Cork GAA executive considers pause on regrading 18 teams to junior level

Kevin O’Donovan: The Cork CEO recognises the concerns of intermediate clubs.

The Cork GAA executive will on Tuesday decide whether to recommend pausing the planned regrading of 18 intermediate teams to junior level at the end of this year.

As per the new county championship format agreed by clubs ahead of the 2020 season, 13 hurling teams (two from Intermediate A and 11 from Lower Intermediate) and five Intermediate A football teams are to be relegated to the junior ranks later this year.

But the county board executive has now decided to review plans to relegate almost 20 intermediate teams down to junior level for the 2022 season, with top-brass meeting Tuesday evening to discuss the matter.

At the most recent Cork County Board meeting, correspondence from Kinsale delegate Paul McCarthy — Kinsale compete in the Intermediate A football grade — expressed concern at the quantity and quality of games teams may get in their respective division when regraded to junior.

Cork GAA CEO Kevin O’Donovan says he recognises the concerns of intermediate clubs, adding there are other clubs with similar concerns.

“We also recognise the views of the divisions that were expressed strongly when we revamped our championships 18 months ago. We know there was a significant consultation process back then, so we are striving not to make a knee-jerk reaction now,” O’Donovan remarked.

“Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, we are inviting correspondence from any club that wishes to send in their views on the matter and obviously from any division or other unit that wishes to send in correspondence.

“On Tuesday, we will be discussing whether there should be a pause on the regrading of those teams and perhaps have a little view towards the future because it was always agreed that when regrading would happen this year, there would also be a review of junior competitions. That if there were teams being regraded, we’d be certain they were getting sufficient competitions following regrading. 

“We will discuss on Tuesday night and we will revert back to the county committee after that.”

The planned regrading of 18 teams is to facilitate 48 football and 48 hurling teams participating across four grades — Premier Senior, Senior A, Premier Intermediate and Intermediate A — from 2022 on.

The fifth-tier Lower Intermediate Hurling Championship was only ever meant to exist on a two-year basis, with the grade to be abolished at the end of 2021. If there is no change to the original plan, then all bar the winners of this year’s 12-team LIHC will be relegated to junior. 

Also relegated to junior will be the bottom two teams from the 12-team Intermediate A championship. Replacing them in the 2022 IAHC will be this year’s junior and lower intermediate champions.

On the football side, the 16-team Intermediate A Football Championship is to be slimmed down to 12 by relegating five teams to junior at the end of this season. Travelling in the opposite direction will be this year’s county junior football champions.

The 2021 Cork county championship draws are scheduled for April 29.

Elsewhere, O’Donovan is to clarify the approval process for the planned expansion of Páirc Uí Chaoimh with the stadium board directors after a club delegate request that the county board have an opportunity to consider and comment on expansion plans — which include a GAA museum, visitor centre, coffee shop and licensed restaurant — before any decision is made.