Galway championship format restructured

The Galway senior hurling championship, which has produced half of the teams which have won the last 24 All-Ireland club titles, has undergone a radical overhaul.

Portumna have won the All-Ireland four times, Athenry have captured it on three occasions, Sarsfields were the first to win successive crowns, and there have also been national successes for Kiltormer, Clarinbridge, and St Thomas since 1992.

But now the structure of the Galway championship, which has been increased by two to 24 clubs, has been radically changed and it will be a lot harder for at least three of those clubs to repeat their successes.