Seeded draw won’t benefit Munster football
That’s more than okay. Winning a fourth All-Ireland senior hurling title should be celebrated with plenty of exuberance in the weeks and months ahead.
But if they’re seeking a moment or two of sobriety, they need only ponder on the poorer code in the county.
Clare’s two senior teams couldn’t be further apart right now. The hurling fraternity might bemoan that just five days into their reign as champions the draw for next year’s Championship is already being made but at least they’re going into it as equals.
The same cannot be said for Clare’s footballers, who like their colleagues in Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford have been treated like cannon fodder.
The deeply sad thing is they wouldn’t have found themselves in such a predicament were it not for the behaviour of Limerick and Waterford. Three Limerick clubs attended the football board meeting at which the vote on the seeded draw was taken and all three supported it. Why, is the first question. How could their tally satisfy a quorum is another.
Waterford’s delegates elected to sit on their hands apparently having not discussed the motion despite it being circulated well in advance of the competitions control committee meeting last month. Again, one has to question that stance.
Both counties attempted to repair some of the damage at last week’s emergency meeting of the Munster Council in Limerick only to be told that any attempt to revisit the previous vote would contravene rule.
As outgoing Limerick captain Seanie Buckley rightfully asked in these pages on Saturday, why were delegates summoned to be informed of that when a statement would have saved them the trouble of travelling to Castletroy?
What’s most disconcerting is that the proposal to hand byes to Cork and Kerry and place them in two separate semi-finals was made by Munster chairman Robert Frost, a Clare man. Frost is hardly the first person to support such a structure and when he took office he did so representing Munster, not his county. That said, is a seeded draw going to benefit football in the province? Croke Park has maintained a season should never be considered in isolation. It’s a logical stance but clearly the one-sided nature of results in this year’s championship were considered by Frost in putting forward this recommendation.
The gate receipts too, of course. Back in June, Frost was interviewed in this newspaper about the increase in combined attendances across the senior championships. He put a particular emphasis on the finances of the council. “We are the only province that gives grants to the clubs. We will live within our budget. If €2 million or €3 million is all we have to spend, then that’s all we have to spend. I’m not going to run the council into a deficit.”
If, as we suspect, the reasons for seeding next year’s draw were primarily financial, then Munster football has been done a disservice. It will surely be revisited and revised next year but that will be too late for the thirtysomethings in the four counties who have dreamed of a Munster final.
Croke Park’s hands are tied on this and, for a man who has championed the underdog, GAA president Liam O’Neill must be privately at least shaking his head. But then if only the diligence of GAA officials to the needs of their county was on par with the commitment of their players to it, there wouldn’t be such a mess.
* Email: john.fogarty@examiner.ie
Saturday was a brilliant goodbye to a fascinating hurling season but it could also signal a farewell on another level. It might just be the last time we’ll see a final played by two teams with jerseys bearing one sponsor.
A motion passed at Congress means counties and clubs will be allowed to carry two on their jerseys from next season.
The bigger counties will, for now, be expected to stick with the one brand. Vodafone have stepped down as Dublin’s main sponsors so there will be a new jersey for fans to buy, possibly before Christmas. That’ll be a second kit change in as many years.
Cork’s gear only changed this year with the switch of backers from O2 to Chill Insurance and it’s unlikely there will be any appetite for another change so soon.
Roscommon, where the motion originated, are likely to introduce new gear with multiple sponsors. The need of some county boards to raise funds is greater than others but then it’s also essential supporters don’t suffer in any attempt to make a quick buck.
A change of jersey one season after another just to accommodate another backer would be a move fraught with accusations of opportunism.
The GAA in the main has shown sensitivity to economic difficulties faced by its members and patrons, with ticket prices frozen and a variety of discount schemes in operation. The cut in admissions for the replay also showed an understanding but they will have to be extra vigilant and ensure this latest initiative isn’t an excuse to glean more money from supporters.
Tomorrow is All Stars nominations day, when journalists congregate at Croke Park to thrash out who they see as the best 45 players in each code this season.
It’s an exercise we can safely say is one that is taken particularly seriously by those involved, the majority of whom are in print. A scheme established by journalists more than 40 years ago, the level of debate continues to increase.
This week’s meetings should be intense with arguments raging on just where Sean Cavanagh, Keith Higgins and Cian O’Sullivan are positioned. The same discussion will arise in hurling in terms of placing Clare pair Pat Donnellan and Conor Ryan.
It’s a subjective process but then no other group has seen as many games either live or deferred this year as journalists, nor so much action without vested interest.
The player and young player of the year nominations will also be chosen, with the GPA picking one from the list of three provided in each category.
Would the media have chosen Cillian O’Connor for a second young footballer of the year award last season over Meath’s Donal Keogan? Likely not but that was the opinion of the players.
When the football list is released on Wednesday and hurling on Thursday, there will be fierce debate. Take it as read it’s nothing that hasn’t already happened around a Croke Park table.
