Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Belfast got Ror deal in this tale of two cities..
THE GAA community in Belfast has been “left out” in the cold, according to Donegal manager Rory Gallagher. And the ex-st Gall’s star Rory Gallagher says Dublin has received far more support from Croke Park in terms of development. Speaking ahead of Donegal’s Ulster Championship clash with Antrim tomorrow week, Gallagher said he believed that Belfast was “left out”. He added: “Belfast is a huge area and for the sheer amount of players that they have, they need more coaches. “I saw when I was a full-time coach in Dublin what it was like and I saw the start of the hurling revolution in Dublin so I would love to see more investment in Belfast.” So why does a county like Antrim, that produced All-ireland club champions like St Gall’s, still struggle to make progress in the National League and Championship? “In that period when I played, in 2009 and 2010, St Gall’s and Cargin were the two top teams. “They had an awful lot of fantastic players but for one reason or another, they never all committed at the one time. “There is no doubt they had some great players but have not been able to make the big breakthrough. “There is a big population there and there were high expectations, but in that period they should have made a lot more of themselves.” When asked why the GAA in Belfast hasn’t developed along the lines of Dublin, Gallagher (inset) said: “Well Belfast definitely does not have the facilities that Dublin have, having played in both cities and having played with St Gall’s and seen the limited facilities they had. “We won an All-ireland club title and there were never any floodlights. “The showers got damaged for a period and we just didn’t shower. “But it didn’t bother us. “We trained and we had a great team spirit among ourselves. That was priceless and I learned some lessons there. “But the clubs out in the country – like Cargin, Creggan and Portglenone – had much better facilities. “The city is more expensive for the land and the areas they are living in, they don’t have the finance. “Dublin is miles ahead in terms of facilities.”