Ulster Council CEO Brian McAvoy: When change comes it can't remove provincial link

Brian McAvoy: ‘No one even in support of Motion B said it was perfect. They all identified flaws. If you’re going to change, you have to have a better alternative.’ Picture: James Crombie/Inpho

Within an hour of the result emerging in Croke Park, both the director general and president were taking the 50.6% yes vote as a clear mandate that with a few adjustments, this championship reform could be a goer in a few months.

Unsurprisingly, Ulster Council CEO Brian McAvoy was choosing to paint it in rather different colours.

While maintaining a line that they are not opposed to changing the present structures, there is no way they will give their backing to something that diminishes the Ulster Championship.

“If I wear my provincial hat, I think there’s a clear momentum now that there has to be still a link between the provincial championships and the All-Ireland series,” the Down man said.

“I think perhaps there’s a possibility for the leagues to be revamped and a route to the All-Ireland through the leagues as well. I think we can be creative, give the players more football, if that’s what they want.”

McAvoy was also keen to scorch the suggestion that Proposal B was to provide an abundance of football, more than what players are getting now.

“One of the things purported is that it gives more games — it doesn’t actually,” McAvoy said.

“I see that with my own county. Under the current scenario, Down get two McKenna Cup games guaranteed, seven league games guaranteed, two championship games guaranteed — that’s 11. Under Proposal B they get three provincial games —or basically a revamped McKenna Cup by a different name — guaranteed, and seven league games guaranteed and nothing else. So they could be playing less games.”

You cannot blame McAvoy or the Ulster Council for looking to preserve the Ulster Championship.

Nobody asks Munster or Leinster if they can sleep at night given Connacht and Ulster do not have active hurling Championships.

“There has to be a route to the All-Ireland series, that is a key fundamental. If you don’t have that route to the All-Ireland series, they are totally demeaned and devalued,” explained McAvoy.

“I know Seán Kelly talked about divisional games in Kerry, but that’s a different ball game — they’re also played in the middle of summer, by the way, not in February and March.

“People spoke well from different provinces. Even Kevin O’Donovan talked about growing up that the biggest thing for him was to beat Kerry — under Proposal B Cork mightn’t even have got to meet Kerry.

We’ve been saying all along that there is a need for change — but it has to be change for the better, not change for the worse. There was no consensus for this motion. It was divisive. And we’ve seen with the result, 50-50.

“You have to have consensus for change.”

The uninitiated might feel that the Ulster Council can whip a vote in their favour. It makes for a handy ‘Ulster says no’, headline. But the majority of the counties were directed by their clubs.

“Counties can make up their own minds,” said McAvoy. “No one even in support of Motion B said it was perfect. They all identified flaws. If you’re going to change, you have to have a better alternative.

“Anyone who studied it logically, and took the emotion out of it, it was a retrograde step. This Proposal B offered very little. The people who we were told were going to benefit most, the players, it was going to be to the detriment of the players.

“There is a consensus for change. It’s just about getting change that would have broader support.”

He also pointed out that Ulster was only one of the four provincial councils who stood opposed to Motion 19.

“All four provincial councils came out against this. there were speakers from every province against this so this wasn’t an Ulster versus the association thing. Far from it. Ulster had less votes than the overseas. We had only 22 votes. There were 60 votes from somewhere else against,” McAvoy said.

“I knew that would be the case, I knew that coming into the room today that if it went to a vote it wouldn’t get the 60%.

“There were figures all over the place; they certainly didn’t tally with what I was being told. I thought it would be about 50-50 and that’s what it was.”

As for a way forward from this point, McAvoy urged calm heads after what was a day simmering with a low-level tension.

“I think everyone will just have to take stock and give a bit. We have to find out what exactly is wanted. What does everyone want? If the players, for example, want more games, this wasn’t giving it to them. We’ll then try to work to a structure.

“It possibly means restructuring within the provincial system, but also probably the league system, and maybe have a route from both, provinces and leagues, into a knockout All-Ireland series. I think we can be creative.”