Cork chiefs hoping to avert club fixture delays

Cork GAA chiefs are hopeful that the county championship fixture programme will not be greatly affected regardless of how next Sunday’s Munster SHC final goes.

Should Cork beat Clare, then the next game would not be until the provincial final on July 13, but if defeated they will be playing in the first round of the All-Ireland qualifiers, which operate under a slightly modified system this year. First round games take place on either June 28 or July 5, with the first weekend clashing with scheduled second-round games in Cork’s county hurling championship. Board administrator Diarmuid O’Donovan is optimistic that there will not be too much upheaval.

“There are a couple of imponderables that we are working with,” he said. “If we win on Sunday, then everything should be fine. If we lose, the preference would be to play in the qualifiers on July 5. What may happen is that the county team management could be asked not to enforce the two-week rule and the club games could take place the week before.”