Review set to urge U19 as only inter-county under-age grade

A talent academy review is expected to recommend U19 become the only inter-county under-age grade.

A group commissioned by GAA president John Horan envisages streamlining the under-age grades across the board — U13, U15, and U17 — with the latter turning into a developmental competition where the majority of counties provide more than one team, as is the case with hurling’s successful Celtic Challenge.

U19 would replace the U20 competitions and thus form the gateway to senior at inter-county level, players qualifying for that age not being eligible for senior. Was such a proposal in force last year, the likes of David Clifford and Seán O’Shea could only have played U19 and not senior.

Counties would still be able to organise competitions for larger clubs who have sufficient numbers to participate in under-age grades such as U14 and U16 that fall between the official grades.

Regional presentations of the report compiled by the talent academy and players development review committee will take place later this month into September. It has not been confirmed whether their recommendations will be put to Special Congress in Cork in October or Annual Congress in February.

Earlier this year, the body put forward a motion calling for the separation of U17s from adult Gaelic football and hurling at club level and a redefining of the under-age grades to U19, U17, U15, and U13. It was felt the proposal required further work and that has been produced in the report.

U19 All-Ireland semi-finals and finals would be a lot more appealing as curtain-raisers to their senior equivalents than U17 games as is now the case. Alarm has been expressed about the suitability of the new minor grade being played at inter-county level, with 15 and 16-year-olds exposed to greater pressure to accelerate their physical development and playing in front of large crowds.

The quality of games has also been questioned. Former Cork secretary Frank Murphy last year said: “The minor grade now is not the same in terms of intensity, physicality or interest, as it was when it was U18.”

From the outset of his presidency, Horan set out his ambition to address elitism at under-age level and the transformation of the U17 grade to competitions involving county regional teams could be a solution.

“I’d have a grave concern about where our development squads and academies are going,” he said in February last year. “Are we making some of our younger players too elite too early? Are we really servicing them well? Are we losing them?

“The pyramid gets narrower, it is only 15 lads playing minor and only a small number go on to play senior.

“We have got to be careful, the ideals in education at the moment are mixed ability, it is giving everybody a chance to maximise their ability and potential.”

It is also felt a Celtic Challenge template would create more competition in breaking up counties where there are either more resources or tradition. Naturally, opposition is expected in such counties.

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