RTÉ GAA ANALYST Kevin McStay says that the final of the Tailteann Cup should be held as a curtain-raiser for the All-Ireland football final, and that he can see “no justifiable reason” to stage them as separate fixtures. 

The second-tier football championship will finally get underway this year after a two-year delay due to the interference of the Covd-19 pandemic. The final will be held on Saturday, 9 July — on the same day as the first of the All-Ireland semi-finals — while the Sam Maguire decider is set to take place on Sunday, 24 July.

The Tailteann Cup has caused division as many have concerns about its relevance compared to the top-tier championship, and the level of attention it will receive. 

McStay believes that there is generally a “positive attitude” towards the Tailteann Cup while also accepting that there are worries that it “could go south fairly quickly.”

But he also stresses that the teams who will be competing in the second tier championship this year should appreciate the opportunity it offers to strengthen a squad.

“The problem for it [Tailteann Cup] is that you can’t go talking about it until you have to talk about it,” McStay outlined at the launch of RTÉ’s 2022 GAA championship coverage.

“You simply don’t want to be talking about the Tailteann Cup when you are in round 5, 6 or 7 in the league and to a certain extent you want to prolong your involvement in the provincial championships as well.

“What is reasonable to suggest is that any team worth its salt, any team that wants to grow, develop, and progress has to embrace the Tailteann Cup. We have not see a launch yet of the Tailteann Cup at official level so again it will depend on what the goodies are surrounding it.”

Commenting on the decision to hold the finals of the Tailteann Cup and Sam Maguire championships on separate days, McStay added:

“I am hugely disappointed about the timing of the final; I don’t accept any nonsense about ticket distribution, or somebody argued it would be lost in the hype of the two main teams in the senior final. I don’t accept that and there were some other reasons thrown into the pot as well.

“There is no justifiable reason not to have the Tailteann Cup on as the curtain raise and you could have the minor final on earlier if you wanted. These things are all possible.

“There were a lot of things not possible in this world until the pandemic arrived and then, especially in the GAA world, everything became possible overnight so that is very disappointing and that could be the death knell of it.

“That could be one of the things we look back on in six or seven months where we will say if it was given All-Ireland final status, or even the weekend of the All-Ireland final having it on the Saturday night leading into it.

“When it is all boiled down we would not be having a discussion if the Tailteann Cup would be a success or not if it was the curtain-raiser on All-Ireland final day.”

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!