Galway and Antrim unlikely to join Leinster Minor Hurling Championship

The GAA’s Minor Review Workgroup are not in favour of Galway or Antrim entering the Leinster minor hurling championship.

The committee, chaired by Wexford native Michael Martin, will today propose that provincial structures across both codes afford counties at least two championship games, but stops short of recommending either Galway or Antrim join Leinster.

Galway top-brass sought to end the practice of entering the All-Ireland minor championship at the quarter-final stage last October, their bid for full Leinster integration, however, was shot down.

The group, charged with compiling a report for consideration by Central Council and Congress, is to recommend “standardisation” of provincial structures, with “second chance games” to be introduced in the Ulster and Connacht football competitions. There will be no change to the Leinster and Munster competitions in either code. The group’s interim report published in August favoured moving the commencement date for collective inter-county training to the third week of February. Today’s document, however, will propose the existing date of February 1 is upheld. Allowances are to be made for the staging of county trials in January.

Chairman Michael Martin is confident their report will adequately address the unfair demands currently placed on underage players.

“We provided each county with a copy of our interim report, published in August, and almost every county came back to us with honest feedback about what they saw as workable and not workable. There has been acknowledgement among all counties there is an issue and the burden is too great on many underage players,” he said.

“The thrust of all recommendations are around player welfare. All our main recommendations will be around player welfare.