Ger O’Sullivan laments treatment of interpros
Ahead of the clash with Leinster in Newry’s Páirc Esler tomorrow, the former Cork selector said he would like to see the competition incentivised, with the winners rewarded with a game against the All-Stars abroad.
His fifth time managing the province, O’Sullivan also has an issue with Munster having to travel in the competition for the fourth consecutive season. Should they beat Leinster, they will face either Ulster or Connacht in Sunday’s final in Armagh.
“It’s at the bottom of the pile in relation to the promotion of competitions. You’ve the compromise rules and they’re strongly promoted,” O’Sullivan said.
“The Sigerson in the spring is promoted, even the secondary competitions like the McGrath Cup and the McKenna Cup; they get promoted more than this.
“But I don’t worry about it really because it’s a competition that players like playing in.
“I would say in Newry the next day you’re not going to have any more than a handful from Munster, maybe family members.
“If Ulster reach the final, you could have 500 or 600 on Sunday. I still favour staging this now than in spring because you were taking players away from the counties.
“This could have been promoted earlier in the year and players who like playing in it would have been able to pencil it into their diaries.
“It would help to promote the competition if the winners were rewarded with a game against the All Stars on their annual trip. It would ensure there is something worthwhile.”
Praising the assistance he’s been provided by the Munster Council and chairman Robert Frost, O’Sullivan maintains the quality of football shown is worth marketing.
“I would love if TG4 or RTÉ covered the game the last number of years because there have been some excellent performances and it’s pure football.”
Saturday will be the third time Munster have played in Ulster since 2009 when they beat Connacht in a semi-final in Limerick. In that period, they have also journeyed to Dublin, Galway, and London.
“At some stage, they must give Munster a bit of a break,” says O’Sullivan. “The last home game we had was back in 2009.”
Aidan O’Mahony (Kerry, captain), Gary Brennan (Clare), Jamie Malone (Clare), Eoin Cadogan (Cork), James Loughrey (Cork), Brian O‘Driscoll (Cork), Kevin O’Driscoll (Cork), Daithi Casey (Kerry), Conor Cox (Kerry), Alan Fitzgerald (Kerry), Fionn Fitzgerald (Kerry), Mark Griffin (Kerry), Brendan Kealy (Kerry), Paul Murphy (Kerry), Gary O’Sullivan (Kerry), Seanie Buckley (Limerick), Ian Corbett (Limerick), Pa Ranahan (Limerick), Brian Scanlon (Limerick), Peter Acheson (Tipperary), Steven O’Brien (Tipperary), Michael Quinlivan (Tipperary), Thomas O’Gorman (Waterford), Paul Whyte (Waterford).
Padraic Maher (Tipperary, captain), John Conlon (Clare), Cian Dillon (Clare), Shane Golden (Clare), David McInerney (Clare), Shane O’Donnell (Clare), Conor Ryan (Clare), Mark Ellis (Cork), Seamus Harnedy (Cork), Anthony Nash (Cork), Paudie O’Sullivan (Cork), Shane Nolan (Kerry), Paul Browne (Limerick), Tom Condon (Limerick), Shane Dowling (Limerick), Cian Lynch (Limerick), Paudie O’Brien (Limerick), Gavin O’Mahony (Limerick), James Ryan (Limerick), Cathal Barrett (Tipp), James Barry (Tipp), Kieran Bergin (Tipp), Darren Gleeson (Tipp), Patrick Maher (Tipp), John O’Dwyer (Tipp), Noel Connors (Waterford)
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