Don’t bury hurling in Offaly, urges McIntyre
McIntyre has called on Brennan to show the necessary leadership on the relegation issue or else risked being accused of speaking ‘hollow words’ over ten years ago when Chairman of the Hurling Development Committee.
Said McIntyre: “I have huge respect for Nickey Brennan and he has always struck me as a hurling man to the core. He made a famous speech back in the mid-nineties where he openly expressed fears about the future of the game, but now the very organisation he is leading is on the brink of burying Offaly hurling.
“I know another Kilkenny man, Ned Quinn, is current Chairman of the HDC which brought forward the proposals for a nine team Division One next year and Nickey might feel he has to show county solidarity, but surely that is irrelevant in the context of the much bigger picture.
“I am urging the GAA’s Management Committee and the Central Council to judge Offaly’s plea for a ten team Division One next year strictly on its own merits rather than slavishly adhering to their own blueprint when it is clearly not in the best interests of hurling in general and Offaly, in particular.”
McIntyre is deeply concerned about the consequences for hurling in the county if the GAA decide to rubber-stamp a nine team Division One this weekend.
“It would be nothing short of disastrous. Remember, I inherited a team which was in Division Two and though we quickly secured promotion, it left us at a huge disadvantage for the championship and we were subsequently ripped apart by Kilkenny in the 2005 Leinster semi-final.
“Neither the team management or players are running away from their responsibility in relation to Offaly’s current predicament, but we only ended up in a relegation play-off on scoring difference, were competitive in all our group matches and beat the future league champions in Walsh Park.
“The bottom line is that Offaly could end up suffering the most penal punishment imaginable simply because we didn’t beat Down as much as much as our group rivals.”
McIntyre is adamant that those results with a young and inexperienced squad shows that Offaly are starting to stabilise their situation and that the county is beginning to work its way out of the hurling doldrums.
“I was very proud of the way our players, especially the new additions, soldiered throughout the league. Unfortunately, we had a bad 20 minutes against Limerick which didn’t reflect the true ability of our squad.
“I respect the fact that GAA administrators are there to govern and that the reasons behind the introduction of a nine team Division One were well intentioned, but Offaly were originally included in that grouping only for events on the field to alter the intended scenario.
“I just want the men who run our association to stand back from this issue and make a fair and honest appraisal of what is in the best interests of Offaly hurling, especially as a ten team Division One will take exactly the same amount of time to run off as a nine county section. It won’t mess up the fixtures scheduling and will also prevent one team lying idle every weekend.”
McIntyre added: “There is a lot of lip service paid to hurling and its future, but the GAA now has the perfect opportunity to honour their own pledges about protecting the game. If they turn their back on Offaly, it will be akin to scoring an own goal.”
GAA President Nickey Brennan last night confirmed that a decision will be taken on Saturday in relation to the Offaly request to extend Division One of the NHL next season to ten teams.
The matter has been considered by both the Hurling Development Committee and the CCC and a recommendation will be put before the Management Committee and Central Council.
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