A major financial crisis has engulfed the National Hurling and Camogie development centre (NHCDC) in Waterford.

There were plenty of people in Carriganore yesterday saying every Ashbourne Cup should be held in the Waterford venue, and it was easy to see why.

It’s been widely argued that the greatest obstacle to the growth of hurling is the GAA’s other major sport, gaelic football. Yesterday in Croke Park the National Hurling Development Plan was launched, a multi-phased strategy that also includes the growth and promotion of camogie — the battleground? Gaelic football’s heartlands.