Eammon Kelly: Christy Ring Cup offers easier Leinster path

Offaly manager Eamonn Kelly, who led Kerry to a Christy Ring Cup title last year, says reaching a Leinster quarter-final will be easier via the second tier competition than the province’s qualifying group from 2017.

An Antrim motion calling for the Christy Ring Cup winners from next year to be given the reward of a Leinster quarter-final was passed by Congress in Carlow on Saturday. Another team is now likely to drop into the qualifying group to accommodate the change, meaning it will be the top two from five counties, not four, that will reach the Leinster quarter-finals.

Before stepping down from Kerry last season, Kelly guided them to a Christy Ring Cup title, which saw them enter the Liam MacCarthy Cup with a place in the qualifying group.

The incentive is even greater now, he states, but to the detriment of existing Leinster teams.

“It’s going to make it very difficult in the round robin because there’ll be a strong team back down there. That would be the negative but it’s a nice reward for the Christy Ring Cup winners. It puts a good focus on the Christy Ring and gives teams a better chance to get back up to the top tier.

“It would be easier to win the Christy Ring and go straight up avoiding the qualifying group. Carlow, Kerry, and Westmeath are three very strong sides and adding another is going to make it very difficult for anyone to get into that quarter-final next year.”

Kelly fancies Antrim to win this year’s Christy Ring Cup, thereby returning to the Leinster qualifying group and missing out on a provincial quarter-final spot via the secondary competition.