Hurling supremo to focus on club game

THE glamour of inter-county hurling competition should not disguise the fact that the GAA must properly cater for club players.

That's the view of former Tipperary player Paudie Butler, whose appointment as National Hurling Coordinator yesterday in Croke Park marked the final days of Sean Kelly's presidency.

The fact of hurling being played "at a world-class level" for three or four Sundays in the year was what gave the game "it's fierce attractiveness", said Mr Butler. But he claimed this could also be the thing that cuts them off from their club base.