Fears ‘new province’ plan will hurt weak counties

LOWER-TIER hurling counties have hit out against GAA proposals to end their spring participation in the league in favour of regional club competitions.

proposal would see a new hurling ‘province’ involving seven neighbouring counties from three different provinces around the border region.

Sligo, Donegal, Louth, Fermanagh, Cavan, Monaghan and Leitrim are the seven counties named, with the possibility of Tyrone as an eighth. Three of those counties – Sligo, Donegal and Louth – are due to play in division 3B of the National League next year, and as far as Donegal manager Andrew Wallace is concerned, that’s how it should stay.

“My feelings, off the top of my head, wouldn’t be good. I think the National Hurling League is something that a lot of the guys cherish playing in. I’d need to hear a lot more than this before I could say anything positive about it anyway. No disrespect to the likes of Fermanagh, but Division 3B is a pretty competitive league and even managing to stay up there every year, we see as success.

“We’re not good enough to get out of it yet but we’d use it as a stepping stone for the championship. Playing against better teams is great preparation for the championship, and we’ve reached the final of the Meagher Cup for the last two years – our aim is to win that next year.

“I don’t see how us playing against weaker teams now is going to make things any better for Donegal, and hurling is weak enough in Donegal as it is. I know Paudie is doing great work – he did a coaching session with us this year and he’s doing a lot of work at underage; I don’t know about this, I wouldn’t be wild keen on it. Definitely, the jury is out.”

Sligo hurling secretary Brian McCann has similar sentiments: “For us this could be a backward step. No disrespect to those in Division 4 but there is quite a gap between some of the teams there and those in 3B.

“If it’s a situation where you’re going to be meeting those teams again now, it would be much harder to make progress. The advantage of playing the National League is that you have the possibility of promotion to a higher division, playing better teams, maybe get promotion again, and keep building. It would be very hard to motivate players in this situation.”

Finance is one of the main arguments put forward in favour of this promotion, with the cost of travel in the league. Not valid, says McCann. “One or two long journeys a year, which is all you’d have, I don’t see any real problem with that. Even if we got promotion to 3A everyone is still within reach – you hire a bus, it doesn’t really matter, cost-wise, if there’s an extra hour or so of travel each way.

“I understand where it’s coming from but I think the savings would be minimal – what I’d be concerned about is that it’s a retrograde step for us in terms of the quality of games we’re playing.

I don’t want to sound negative, we are doing our best to promote hurling in Sligo and Paudie Butler has been very positive – I’d just be wary of this. I think players like to play in a division where they know they’re competitive; no-one likes to be hammered, or hammer anyone.

“We are definitely improving and the league has been an important competition for us. There’s more publicity in the league than the championship, more national coverage, and this keeps the lads interested, gives them a boost.

“If you create this new province there’s a chance that it won’t get that same coverage – would players take it as seriously then? I’d need to be convinced it would work for us.”