The GAA are set to review the schedule if not the structure of the Allianz Hurling League after they were impacted by the weather for a third consecutive season.

The corridors of power in the GAA have proven a tougher battleground than anything Liam Griffin experienced on the field of play when leading Wexford hurlers to All-Ireland glory in 1996.

In the wake of controversies at county level, Kilmacud Crokes member and senior investment banker, Joan Kehoe, says grassroots GAA needs governance reform, writes John Fogarty.

Slaughtneil and Derry’s Chrissy McKaigue sense the players’ voices are being ignored by the GAA in terms of the fixtures schedule, competition structures, and playing rules.

Readers of this column know what they can find here is a long-term and, we hope, healthy scepticism of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA).

Thirty-seven thousand feet above the United Kingdom as I flew towards Brussels last Monday morning, I read every word of all six pages in Examiner Sport about the departure of the history-making Dublin manager, Jim Gavin.

Brian Cody has called on the GAA to work even harder on behalf of club players whom he claims continue to get a ‘hard time’ from fixture makers.

“Well I chaired [the committee] and I don’t accept that narrative whatsoever,” said Sullivan, in response to CPA criticism of the taskforce.

Gaelic Players’ Association head Paul Flynn reckons the Club Players Association has performed a service of sorts by quitting the GAA’s task force on fixtures reform.

The Club Players Association (CPA) weren’t sparing with their language last week, but then, they would have had reason. The description of the fixtures taskforce as “a Trojan horse” was the exact phrase used by Europe chairman Tony Bass at Congress last year when he dismissed their transparency motion, which was then defeated heavily.

This week’s buzzword has been fixtures. And it will be the same in Central Council tomorrow as the 2020 fixtures calendar is confirmed and the fixtures task force provide them with a briefing.

Central Council will on Saturday be briefed on the three recommendations while also being issued with a list of motions that can be put on the Clár of Annual Congress in February should Ard Chomhairle see fit to do so.

Player representatives from the four senior clubs in provincial final action this weekend have expressed their discontent with the fixtures calendar.

Club Players Association (CPA) executive member Liam Griffin claims the body was “never welcomed” by the GAA.

Wexford’s 1996 All-Ireland winning manager Liam Griffin believes there is merit in extending the sin bin to hurling.

Kilkenny manager Brian Cody has described the lack of club championship action during the summer months as a “very dangerous” development.

Club Players Association (CPA) chairman Micheál Briody fears Saturday’s decision to back a Tier 2 inter-county football competition will scupper the chances of the GAA’s fixtures review committee’s own T2 proposal being back in February.

The GAA have yet to decide if counties who chose not to play in the new second tier football championship will be punished.

Players chief Paul Flynn has called on the GAA to ‘shelve’ next month’s vote on a new Tier 2 football Championship structure until everyone has had their say on the proposed change.

Joint-captain Lee Chin has called on Wexford to give the ‘complete performance’ against Kilkenny this weekend after showing only glimpses of their true ability so far.

So, club month is over. Welcome to hurling month, just as June will be as well.

The managers of two leading senior hurling teams in Cork have praised GAA chiefs for their efforts in improving the plight of club players.

The plight of club players was front and centre once more this week when Cork delegates debated radical new championship structures.

A second April intended for club-only weekend games is almost upon us and the question remains why. Why the need for such a token gesture when it’s blatantly obvious that the county and club

Special Congress will attract more attention than this weekend’s Annual Congress, as it deals with a greater number of topical issues.

One of the major drivers behind the decision in 2005 to amend Rule 42 has expressed his relief that the GAA’s intention to further relax its property regulation stops short of opening club pitches to other sports.

In less than three weeks, Tom Ryan will deliver his first annual report as GAA director general. Just over nine months in the position, it’s an ideal opportunity to address what was at times a turbulent 2018, while also setting out his agenda.

The concept of a calendar year season has been queried by the chairman of the GAA’s fixtures review committee Micheál Martin.

They’d like to think they’re making changes — and for the better — but it would appear to be that the GAA’s modus operandi is just business as usual under the new leadership tandem of John Horan and Tom Ryan.

As the GAA inter-county season ends and its club championships reach their final stages, it’s time to reflect on some of the key challenges that lie ahead for the GAA.

The April fools were the GAA clubs which believed ‘club month’ would be a ring-fenced opportunity to inject momentum back into the grassroots. Our new columnist Paddy Kelly believes the first step towards correcting the Association’s biggest headache is to hand April back to the inter-county scene. Now read on...

The GAA are expected to ensure there is no promotion of either side ahead of the Eighth Amendment referendum at any of next month’s Championship games.