Minor final before senior would make Galway summers 'a wasteland'

Galway county chairman Paul Bellew makes the case against All-Ireland minor finals returning as curtain raisers on the biggest Sundays

Referee Niall Cullen with Galway joint-captains Jack Lonergan, left, and Éanna Monaghan and Mayo joint-captains Diarmuid Duffy and Ronan Clarke, right, before the 2022 Electric Ireland GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship Final match between Galway and Mayo at Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

The underage scene in Galway will become a summer “wasteland” if All-Ireland minor finals return as curtain-raisers to the senior deciders, according to county chairman Paul Bellew.

Fermanagh are bringing forward a motion to Congress this Saturday looking for the ultimate U17 games to be restored to their previous billing for the first time since 2019.

Bellew points out the ticketing implications a minor final would have on the allocations of those counties competing in the senior game, but Galway’s opposition to the motion is rooted in what the traditional final double-header would do to the club scene in their county.

“We played 254 games last year between our minor and our U20 championships. That involved 161 teams and 2,898 young lads. They all played at least three rounds in the summer.

Galway GAA chairman Paul Bellew. Pic ©INPHO/Ben Brady

“The usual comment is ‘if you get knocked out, you can start then’ but Galway have played in 10 All-Ireland minor finals between hurling and football since 2016.

“I think it’s fair to say, on the law of averages, we should have deep concern about what this would do to our club game. If you go with this, we wouldn’t be able to play any minor or U20 in July.

“We talk about, on the other side of our mouth, giving up games to other sports or giving up time to other sports. We’d be making Galway a wasteland in that period.

“That level of participation, particularly the U20 competition, is what’s driving our adult participation. So, we’re just totally opposed to all for the sake of 40,000 or 50,000 people who are lucky to be at an All-Ireland final to give them a bit of entertainment for an hour? I’m not even sure what the good reasons for it are.” 

Last year’s Waterford-Clare minor hurling final was staged in Thurles on June 28, while the Tyrone-Kerry football decider was played in Newbridge on July 6.

Bellew agrees underage matches can be given more profile and isn't against minor-senior double-headers taking place, just earlier in the summer. “We should be playing hurling and football week-on, week-off and under-age football should be played on the weekends of adult hurling and vice-versa.

“But I think double-headers should also happen up to maybe All-Ireland quarter-final level. We don’t see anything wrong with 17- or 18-year-olds playing before adult games. Our issue is only about the timing of the underage competitions in the calendar.

“What has gone under the radar is if you extend the competitions by three or four weeks, there’s an extra cost to feed and equip a minor or U20 team. It ain’t cheap.

“We’re talking about the amateur status and the runaway train on one side of our mouths then pushing out underage championships on the other.

“I think the minor championships currently sit well in the calendar. You could probably move them to team up with a semi-final or quarter-final but if the change to the split season passes and you push out the inter-county season to the middle of August, it’s goodbye to the underage dual player in Galway, that’s for sure.”