Galway still fuming over final venue
And John Fahey, the secretary of Galway hurling board, said that ten weeks later they still have not received answers from GAA bosses as to why the decider took place in Semple Stadium in Thurles.
The Tribesmen suffered a 5-22 to 0-12 hammering in the showdown with Fahey stating that less 500 fans from Galway were in the crowd of 21,110. Galway tried unsuccessfully to have the match switched to a neutral venue.
“Having qualified for the final against Tipperary the alarm bells began to ring when word began to filter through that the final would take place in Thurles.
“Immediate contact with the Central Competitions Control Committee did not confirm this but advice was that we should put our thoughts before the next meeting of the next meeting of the CCCC which we did but, low and behold, the earlier rumours became reality and Thurles was confirmed as the venue.
“Appeals were made, meetings did and didn’t take place but the fixture stood and the Galway U21 team were led like sheep to the slaughter having to travel to Thurles to play Tipperary, six days after their historic senior victory.
“Throwing aside the politics surrounding the fixture and the fact that now 10 weeks later we still await communication in response to queries raised, this situation should never occur again,” said Fahey.
He makes his comments in his report to the Galway hurling board convention which will now take place on Saturday, having been called off last night due to the adverse weather.
Meanwhile the staggering cost of funding county football teams are revealed in the Galway football board accounts which will be presented to delegates on Monday night at Loughgeorge.
The combined spend on the senior, U21, minor and junior teams for 2010 came in at €927,479. Despite the big outlay, the football board only returned a small net deficit of €7,153 for the season.
