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An Fear Rua sets the standard | 20-May-2006 22:07 |
| The most famous of the oof-beat GAA sites, An Fear Rua (AFR) sets the standard to which all the other fanzines aspire. The sometimes irreverent site, with a strong Munster connection, is a veritable plethora of material, from thoughtful reflection to whimsical murmurings and a fine forum (with over 180,000 postings) full of knowing contributors. It even has its own AFR soap opera that puts Ros na Rún and Fair City to shame. Our favourite articles include 'A cat called Eamon de Valera' and 'You don't have to hurl for the people who collect your bin. Verdict: Huge volume of quality material, both funny and factual. 9/10 - Conor McKeon, 'The Irish Independent' |
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'Broadband' - eircom's broadband customer magazine | 3-Feb-2005 15:12 |
| For a more alternative and refreshingly indignant insight into gaelic games, the An Fear Rua web site (www.anfearrua.ie) is a ‘must’. This site is brimming with personality and provides fun and comment on the general state of the games. It can best be described as an eclectic mixture of tongue-in-cheek fact and fiction. While the site may prove a bit daunting to visitors who have not yet got into the Fear Rua state of mind, it is worth delving into to get a handle on the flip side of the GAA. An Fear Rua definitely pays testament to the fact that Gaelic games are probably more about community and culture than mere sport. The site places a big emphasis on interactivity, with plenty of polls and places for visitors to air their opinions. |
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The Meath Echo | 3-Feb-2005 15:02 |
| Web site reviewing can be tricky. I get about ten sites to review each month and some sites are not as good as the owner of the site thinks. As my mother always said, if you have nothing good to say about someone, don’t say anything at all. But on this occasion a GAA web site was submitted and although I am not a true GAA fan, I was able to review the site on its clickability factor. The site is www.anfearrua.ie First impressions is that the site is a bit bland and could encourage the surfer to exit before they even click anything. However, the site is very easy to use and with little Flash going on, other than the adverts, it’s a nice site which has loads and loads of information for the avid GAA fan. On thing I really liked about the site was the ‘Have Your Say’ function. Spectators of matches all over Ireland are able to enter their match reports or opinion on the match which gives the site that ‘live’ feeling all too often missing from other sites. One tip for those who haven’t upgraded to broadband or ISDN, get your printer ready on this site and print off the information you think might be of interest as this will save you some euros. www.anfearrua.ie gets a good 7 out of 10 |
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Damian Cullen, September Road - 'The Irish Times' | 22-Jul-2004 20:03 |
| We've said it here before, but this site is worth reminding supporters about again. www.anfearrua.ie claims to be visited by 50,000 GAA fans each month - roughly the attendance at Croke Park yesterday. The reviews, previews, shorts, jokes and controversial opinions of An Moltóir and Co. make this site well worth a visit | ||
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The Drogheda Independent | 27-Nov-2003 09:13 |
| The home of the GAA Unplugged is what this website is all about. Very much for GAA fans, it contains stories of old, the latest news, discussion groups, links, their very own soap opera and an online store where you can purchase GAA leisurewear. It will keep you busy for hours! Check it out. | ||
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Pub Spy 'The Sunday World' | 31-Oct-2003 15:26 |
| Pub Spy knows that he has a lot of tipplers who are also sports fans. And when they hit a strange town, they always like to seek out a watering hole where sport is keenly debated. For GAA followers, there is a very good website, anfearrua.com, which lists the best GAA pubs in the country. |
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Pat Nugent 'Back of the Net'; 'The Sunday Tribune' | 29-Sep-2003 15:35 |
| Odd as it is for something as modern as a website to have a traditional feel to it, An Fear Rua manages this, and that must be the ultimate accolade for a GAA website … Once the lads gets started - An Maor, An Moltóir, An tImreoir agus An tIriseoir all take their turn at the pulpit - there's no stopping them. Almost everything on the site could/should be prefaced with 'I mo thuairim', but that's its charm. And yet there nothing her can be dismissed as pub talk. Where most fan sites give the impression of being the work of someone whose best friend is his modem, the opinion pieces here manage the trick of being both professional and conversational.. Pat describes our on-line Soap Opera as 'the site's trump card. |
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Eoghan Harris, 'The Sunday Independent' | 20-Sep-2003 21:16 |
| First in the list is 'An Fear Rua' which gets down and dirty and funny with the GAA. This is less like a rough and ready web log and more like a proper site with fun and games at many levels. It has a light, highly-readable touch thanks to its brilliant editor, Liam Cahill - late of RTÉ. Liam left a big gap at RTÉ but has filled the big hole in the national heart with irreverent comment on the Great Games. | ||
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'Web Watch' in the 'September Road' feature of the 'Irish Times' | 19-May-2003 15:44 |
| Site: An Fear Rua Launched: 1999 Focus: Opinion polls, chat rooms, serious articles and more than a few definitely not serious ones. Soccer is awash with sites of this type, so it's great to see a GAA one thriving. |
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Eoghan Harris 'The Sunday Independent' | 6-Sep-2002 12:23 |
| Liam Cahill’s witty website ‘An Fear Rua – The GAA Unplugged!’. Anybody addicted to GAA gossip and lore should log on to Liam’s site as soon as they have finished ‘The Sunday Independent’. |
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High Ball | 19-Jul-2002 00:48 |
| ‘An Fear Rua offers a quirky, whimsical look at the national games through the articles, opinion pieces and various ramblings and ravings of such distinctive characters as An Moltóir, An Maor and the man himself. Unlike much of the written material one reads about the GAA, An Fear Rua always displays some fresh thinking and an alternative approach … The Discussion Board, entitled ‘Speak Out!’ is lively and quite busy most of the time. The chat is fairly well-informed although, like many such boards, it does seem a little prone to idiots logging on anonymously just to stir it up for everyone else. Still, can’t really blame the messenger for that.’ |
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The Evening Herald | 18-Jul-2002 21:29 |
| www.anfearrua.com ‘The GAA Unplugged!’ is refreshingly different. If you like your serving of GAA with a hefty slice of anarchic humour, look no further. The site is based on the off-beat musings/ opinions of ‘An Maor’, ‘An Moltóir’, ‘An tImreoir’ and ‘An tIriseoir’. Anoraks beware, there’s no stats, results or news here. The quality of all these columns is the most impressive of anfearrua.com Witty, incisive, well-written and often pleasingly controversial, this site is clearly not the creation of some deranged super-fan with too much time on his hands. No, the deranged super-fans can be found in the ‘Speak Out!’ Discussion Board section of the site. Here they vent their collective spleens with gusto on topical and not so topical GAA related subjects. A regular opinion poll is another interactive feature of the site. One of the more recent polls asked should camogie players wears shorts or skirts. 37% were for preserving the status quo, 33% plumped for shorts, 11% were pro-choice while a significant 18% preferred to fantasise about lady hurlers wearing neither. The site even has its own GAA soap opera – ‘Loose Chippings’ – a frequently hilarious skit detailing the wacky goings on in fictional GAA club Knockmult St. Guthries |
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The Meath Chronicle | 4-Jun-2002 00:42 |
| www.anfearrua.com - It really is worth a visit! | ||
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John Costello, 'The Sunday Independent' | 13-May-2002 21:46 |
| ‘For a more offbeat approach, the refreshingly indignant An Fear Rua site (www.anfearrua.com) is a must. To say this site has personality is an understatement. Full of opinion, humour and insight, it is an eclectic mixture of tongue-in-cheek fact and fiction. While the site may prove a bit daunting to visitors who have not yet got into the Fear Rua frame of mind, it is worth delving into to get a handle on the flip side of the GAA. An Fear Rua definitely pays testament to the fact that Gaelic games are probably more about community and culture than mere sport. The site places a big emphasis on interactivity with plenty of polls and places for visitors to air their opinions.’ |
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Bronagh Corcoran, 'The News of the World' | 25-Apr-2002 11:29 |
| Website’s 10,000 GAA Fans A wacky GAA website is pulling in over 10,000 visitors a month. An Fear Rua- or The GAA Unplugged!- is a mixture of quirky sports stories and funny profiles of the main players in hurling and football. A crack team of writers give an overview of the GAA sporting week. The site, www.anfearrua.com, even has its own soap opera where main sporting events are turned into mini dramas. Its tongue-in-cheek style means that even GAA virgins can enjoy the latest news from the world of Gaelic sports. Online discussion and voting polls are also a key attraction...." |
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Online.ie Site Watch | 25-Sep-2001 11:03 |
| For a breath of fresh air, check out "GAA Unplugged". There's an ongoing GAA soap opera and plenty of space for people to join in the craic by sending in their favourite stories or photos. There's an online shop where they pledge that their jerseys are priced cheaper than any other shop. | ||
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Doras - 16 June 2001 | 16-Jun-2001 16:54 |
An Fear Rua has received an extra 'Shamrock' from the Doras reviewers in recognition of the major improvements made to the site recently. AFR now proudly sports Four Shamrocks from Doras:  'Welcome to the re-designed An Fear Rua! The GAA website has been given a new look and added content. The latest additions to the website include a soap opera, 'Loose Chippings', and a new writer, an tImreoir. These join the writings of An Maor, An Moltóir and, of course, the commentary of An Fear Rua. The new look of the website is attractive and clearly laid out. Scrolling text alerts users to the new features of the site and navigation is simple. The pages download quickly, unhindered by large graphics. That is not to say that the site is devoid of graphics, as there is plenty to catch the readers eye.' |
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Neil Walsh, 'North Side People', Dublin | 29-May-2001 00:17 |
| 'My Jesus,there's some funny hurlers at work at anfearrua.com. Beneath the Neapolitan ice cream influenced pages, there is a wealth of opinion, biography and adventure in this piece of madness. Na buachailli seo are funny mad and funny odd in no small doses. Witty, intelligent, useful, useless and forceful editorial comment is disseminated through the sage enigma An Fear Rua and his cohorts such as An Maor and An Moltoir. I have never before visited a GAA site that made me smile, yet alone laugh out loud. Without taking itself seriously, this is a platform for all things progressive in GAA. It feeds on parodies of bog-drenched stalwarts while maintaining a fierce loyalty to the game's roots. A peculiar red-necked nationalistic slant on Irish history is symptomatic of the site as are it's many crazed characters and settings. This could well make an innovative transition from site to sit-com. Technically, everything works, all of the pages are perfectly legible. There are no pictures as such, which makes the site move along like Paul Curran with the wind at his back. It appears that there hasn't been an update on the site in a few weeks, but then again, what was to update? With serious debate, hurling related quotes from Bolshevik leader Leon Trotsky and numerous amusing but not so politically correct references to the Black and Tans and such like, the content is brilliant. Not everyone will get what An Fear Rua is on about and the site is very ladish, but that is what makes it work. The webmaster has created the kind of site that he would like to visit and is unashamed in that view. An Fear Rua might not be to everyone's taste, but I think it's great.' Navigation 9/10 Content 10/10 Appearance 9/10 Maintenance 9/10 |
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John Costello, 'Get Connected!' 'The Irish Independent' | 29-May-2001 00:15 |
| 'For a more editorial and comment-based site, An Fear Rua is definitely top of the league. The site has lots of content and is hailed as 'The GAA unplugged'. While a lot of the comment is tongue in cheek, the site does give good debate on the current issues concerning the GAA. Insights into matches and the state of the game throughout the counties of Ireland is also in regular supply. With polls and discussion boards there is a nice interactive side to this quirky site that ain't afraid to speak its mind'. |
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'GFH' Magazine | 1-May-2001 10:21 |
| 'An Fear Rua is one of the new breed of Gaelic Games commentators which endeavours to tell it like it didn't used to be told... The articles are in turn witty, satirical, whimsical, affectionate and in some cases quite biting... Behind the humour, though, AFR takes a satisfyingly commonsense approach to the more contentious issues, although the author pulls no punches and will happily put the boot in if he feels it is justified. He also isn't afraid to give credit where he thinks it is due. While holding to traditional values on some issues such as professionalism, AFR isn't so blinkered as to think all is rosy in the garden and he realises changes will have to be made in the way players are treated - indeed he puts forward some sound suggestions of his own. The Chronicles are never less than enjoyable and for this 'GFH' proclaims 'Maith an Fear!' |
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Stephen Cawley 'PC Live!' | 1-May-2001 10:21 |
| 'A character that has been around nearly as long as the GAA itself, Tipp native and stage Irishman, Thady Cahill, better known to the sporting masses as An Fear Rua provides a lighthearted critique of the Championship and all the controversies surrounding the GAA. An Fear Rua's Gazetteer links off to other interesting GAA sites on the Web and online polls offer some interesting feedback.' | ||
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Jacqueline Sheils 'Ireland on Sunday' | 1-May-2001 10:20 |
| 'This site claims to be 'the GAA unplugged'. You will need to visit it a few times to get a feel for exactly what's going on - even now I'm not sure. But, fans of Gaelic will appreciate the details abut the games and the personalities on the site. They also have exciting plans for the future, such as, trading GAA memorabilia online, creating a newsletter and a section on your favourite GAA personality, moment or saying. | ||
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Computimes, 'The Irish Times' | 1-May-2001 10:16 |
| Excellent site dedicated to GAA 'news and views' which aims to marry intelligent, witty and sometimes controversial views on every aspect of hurling and football with interactive polls, discussion boards and online shopping' |
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Ian O'Riordan, 'The Irish Times' | 1-May-2001 10:15 |
| 'The website is mostly dedicated to comment and opinion as filtered through the perceptions of An Fear Rua and An Maor. An Fear Rua himself is a splendidly offbeat creation who comes complete with exhaustive biographical chronicles detailing his family background in Tipperary over the last century. It is complemented by graphic design which provides an atmospheric backdrop.' | ||
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