
Probably about as reliable as anyone on Twitter these days but just wanted to point out that he had retracted his claim that Montpelier FC had applied.
I hadn't heard any rumours about them before his post and was quite surprised as they wouldn't be a traditional heavyweight.
How is the non-league situation in Kerry? Is there a significant number of clubs and more importantly a real local rivalry betweeen them? If it is pretty amicable between clubs then its possible that they could support a club under one umbrella like Kerry FC. But couties like Meath, Louth even, Im sure plenty others and Id say Donegal is amongst these have a ...lively non-league scene. Rivalries can have more animosity than between senior clubs. This would be a major obstacle to a county model which is ok occasionally but both too GAA for me and has as many fails as successes when a new entity tries to appeal to too many. Wexford worked based on its original purpose which was to provide a pathway for Wexford youth players. Kildare failed because they were rebranded Newbridge. Kerry looks a success so far but Galway 'United' fell apart when more than one club tried to combine for senior ball. You are correct that its horses for courses but if ye see reports in local papers of fighting, lots of red cards, games abandoned (due to risk to ref or cause of ref decisions) then you can bet that clubs dont get on and there wont be thinking that there are too many clubs applying from the one region - they wont care as long as they are keeping up with the neighbours and will never come together for the greater good!
Last edited by Nesta99; 09/03/2025 at 5:32 PM.
Again, Galway Utd's demise was nothing to do with Mervue and Salthill.
Leaving "county model" aside, the Kerry District League competed in the Eircom U21 League many many years ago. The Kerry League then competed in the League Cup for many years, knocking out Waterford United in 2008! I think it was 2016 then that Kerry League joined the Academy Leagues which eventually resulted in the formation of Kerry FC in late 2022.
Between all this and the Oscar Traynor Cup, Kerry League has had a good history of representative football. The formation of Kerry FC was a natural step.
I think Mayo League are similar enough though they have not been as prominent as Kerry League. The formation of Mayo FC has been a similar natural step for them.
I don't think any other district leagues have that history of representative football of joining the league cup when the opportunity was there and then the academy leagues.
If Donegal and Meath have struggled to come together for representative football, the foundations are not there really for the formation of one club for those regions.
On whether any Kerry District League club have aspirations to join the National League, I honestly don't know. After Killarney Celtic took on both Kerry FC and Cobh Ramblers in preseason I was asking the question might they be tempted. Haven't heard anything to suggest they are.
LoI clubs are understandably casting a wide net to bring the best players within budget and means. It does open the door however for a local rival club who might want to offer the best local talent an opportunity to play at the highest level. Is there any LoI club based solely on the best local talent?
https://foot.ie/forums/117-Kerry-FC
A Championship: 4 years - 8 first teams - 0 financially ruined. First Division '14: 7 first teams.
Opportunity lost for new clubs/regions to join the LoI family.
I would say Wexford held to local talent for longest. Over the years Dundalk tried it but ultimately it rarely worked out. There are sides that did have good local representation like the 2002 cup winners (that were also relegated). There are/were no shortage of people and clubs that believed that they were better than LoI sides when the stats show otherwise. Perception is powerful though but thankfully people now tend more to see the obvious. There were undoubtedly players locally that wre good enough for Dundalk and eve byond but their effort didnt meet talent so never met potential. I could name 4 or 5 definites in Dundalk alone (over my years).
One critique that can be made is that while a number of players who didn't make the breakthrough at Kerry (Matt Keane, Cian Cooney, Victor Udeze, Steven O'Mahoney) are playing with clubs in the KDL, conversely there has been no real movement in the other direction, even though on paper players within the league might have merited trials in the close/preseason (Luke Doolan of Killarney Athletic being the most promising prospect at present, though the Lowth brothers at Dynamos, and the evergreen Paudie Quinn of Listowel Celtic are all capable.)
Details details, Galway FA was difficult, GUST tried to go alone and then took some convincing to do the United thing but it wasnt an easy relationship and shows that it is hard to have multiple reluctant football organisations involved in one artificially formed club. I doubt that there wasnt some Salhill v Devon issues. If Comer money hadnt arisen would Galway FC still be tipping along happily?
All of that happened afterwards. The damage and debt was built up during a period before all that overseen by a certain rogue trader.
There is certainly room in Galway for a National League team or two.
I doubt there is a LoI fan that missed the irony of GUFCs original woes under Leeson after the DVD and independent committee's decision. After that GUST tried to put in a side but didnt get a licence but kept the lights on with an U19 side still existing. The FAI pushed Salthill, Mervue, GFA and GUST to unite as Galway FC and it was an uneasy alliance, GUST werent at all enthralled at the prospect and I would say that was becase of having to work with the self important Galway FA who as you know own ED Park. Wasnt there an issue with the bar and the GFA not allowing GUST to use it or demanding removal of furniture or something? Sooooo in relation to the point above it was not easy to get up and running Galway FC with different clubs and organisations involved, AFTER Galway United under Leeson got in to financial difficulty and ceased trading. As soon as the Comers were willing to get involved the alliance was quick to disolve but did at least rename as Galway United again and are in a good shout of getting in to Europe subsequently this season. Galway FC is an example of where individual (ie GFA) suits would get in the way of formig a club trying to appeal to a wider group rather than focusing on the existing fanbase of GUFC. Im sure there were issues between the 2 clubs involved. Maybe they were relieved at getting out of senior football directly as the financial challanges bit?! Whatever about non-league but 3 senior sides was too many for Galway City. If they all end up in senior football on merit then so be it, it wont be a case of keeping up with the jones's as it was when Salthill and Mervue both wanted in to LoI potentially to compete with GUFC. It all demonstrates fractious relationshipS at the time and not a togetherness to do a Kerry FC.
Kerry District League and Mayo District League have been unique in being able to come together for representative football outside of the Oscar Traynor Cup, despite local rivalries. Tralee Dynamos and Castlebar Celtic didn't gain too much traction in the A Championship. It will be difficult for other regions to establish a club similar to the journey Kerry League and Mayo League took, without that strong ethos of representative football down through the years.
https://foot.ie/forums/117-Kerry-FC
A Championship: 4 years - 8 first teams - 0 financially ruined. First Division '14: 7 first teams.
Opportunity lost for new clubs/regions to join the LoI family.
Even if 4 clubs have expressed interest in the new third tier from the Donegal area, I doubt the FAI will allow another Galwaygate scenario to happen!
When you consider there is no Ulster Senior League or a Connaught Senior League for some of these clubs to consider over the years, I suppose this new proposal looks like a great opportunity for some progressive clubs!
Last edited by nr637; 10/03/2025 at 9:35 AM.
How many times do people here in the know have to explain that while 3 galway clubs was not ideal, it was not the reason Galway collapsed before it stops being repeated as fact
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