Burns concedes Central Council meeting became a football v hurling debate

GAA chiefs voted against flipping this weekend's hurling championship fixtures from Saturday to Sunday.

PRIME-TIME SLOTS: President of the GAA Jarlath Burns. Pic: INPHO/Tom Maher

GAA president Jarlath Burns has admitted his decision to convene a special Central Council meeting yesterday turned into a football versus hurling debate.

Burns summoned a remote gathering of Ard Chomhairle in the wake of support from hurling counties for the Cork-Dublin and Clare-Wexford All-Ireland quarter-finals to be flipped from Saturday early afternoon to Sunday mid and late afternoon.

In return, the Down-Sligo and Antrim-Laois Tailteann Cup semi-finals would be brought forward a day. However, the vote fell narrowly short of receiving the required 60% majority and so the original schedule will remain in place.

Speaking to RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland, Burns said: “I asked for an Ard Chomhairle meeting last night because I felt we have five hurling games left and three of those are going on a Saturday (two quarter-finals, Kilkenny’s All-Ireland semi-final).

“We have 14 football matches and last night it became a contest of which are we going to nurture and promote more and it put Ard Chomhairle in a terrible position because they are two competitions we want to promote and nurture, the hurling championship and the Tailteann Cup, which is a new cup.

“It was added to the fact that Wexford, who are out to play on Saturday against Clare, are also hosting the camogie and hurling Féile. They have hundreds of volunteers all around the county who are going to be involved in that and they now have to make a choice – either go to Thurles or stay at home to host the teams that are coming.

“That’s not an ideal situation whatsoever and it does come back to the fact that it is another aspect of this condensed championship along with the other things that we have discovered.” Burns complimented Sligo chairman Seán Carroll for lobbying counties to oppose the motion. “I have to credit Sligo. If they ever change the name of the Tailteann Cup, they should change it to the Seán Carroll Cup. He spent the entire day yesterday canvassing to ensure that Sligo would be able to play on Sunday.

“He deserves great credit and I rang him after the vote even though it probably went against me because I felt that we should have had the hurling on Sunday. That was just my own opinion but Sligo in particular deserve great credit for showing the passion that they showed wanting their competition to be on Sunday and I would take my hat off to them.” Burns again indicated there might be changes to the All-Ireland senior football championship next year. He spoke of the GAA becoming “obsessed” with the round-robin structure at county and club level.

As the Irish Examiner reported last week, there is early support for the winners and losers’ rounds after the last 16, which if implemented in the Sam Maguire Cup would cut the number of games by eight.

“The championship should have jeopardy,” said Burns. “It should be more of a blunt instrument. The clue is in the title of the competition, the championship is there to get the champions, and while we have a great competition within that now which is the Tailteann Cup, one of the major themes emerging from this is there should be a lot more jeopardy, more winning, more losing, more disappointments, more triumphs and I think that’s what next year’s championship will look more like.”