Clock/hooter won’t be in use in Leinster club final

Decision comes as 2026 inter-county football games will conclude when the buzzer sounds.

Tue, 02 Dec, 2025 - 07:46

John Fogarty

The clock/hooter will not be in operation in Saturday’s Leinster senior club final in Croke Park.

The provincial council’s competitions control committee have ruled that despite the technology being available in GAA HQ, the game will not be subject to the timing mechanism as it wasn’t used in previous rounds of the Leinster championship.

The Athy-Ballyboden game in Croke Park as well as the Sallins-Tubberclair intermediate and Fighting Cocks-Grangenolvin junior deciders at provincial venues the following weekend will be timed by the referee.

The clock-hooter was not used in the vast majority of Leinster counties’ championship games. It was utilised in Meath where there was controversy in August. Simonstown led Na Fianna by a point in a group game when the hooter sounded as Na Fianna were about to take a sideline kick and they were allowed to play on before scoring an equaliser.

On Saturday, Central Council agreed to heed a recommendation by the Football Review Committee (FRC) that the operation of the clock/hooter revert to their original proposal of each half concluding as soon as the hooter is sounded. The only exceptions are if the ball is in flight or a free, 45 or sideline kick is due to be taken and they can only be direct shots at goal.

The FRC relaxed the rule in March in the wake of some issues that arose during the National League. In their Division 2 game in Mullingar, Meath scored a winning goal that Westmeath insisted was struck after the buzzer had sounded.

Prior to that game, the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) warned the GAA faced “reputational damage” because of clock/hooter inconsistencies.

The FRC took on board the CCCC’s proposal that the play be allowed after the hooter until the ball goes out of play. “It remains the view of the CCCC that in order to avoid reputational damage further down the line, games should end once the ball goes dead AFTER the hooter or final whistle has sounded.” However, that will no longer be the case and so scores like David Clifford’s post-hooter two-pointer that concluded the end of the first half in this year’s All-Ireland final will no longer be possible.

The CCCC will shortly confirm if the clock/hooter will apply across all four divisions in 2026. it was introduced on a phased basis during this past season’s National League and was only used for the finals in Division 3 and 4.

For the championship, it was operational when the matches were televised or streamed, aside from a handful of other games.