Munster hurling championship expansion ruled out as record crowds revealed

Munster GAA boss defends current hurling format as record attendances fuel opposition to expanding All-Ireland qualifiers

AGONY THEN ECSTASY: Cork keeper Patrick Collins beaten by Aaron Gillane in last year's dramatic Munster SHC final shootout. Calls for a final replay do not take account of player load, says Munster chief Kieran Leddy. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

MUNSTER GAA chief executive Kieran Leddy has given short shrift to the idea of a fourth team emerging from the province’s high octane senior hurling championship.

As the province announced Tuesday record-breaking income of €12.667m - of which €8.381m was SHC gate receipts and the venues were 92% full for the 11 games - Leddy maintains the competition should be left well enough alone.

“This suggestion (four teams qualifying for the All-Ireland knock-out stages) will do far more harm than good to the profile of hurling,” Leddy states in his annual report ahead of annual Munster convention in Limerick on Friday.

“While the championship would gain two quarter-finals with this format, the round-robins would become meaningless, with 10 games being played to eliminate one team.

“Therefore, we would lose far more big occasions than the two additional quarter-finals that we would gain. The provincial senior hurling championship would become more like a warm-up league than a championship.

“We must stop thinking that our senior championships are there to develop teams. They are there to pit the best teams against each other and to decide who the best team in the country is.” 

As cut-throat as the Munster SHC has proven to be, Leddy insists it is fair in format “to all teams with two home and two away games.

“It is the jeopardy of the current format that gives the competition the excitement and anticipation it has, coupled with the success of Munster counties in the All-Ireland championship.

“We saw in the senior football championship what happened when three teams progressed from a group of four. Too many games become meaningless and supporters lose interest.

“Does a team deserve to remain in senior championship if they win one of four games? I don’t think so and this is the scenario we face if four teams progress from a group of five.” 

Leddy has called for provincial final runners-up to be awarded home advantage in their respective All-Ireland quarter-finals. That tweak is expected to be part of the Hurling Development Committee’s forthcoming motion to disband the preliminary quarter-finals from this season onwards.

On last year’s Munster SHC final between Cork and Limerick being decided on penalties, Leddy is adamant the facility of a replay is not the way forward.

“No sooner had the Munster senior hurling final concluded when calls were made for replays to be restored in provincial finals. However, as covered in my report last year, it is a case of ‘being careful what you wish for’.

“A replay would have taken place on the following Saturday evening, meaning the runner-up would have been playing the (All-Ireland) quarter-final the week after the replay and therefore subject to playing three weeks in a row.

“I was amazed that very few asked if a replay was a fair situation on the players, which in my view, it is not. If we build in a replay weekend, with the All-Ireland quarter-final two weeks later after the replay weekend, then the Munster winner waits for five weeks for the All-Ireland semi-final under the current format, which is also very unfair on the winning team.

“We need to stop harping back to the days of replays. The landscape has changed dramatically, as the number of championship games being played at club and inter-county level has increased dramatically. Replays in the middle of a season are simply too disruptive. They always were, but knock-out championships, or the shorter backdoor formats, made them possible. That is no longer the case.” 

Leddy also rejected the idea of a golden score being a fairer means of deciding a game level after extra-time. “The use of penalties is fair in that conditions are the same for both teams.

“We could decide the winner based on which team has scored the most goals if still level after extra-time, which in this case would have handed the title to Limerick. Thise would reduce the number of times that penalties are needed, which it has to be said, is rare anyway.” 

Munster Secretary and CEO Kieran Leddy: 'Does a team deserve to remain in senior championship if they win one of four games? I don’t think so'. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile

Leddy defended the decision to change the structure of the Munster SFC from 2027 on a three-year basis. Initially, the province’s top two ranked teams in the National League were to be drawn in separate semi-finals (Cork and Kerry) from this year but that was postponed until next year.

“Our 2025 final had the poorest attendance of all four provincial finals,” Leddy highlights. “Our average attendance for the last four finals in 13,000. TV viewing figures are also struggling.” 

While hugely complimentary of the Football Review Committee’s work, the Cork native lent his support to the value of a goal in football increasing from three to four points.

Describing the sidelines in hurling as “unsightly”, Leddy also calls for a limit to be put on managers engaging with the fourth official. “Anything beyond three leads to an on-field sanction.” 

Leddy also wants the GAA to come down harder on teams who do not return to the field for the start of the second half after 15 minutes. As an on-field punishment, he suggests their opponents be allowed to commence the game from the halfway line.

He again underlines his support for the split season and argues extending the inter-county window “the more frustrated the club player will become with his lot and, in time, this may lead to a split between the inter-county and club level.”