Mark McDonagh

@EoinLenihan It's all worth remembering how Noel totally disregarded locals in Barna and tried to ram as many houses as possible close to the shore line in Barna connachttribune.ie/news/galway-ci…

These protests have truly thrown the cat among the pigeons in the upcoming Galway West by-election next month. It is worth remembering that Noel Thomas didn't only stand with the fuel protestors but he was forced out of Fianna Fail for standing up for locals against IPAS madness - notably at Killaguile House in 2023. His house was raided as a result of simply standing up for his constituents. He has earned his stripes and if he takes a seat next month for Independent Ireland, he'll be the first candidate elected off the back of the new coalition of farmers, hauliers, IPAS protestors and those who have lost their livelihoods due to government incompetence in tourism and hospitality. 👇👇👇

I was driving my new BMW i4 this morning. 536 horsepower. 0g CO2 emissions. I approached a major intersection on the Leopoldstraße. I needed to turn left. I checked my mirrors. I executed the turn flawlessly. Behind me, a man in a Ford Fiesta leaned on his horn. He was furious. He pulled up next to me at the next red light, red-faced, rolling down his window. "Hey! Are your indicators broken, asshole? You almost caused a crash!" I rolled down my acoustic glass window silently. "Sir," I stated calmly. "My vehicle is in perfect working order." "Then why didn't you signal?" he sputtered. "Because of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)." He looked confused. "What?" I explained. "My intended direction of travel is Personally Identifiable Information (PII) under Article 4." "By activating my amber indicator, I am broadcasting my future location data to unverified third parties without your explicit consent to process that data." "Do you have a Data Processing Agreement with me? Do you have a 'Legitimate Interest' under Article 6(1)(f) to know that I am going to the recycling center?" "No. You do not." "Where I am going is none of your business. My trajectory is encrypted." I rolled up the window. The light turned green. I left him there, processing the regulatory framework.

@LouisGunnigan @MickFoley76 Seems low if anything given the peat etc it will be challenging for a contractor to put a fixed price in for it

@MickFoley76 Suddenly €15m is not an outlandish figure

Hmmm. I think Currans cost Kerry GAA 8m? Faithful Fields in Offaly was around 3m. Garvaghy in Tyrone back in the day, again 8m. Why another Centre of Excellence 20mins from the Connacht GAA centre in Bekan? 15m seems a lot, especially for a county burnt by debt in the past.

@Galway_GAA @caltra_gaa @CLG_AnSpideal Mattie Kilroy is one happy man there 👍

Sweeney Oil Intermediate Football Final 🏆 Full time result Caltra 1-18 An Spidéal 1-16 Congratulations @caltra_gaa who return to the Senior ranks for 2026 Commiserations to @CLG_AnSpideal 👏 #galwayfootball

@PharmacySlane @PlayerGaelic I like the idea of developers v developers, but you don't see many coaching manuals encouraging this approach! What age group do you coach ?

@PlayerGaelic I do this every session. Particularly this time of year when important strong vs strong, developers vs developers.....makes for competitive sessions....championship feel

One of the best things I’ve seen coaches do is…..bib players as they do the warm-up. Teams are sorted without fuss and without lining players up and letting them pick. The best coaches have already decided the teams before training and are ready to adapt to cover absence.

@ShaneSmith197 Agreed, but it's important to ensure its meaningful game time, especially at younger age groups where stronger kids can totally dominate games, meaning weaker kids get very little touches

As many sports return after the summer break, its worth remembering that A. No child should be giving up sports because they're a sub every week. B. No child should be giving up sports because of insufficient game time.

@movementcoachkm Sound 👍

@mfmcdonagh Hey Mark The promo was for 24 hours Will be back in a couple of weeks with completed ebook

***Pre-Order Special*** Using a Constraints Led Approach to Coaching Gaelic Football Ebook Most importantly I have added an accompanying Video Library (see image for some title insights) practically expanding on the content of the book and multiple areas of the game and how you can design practices for; - Task simplicity - developing individuals in a team setting - The family of practices we can use - General principles of play (suitable for youth & adult) - Kickouts - Beating a Press - Transitions …and more Pre-Order now here buy.stripe.com/aFacN6enR8r2fy… or using the barcode and get 9 euro off public launch price. Also getting it earlier. Next tweet below 👇 is a little intro video also showing contents of the Ebook In the following tweets a few samples of the videos and types of practices I delve into. This is not a complex book. I’ve had people from a few different areas and levels of experience proof read it. And it’s a reference. The ebook a reference to the videos & visa versa and both just some resource you can go back to while you are out in the wild coaching. Any questions or last minute requests to put in (I’m about 85% finished) please let me know.

@movementcoachkm 100% Kevin, often you'll see clubs playing 12 aside games at u6s , then wondering why their numbers are low at u10s etc you'll never get some of these kids to come back again especially if the parents aren't particularly interested in sports

GAA clubs need to put a stop to these “academies” and “little blues” and “little ballymac” asking for 4 year olds now to go down to organised training!! It’s insane and goes against all sorts of normal development both motor and neurobiological. They get enough at school. You are not qualified enough to be doing these sessions, I know that for an absolute fact. Because the GAA isn’t qualified for it. The GAA doesn’t deliver any course of scientific reliability for people dealing with small children like this. In fact just doing it shows there is a lack of expertise involved. The answer is not to do it. Usually what it’s for is to get ahead of the local soccer or rugby club. Or as a money maker. But let those sports at it. They are ensuring that some kids are turned off those sports early. My biggest concern is that some kids will be turned off organised sport and maybe even exercise for life. This is happening years. I’m still hearing of coaches roaring at 5/6/7 year olds to “get stuck in” and “pull hard” and all this other adult led bullshit. Especially prevalent in hurling. You are doing more damage than good, take a step back and think logically. I’m not a nostalgic but I do believe in organic development. When we were growing up we started getting some bit formal around 8/9 in school. But really u12 was the first competition or formal team. It flowed well. It was obviously what fitted well for us as kids. And while the horse has bolted and clubs now operate with younger kids and some of it is good, going down below 7 is madness. For me this early race to the bottom has an awful lot to do with early drop out. Kids get sick of what being told to do everywhere, so they move away from it. If you think you are in competition for members, it would be a good idea to step away and go do something else. It’s not for you, you have the wrong motives

@TCroninNap Good man Tom 💪💪

Hell of the West 2025

@MichaelGerardD Thanks @MichaelGerardD some fantastic ideas there, especially for helping weaker kids !!

🦵🏐THE SOLO JOURNEY🏐🦵 -Here are some movements / steps / ideas that might help along the way ⚽️🎈Drop & kick beach ball/balloon ⭕️Bring cone from foot to hands 🎽Step-Drop-Kick bib 🦶👃Explore kicking different footballs with your ‘Toes to Nose’ 🏃🏻Solo races 🆚 Solo battles

@BellewPaul @Galway_GAA Great work Paul 💪💪

An important pre Christmas milestone for @Galway_GAA with the floodlights completed and tested in Pearse Stadium this evening. All set up for a huge weekend at the end of January.

@Barnacles09 @CTribune Too early to call the outcome of the first four seats Dara ??

Galway West tally 92% of boxes has seven candidates in the mix for five seats #galwaywest #Ge24 #GeneralElection2024 @CTribune transfers crucial from Labour 3% Greens 3% and Soc Dem 4%

@Barnacles09 💪💪💪

FF’s John Connolly outpolling running mate Gráinne Seoige in his home patch of Bearna #galwaywest #GeneralElection2024

@griptmedia His record on planning is very dubious, happy to block social housing  archive.connachttribune.ie/opposition-gro… but ten months later he's campaigning for high density private housing on the sea shore in Barna, a village where the sewage system is in serious bother !! archive.connachttribune.ie/councillors-re…

#GE24 Independent Ireland candidate for Galway West, Cllr. Noel Thomas, says Irish people are “struggling” with the cost of living while people “coming into the country” are “getting everything they want”. gript.ie/struggling-iri…

@seangclancy Same scenario in Barna change.org/p/galway-count… why was Noel pushing for high density housing in Barna??

@mfmcdonagh Answer in the article 'Residents’ associations, local community groups and clubs are among those opposing the plans, and want the parcel of land kept for recreation and amenity.

Noel Thomas Independent Ireland running in up coming elections. This man has been doing work like this for over 20 years (and not for photo ops either). He works tirelessly 24/7 for his community. If you rang him at 4 in the morning for help he'd answer your call.

@seangclancy Yet happy to block houses in moycullen, the man is a hypocrite at best... archive.connachttribune.ie/opposition-gro…

@seangclancy I contacted regarding why he wanted housing on the shoreline in Barna, he never responded ... archive.connachttribune.ie/councillors-re…

@DeasunO @russellearnshaw @TheMagicAcademy @uniofgalway @ConnachtGAA @unigalwaysport very enjoyable session @russellearnshaw Thanks for organising it @DeasunO

We were very lucky to have @russellearnshaw @TheMagicAcademy deliver a very interactive workshop at the @uniofgalway great to see so many community coaches at the event. We even got a chance to watch some games in the @uniofgalway @ConnachtGAA dome. More CPD tomorrow !

@TerenceUlster @PlayerGaelic I like that approach, it avoids weaker players walking away from a game with only one or two touches, @TerenceUlster do many clubs follow this approach?

@PlayerGaelic Depends on ability as in any group of underage players you will have at least three ability groups that you must cater for ie the ‘screen’ kids where 3/4 aside on pitches 30/20m should suffice. Average kids play 5/6 aside 40/30m & the more skilful ones 7/8 aside 60/40m.

For U8s playing football, what should team size be and what are the best pitch dimensions?