THE ALL-IRELAND senior hurling championship is set to undergo a significant revamp in time for the 2018 season.
The Sunday Times reported this morning that a round robin format will be proposed to come into the Leinster and Munster hurling championships next year.
GAA President Aogán Ó Fearghaíl confirmed the news on RTÉ’s launch of their 2017 championship coverage this afternoon.
As part of the proposal, five teams will play in each provincial championship – with each team guaranteed two home and away games. Significantly, it guarantees home games for Galway in Leinster for the first time.
“In all the debate and discussions many issues were raised on the (Super 8) stage in football,” Ó Fearghaíl told Jacqui Hurley on RTÉ Radio 1.
“One of the issues that was raised that has total merit is that there was risk that by having so many high profile football games, that hurling would suffer and I accept that completely.
“We’ve had many discussions and we have an excellent hurling development committee in Croke Park and with the hurling development committee and the CCC and our own management, we’ve had quite an in-depth investigation and we will now present at the June meeting, a similar type model in hurling.
“So all the teams involved in the Liam MacCarthy Cup will have additional games, there will be home games and away games and we think it will give hurling the exposure it needs.”
The top two teams in each group will contest the provincial finals, while the two third placed teams will face the losing provincial finalists in the All-Ireland quarter-final. The two provincial winners progress to the All-Ireland semi-final.
Unlike the Super 8 proposals in football, these round robin games will take place in the early stages of the championship, meaning knock-out games from quarter-finals onwards.
A third “developmental” round-robin group has also been proposed, but the details have yet to “be ironed out” according to the report.
A Central Council meeting will take place in June to decide whether a Special Congress needs to be called for October to vote in the proposals.
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The David Connolly(?) story was the best!
Connolly became big headed when they named the train station after him. I knew it was a mistake.
@GARFARKLE: I hope he doesn’t turn out like Whitney Heuston.
@John Smith: must’ve indulged in Dutch culture a bit too much when he played reserve football there
@Armchair Follower: brilliant
@Armchair Follower: she did go off the rails in fairness
@GARFARKLE: bit of a ceannt alright
Reid was treated disgracefully. He wasn’t the Irish messi – he could however do something few others in the team were capable of – play a forward pass and keep possession.
@Colm O’Sullivan: And, play the guitar.
Good luck to arter, he has been weak for us in most of the games he has played.
How many grannies did Stephen ireland-ish say he had again ? Lol
@paul fennelly For the record, 1. Roy Keane complained about the training facilities several times during home matches before the World Cup. 2. McCarthy promised everything would be sorted by the World Cup. 3. Keane threatened to walk out of tournament on reaching Saipan because of the substandard facilities 4. He was convinced to stay for the sake of the fans 5. Next morning McCarthy called a meeting with everyone involved in the squad except for Keane and then he sent someone for Keane after everyone else had turned up. He confronted him in front of everyone about an interview only just published that he had given several days before and after an argument he sent Keane home. RESULT Keane was SENT home. This is fact, why do people insist that he walked out?
@John Mullin: You obviously haven’t read his own book. Funny as you sound like such a fan
Stephen Ireland’s career went downhill when granny-gate happened for both club and country. His head has never been screwed on. Only himself to blame.