Munster battles here to stay

HANDS off the Munster hurling championship!

That was the message from provincial chairman Jimmy O’Gorman in his address to last night’s convention in Ennis following suggestions an open draw should be introduced.

Noting “an increasing number of calls” for the championship’s abolition, he told delegates: “My retort is to forget all about it and abandon any thoughts of doing away with one of the most exhilarating and competitive campaigns about.

“Just try to imagine the year 2007 without a Munster Senior Hurling Championship that truly electrified a nation.’’

Recalling that the three-game marathon involving Tipperary and Limerick contributed hugely to an absorbing championship, he said “the explosive start” to the Cork/Clare opener in Thurles made headlines for the wrong reasons. He felt the incident was blown out of proportion and that the game was played in “true championship spirit”, Nevertheless, he had no wish to gloss over the episode.

“It‘s an undisputed fact that what happened should not have happened — and none of us would ever want a repeat at any time in the future.’’

Mr O’Gorman also made reference to the player strike in Cork, describing it as a sad and sorry saga, not just for GAA people in the county but for everyone involved in the Association. “My hope now is that the matter is finally and irrevocably over, that everything has been put to bed, and that there will be no future recriminations,’’ he stated.

On the football front, he stressed that the decision to revert to a seeded draw in the senior championship was arrived at democratically and for anybody to regard it as a deliberate effort to keep Kerry and Cork apart until the final “was an inaccurate representation”. At the same time, the fact remained that despite their best efforts, the gulf in standards between the big two and the other four counties showed no sign of bring bridged.

“That is not to say that we must, or should, abandon those efforts but the reality of the situation is that for the foreseeable future, Kerry and Cork are set to dominate the footballing scene in the province.’’

On the subject of discipline, he said he was fully supportive of the concerns raised by Ulster Secretary Danny Murphy about aspects of the operation of the Disputes Resolution Authority. What was needed was an acceptance of the facts rather than challenging the integrity of their members and structures to avoid the disciplinary outcome, he said.

“My belief is that there should be a far greater level of acceptance of the referee’s report. That said, however, I must stress that referees, no more than the rest of us, are not infallible, nor am I saying that players should be denied their democratic right of appeal against suspension.

“However under the present layer upon layer of appeal systems, the whole finalisation of penalties is being dragged out to a wholly unacceptable extent.’’

Mr O’Gorman paid tribute to retired Director-General Liam Mulvihill, saying that the Croke Park stadium would forever be a monument to his legacy and said that Paraic Duffy was well qualified to succeed him. Conversely, he expressed disappointment that they were losing their own secretary, Simon Moroney, saying that his tenure of office had been far shorter than anyone on the Council “expected or would have wanted”.