Galway’s move to Leinster opposed

GALWAY club St May’s Athenry is strongly opposed to the county going into the Leinster championship next year, having unanimously rejected the proposal at a special meeting.

Three-times winners of the AIB club championship in the late 90s, their preference would be for an open draw — involving all of the top hurling teams — but they accept that this would not be agreeable to either the Munster or Leinster Council.

Instead, they favour an arrangement where the Connacht and Ulster winners (if they so wish) would enter the All-Ireland championship at the same stage as the Munster and Leinster runners-up — at the quarter-final stage.