O’Gorman: don’t touch ‘sacrosanct’ Munster championship
“From time to time we hear talk about bringing in the open draw. I say to those people: keep your hands away from our Championship.
“It should never be seen as a solution to perceived ills of the All-Ireland Championship,’’ he said.
“The Munster hurling championship is sacrosanct.
“It is a part of what we are. In truth, it’s the heart and soul of the Association itself.’’
He made it clear the Munster Council could never hope to operate without the gates from the hurling championship (which last year generated €2.8m, approximately four times the return from the senior football championship).
In the past year they had allocated over €2m towards club development, they funded 70 third-level bursaries (each worth €1,000) and they employed 30 full-time coaches. “Without the finance which the hurling championship raises, our work would be demeaned totally,’’ he said.
GAA president Christy Cooney, himself a former Munster Council chairman, described it as a special day for the council and congratulated the officers on their initiative in organising the launch in Lismore Castle.
Cooney told guests that the GAA was more than capable of meeting the threat from the other sports, saying: “We hear a lot of talk about the ‘Munster’ brand, but we have a Munster GAA brand which has more than stood the test of time and which I am confident will be as strong and as vibrant in 125 years’ time.’’
Council PRO Jim Forbes announced a number of plans for the Championship, notably an extension of the family ticket scheme for all championship games, as well as a ticket package whereby supporters can purchase tickets for quarter-final and semi-final hurling and football games involving their county for €40, a reduction of €10.
Additionally, the council will provide free county flags for all children attending quarter-final and semi-final championship games, while a partnership with Killarney Tourism will enable supporters holding tickets to get ‘at least’ 10% reduction from participating guesthouses and hotels.
The council’s Deputy chief executive, Daniel Nelligan, also unveiled the council’s new upgraded website as well as a new provincial crest.
Cooney, meanwhile, explained the reasoning behind the decision to discontinue with the practice of referees branding black cards for noting/ticking infractions – pointing out that it was merely a procedural matter – and not a rule.
“We have been looking at this for a couple of weeks, attending matches, assessing the value of the black card and what it means,’’ Cooney said. “I had a meeting with the new referees’ committee last night and it was discussed at length. A recommendation was made that we should remove it because it wasn’t serving any purpose.’’
What will now happen is that, as specified in the rule, referees will continue to ‘tick’ an opponent when he commits an offence.
Cooney added: “He (the referee) will notify the player without stopping the game – so that will result in greater continuity. There won’t be a necessity to be showing the black card and slowing down play.
“There is no change in rule. The rule is the same – it’s just the procedure is changed.’’
In relation to the future of the experimental rule package which was rejected at Congress by a narrow margin, Cooney said that in time rules would be changed “if they find something wrong”.
He said: “There was a very strong case put by Liam O’Neill and Pat Daly and their committee and it nearly got there.
“We will have a look at it over the summer, see how the championships are played and see the spirit they are played in by our players. Really it’s down to our players. If they obey the rules there is no issue.
“We’ll review it and see do we need to make change. If we do, we’ll carry out a wide consultation and we’ll bring something to the next Congress. But, we’ll leave the hare sit for a while now, take time out and see how it goes.’’
lThe new procedure will apply at all grades of play with immediate effect.
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