Club fixtures pile up for counties chasing Sam Maguire glory
Of the ten counties still involved in the All-Ireland chase, four have put their domestic championships on hold until their interest in the Sam Maguire is over while six are significantly behind schedule.
The problem is greatest in Ulster where three of the four counties have seen their domestic events all but stalled this summer.
Derry, where the county championship continues oblivious to the commitments of Mickey Moran’s team, is the exception.
In Armagh, Tyrone, and Monaghan the club leagues are also progressing unabated but arrangements for the county championships are causing a good deal of frustration.
With Armagh drawing twice, the original Ulster final date being re-arranged and the minors winning their provincial title, the situation there has been somewhat chaotic.
“We’ve had a few difficulties this season, what with replays and the re-arranged date for the Ulster final,” secretary Paddy Óg Nugent said. “There’s no doubt the situation isn’t satisfactory. We might have had a chance of running it on schedule but the replays put the kibosh on that. Best laid plans and all that.
“I don’t know what can be done, being honest about it. We put dates together at the start of the year but, with our minors winning Ulster as well, our whole calendar has been upset. A lot of junior teams would depend on minor players so the junior and intermediate championships are a bit behind as well.”
Kerry, Galway and Mayo are all fairly well advanced in their own competitions, though Cork are waiting on a handful of third round fixtures to be decided. Dublin’s SFC has been stalled at the starting block for months now due to the appeals and counter-appeals over the Mark Vaughan Kilmacud Crokes-St Brigid’s controversy.
For Laois, the situation is as bad if not worse, though it’s their dual commitments in hurling and football that has hamstrung their attempts to cater for the club scene.
“I can’t even remember the last time we had a round of county championship games, that’s how long it is,” said PRO Marcella Daly. “We have four groups with each team playing three games and we’ve only one round of them played. We’re only into the quarter-finals after that so we’re way behind.
“The plan was to play the county finals in September but that’s not going to happen. We’re caught every way with Darren Rooney playing both games, the senior and minor footballers going well and the senior hurlers only finishing last weekend.”
