Cork clubs vote to create a fifth tier for county championships

Five county championship tiers (Option B) was the preferred proposal of delegates at Tuesday night’s Cork County Board meeting, Option B winning out over Option A (four county championship tiers) by 120 votes to 99

Cork clubs have voted to create a fifth county championship tier — Premier Junior.

Five county championship tiers (Option B) was the preferred proposal of delegates at Tuesday night’s Cork County Board meeting, Option B winning out over Option A (four county championship tiers) by 120 votes to 99. Sticking with the status quo picked up just 14 votes.

There already exists a fifth tier on the hurling side — Lower Intermediate — and while the plan was to discontinue this grade at the end of 2022, the vote means the fifth tier will now be retained and renamed Premier Junior Hurling.

In football, where there are currently four grades (Premier Senior, Senior A, Premier Intermediate, and Intermediate A), a new fifth grade — Premier Junior Football — will come into effect from 2023.

Premier Junior Football will consist of the bottom four teams in Intermediate A in 2022 along with this year’s eight junior divisional winners.

The Premier Junior winners will represent Cork in hurling from this year onward and from 2023 on in football.

Prior to the vote, the majority of junior clubs who took hold of the microphone expressed disappointment with the proposals and, in particular, that Munster representation was being taken away from Junior county champions, that distinction passing to Premier Junior clubs under Options A and B.

“It does read as a slight to deprive a junior club winning the county to go on and represent Cork in Munster,” said Brian Regan of Shanballymore. Shamrocks delegate Liam Shanahan asked for the vote to be deferred by one year so as to allow the proposals be further teased out with the clubs who will be most affected — junior clubs.

Cork’s Central Council delegate Tracey Kennedy said that irrespective of whether Proposal A or B was passed, “we have to take a serious look at reform of Junior A and Junior B in the county”.

Passage’s Matt Aherne said to go with five tiers under Option B was to go completely against the four tiers agreed upon at the time of the initial county championship restructure three years ago.

“Our club is totally in favour of Option A. We would have had four tiers this year only for Covid. To go against that is not a U-turn, it is a full circle,” said Aherne.

Duhallow chairman Stephen Lynch was another in favour of the four-tier Option A. Donal McCarthy of Valley Rovers said Option B guaranteed meaningful games.

In inter-club transfers, county board chairman Marc Sheehan said the transfer request for Cork senior hurler Shane O’Regan to move from Watergrasshill to Sarsfields has been “held over”.

Elsewhere, Seán Meehan and Brian Hurley will serve as joint-captains of the Cork senior footballers in 2022.