Jimmy Lee 'happy for the players' as Munster Council parks seeding plan following discussions

“My understanding is that the GPA (Gaelic Players Association) got in behind the four squads of players, which were ourselves, Clare, Waterford and Tipperary, and they had meetings with the Munster Council and they trashed it out."

Tue, 04 Nov, 2025 - 16:25

John Fogarty and Maurice Brosnan

Limerick manager Jimmy Lee has commended the Munster Council for seeing sense and parking the league-based seeding of the senior football championship until 2027.

Limerick’s management and players had been vehemently opposed to the province’s top two teams in the National Football League receiving byes into separate semi-finals from next season for a three-year period.

As the two best NFL finishers this past season, Division 1 winners Kerry and Division 2 team Cork were due to be split in the last four when the provincial football draws take place on Thursday, November 27.

The provincial council had agreed to the change in July but following further engagement with counties, it is now being proposed that the league seeding apply to the Munster SFC from 2027.

The year’s grace will give Division 3 teams Clare and Limerick the chance to improve their league positions with a mind to claiming one of the semi-final byes. Should either of them be promoted and Cork be relegated from Division 2, they will take the Rebels’s automatic semi-final place in 2027.

Lee and the Limerick set-up had looked for the league seeding mechanism to be introduced in a latter season but he was reasonably satisfied with the outcome. “I'm glad to see there's been some sense. It might not have been exactly what Limerick had proposed in terms of giving us time to get there, but there has been some bit of sense. And I'm glad for the players that were involved in the discussions with the Munster Council that they have seen the light.

“I'm really happy for the players that they get the opportunity to try and qualify for a semi-final seeding. We know what's in front of us, but at least they get that opportunity.”

Next month’s draw will follow the same criteria as has been the case since 2015: the previous year’s finalists will earn byes to the last-four in an open draw. Winners Kerry and runners-up Clare will be seeded as they have been for the two previous seasons.

The quarter-final draw will again comprise Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford. Those games are due to be staged on April 11, two weeks after the conclusion of the National Football League. The semi-finals are scheduled for April 25 and final on the weekend of May 10.

Not since 2021 has there been a Cork-Kerry final meeting. At the same time, Kerry have won all but six Munster SFCs since 2000 – the exceptions being 2002, ‘06, ‘08, ’09 and ’12 when Cork were victors and 2020 as Tipperary pulled off a first provincial SFC success in 85 years.

There have also been early discussions about applying to extending league seedings to all four provincial senior football championships. While there is some support, there may not be enough backing to ensure they apply across all four competitions.