2009 Guinness Hurling Hurling Championship advertising

Fruit of my loins:

It was a few months ago now, on a bright morning by the seaside. I sat down with the good people of Irish International Proximity Ltd and brainstormed. There were questions, there were answers and lots of head scratching.

But, by the end, there was something achieved, something born.

What was concieved was the in-pub and background advertising for the 2009 Guinness Hurling Hurling Championship. I was the GAA advisor on the content, posters and up-coming scratch cardss. All the details went to the printers last week and the results will be in the pubs, clubs and venues around the 12 Liam McCarthy Counties very soon. Watch out for my quote summing up the summer ahead.

The start of the advertising campaign started this week with the launch of the Exclusive Guinness Supporters Nights

Coulter was 'wrong'

Benny Coulter is an honest guy and when asked was he right to start last weekend's Ulster SFC defeat to Fermanagh, he is brutally honest.

My article on the Down marksman appeared in a host of National newspapers this morning including the Irish Daily Star, The Irish Daily Mirror and The Irish Independent.

Here is an online version of my story.

He is my hero

It's that time of year again when the U-21 2009 Hero of the Future is awarded. Croke Park will be filled with the good of the GAA tonight to toast the winner. My betting is that it will be Cork Captain Colm O'Neill. He had a stunning championship and deserves to lift more silverware. Peter Fitzpatrick from Down, who played at number 14 against Fermanagh last weekend, is also a candidate and definitely one for the future.

I will update in the morning as to the winner was and how the night went.

Well as it turned out Mr O'Neill was the winner and a worthy one at that. It was a well run night in the players lounge in Croke Park, with family and friends of the nominee's all gathered to celebrate what was a very good Championship.

Christy Ring Cup

Blink and you'll miss it.

Sometimes in the GAA you just have to sit back, listen to the crack of the hurl and wonder why. Sensibly the Croke Park powers have listened to the grass roots and made winning the Christy Ring Cup a worthwhile exercise. The carrot, of playing with the big boys in the Liam McCarthy Cup, is now there for all in tier two to hurl for.

But before you know it the Christy Ring will be decided and all before the summer has got going. It is still early days in the 2009 GAA Championship, but already I have been at a quarter-final of an All-Ireland competition.

Albeit it was of a lower quality than most of the rest of the hurling stable this summer. Saturday's game was none-the-less a big game in the scheme of things. Carlow are the coming force from tier two of hurling and John Greene has them singing a pretty tune, which overpowered a tired looking Kildare side. Details from my report are here.

They lack that killer first touch and ruthless streak to put away a team, but Carlow - at the minute - are the best of the rest in terms of hurling in Ireland. They have a semi on June 6th and then the final a week later - if it doesn't clash with an Ulster Hurling Championship game.

The Christy Ring Cup will be all over before Christy Cooney has had to field his first questions on the Kilkenny dominance. But who will care? Carlow, most likely, will be celebrating back-to-back titles, but it won't be enough when they have to wait until the 'real' action is over to find out if they make it to hurling nirvana.

The GAA are - by nature - a confusing organisation at times, so here is a decent run down of how the hurling championship pans out for the summer