Ulster Council rearranges hurling final four months after original date

This year's Ulster Senior Hurling Championship final has been re-fixed for Sunday, November 3 - almost four months after Down and reigning champions Antrim were originally due to play each other.

The Ulster Senior Hurling Championship was due to be wrapped up on July 7 according to the Ulster Council's original scheduling, but they had not bargained on a semi-final replay between Down and Derry and thus the final was pushed back to July 14.

However, Down deemed the new date unsuitable for them as their players had scheduled holidays for the end of the Championship season with some unavailable due to work and family commitments.

This was allied to the fact that they were coming off a punishing nine-match schedule between Christy Ring Cup and Ulster Championship fixtures.

Gerard Monan's charges actually played seven matches in as many weeks from early May through to mid-June, including their six-game march to the Christy Ring Cup title and an Ulster quarter-final win over Armagh.

The busy Mourne men were back in action on June 30 to face Derry for a place in the Ulster final and it took a replay to split the sides with Down winning by 0-25 to 1-16 the following week.

Their request to have their clash with Antrim postponed was then granted, but it took until last night for Ulster GAA chiefs to confirm a new date for the game.

A statement from the Ulster Council said that the final will be played at Celtic Park in Derry on Sunday, November 3 (throw-in 2pm).

"This decision was taken to ensure that clubs have access to all players for the duration of the county and provincial club Championships," it read.

The rescheduling for November has not been universally welcomed by the players, while there is the fact that November is a closed month for collective training for senior inter-county panels - under the current ruling, Antrim's exit from the All-Ireland Championship in June means they should only return to collective training in mid-November.

Antrim's Arron Graffin tweeted: "Can you imagine the Ulster football final or Munster hurling final being played in November?? #joke.

"They're just fulfilling a fixture for the sake of it. What about the future of the Ulster Hurling Championship?"

Derry hurler Liam Hinphey tweeted: "So many things wrong with the final being in November it is hard to know where to start. Some shambles that whole competition."

Hinphey had hit out at the Ulster Council's handling of the Championship earlier in the season, saying: "There's not much interest in the Ulster Championship. Everyone sets their target as a Christy Ring or a Lory Meagher. Where's the interest in playing a competition where Antrim are given a bye into the final and are at home every year?"

Michael Ennis, who was part of Down's Christy Ring Cup-winning side, said on his Twitter page: "The thought of the Ulster hurling final in November. #betterbringmytights."

There is also annoyance in some quarters that the Ulster decider will take place on the same weekend as the second Test of the Ireland v Scotland Hurling/Shinty International.

Ireland will face the Scots at Croke Park on Saturday, October 26 before travelling to Inverness for the deciding match of the series on Saturday, November 2. The countries' Under-21 players will also play each other in Inverness that day.

The fixtures' clash could cause problems for Antrim boss Kevin Ryan. Three Antrim players featured for Ireland's senior Hurling/Shinty team last year - Cormac Donnelly, Neil McManus and Barry McFall - with the Saffrons' Conal Morgan lining out for the U-21s.