Reviving league semis ‘a farce’
The St Vincent’s man is opposed to their revival next year, which was confirmed when Congress backed Central Council’s plan to add an extra playing week to the top flight in both codes from next season.
Ahead of Sunday’s Division One final against Cork, Gilroy is adamant their return will diminish the quality of the division, as it’s possible a team with one or two wins from eight games could end up winning the title.
“From my playing days I don’t think anyone particularly looked forward to semi-finals in the league,” he said.
“It makes the league a bit of a strange thing, that, in the middle of the last game you could be making a semi-final if you win by two points or be relegated if you lose by two.
“You have four teams on top and two on the bottom so there are only two teams in the middle. I think it makes a bit of a farce of the league because the team that is fourth could have five points in the league and still win the league.”
Gilroy said the extra week of fixtures will heap pressure on clubs to get fixtures played.
“I don’t understand the logic of reintroducing semi-finals. It’s difficult enough for clubs to fit in games.
“We’re very happy for them to get games and if you introduce semi-finals now, where are they going to fit their games?
“It doesn’t seem practical to throw in extra fixtures at this time of year in the National League.”
The reasoning behind the return of the semi-finals to the top flight of the league for the first time since 2007 is sourced in the amount of dead rubber matches that occurred in the final round of last year’s campaign.
The extra two games in each code’s top flight will also augment the GAA’s coffers.
However, there remains scepticism about the move at the highest level in Croke Park.
Speaking to RTÉ’s League Sunday after Congress, along with Director General Páraic Duffy, GAA president Christy Cooney was asked if they both endorsed the move to make semi-finals possible in Division One.
“Absolutely,” responded Cooney. “It would have come from Coiste Bainisti because we felt that last year’s league when it came to the final round, it went flat.”
He added: “We brought it back to give the league better standing, better promotion for our games and greater interest among the public who go to our league games.”
However, Duffy wasn’t so positive when he asked about his opinion on their reintroduction.
“I wouldn’t be as enthusiastic as the uachtarán about this because I have a reservation about adding semi-finals in terms of the impact on club fixtures. But I can understand the reasons behind it. That’s the decision of Congress and we have to work with that decision.”
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