The rising groundswell of opinion in favour of a profound restructuring of the All-Ireland championships in football and hurling now appears to be unstoppable...
There are at least two major problems with the present system. The first is that, given the amount of preparation players are now putting in, it is no longer satisfactory that half the counties are knocked out completely after one game and a further quarter after two games. The second is that the knock-out system is failing to exploit the massive current popularity of Gaelic games. This is not just about making more money - it is also about giving the public more big games to enjoy.
The main obstacle to a radical reshaping of the hurling championship is the continuing obsession with provincial championships (and especially the Munster version which continues to produce high-octane games). An Moltóir's own suggestion is that the provincial championships should be run separately from an open-draw All-Ireland championship. Furthermore, An Moltóir proposes that they be run on a league basis, in place of the current National Hurling League, during the months of March and April. This would provide an alternative league-style competition with a higher profile than the current League, which several counties have been treating with disdain in recent years.
Thus, the Munster championship would consist of five counties run on a round-robin basis (in their current state, An Mol. would exclude Kerry). The Leinster championship would include Galway as well as Kilkenny, Offaly, Wexford, Dublin and Laois. The Ulster championship would include Antrim, Down, Derry and London. In each case there would be a provincial final between the top two counties. The Ulster champions would then play alternately against the Munster and Leinster champions, leading on to a National League Final between the remaining two counties at the end of April or beginning of May. This would leave a decent interval before the start of the All-Ireland championship (in June). There would also be an Intermediate National Hurling League involving Kerry, Roscommon, Westmeath, Carlow, Meath and Wicklow. If Kerry were to win this, they would have the option of playing in the Munster championship the following year. Roscommon would have the option of playing in the Ulster championship and the remaining counties in the Leinster championship. The remaining 12 counties would play in a two-division National Junior League. There would be promotion and relegation between the three divisions comprising the Intermediate and Junior leagues.
The All-Ireland senior hurling championship would consist of three groups of four teams each (the teams in the Munster and Leinster championships plus the Ulster champions). These would play off in round-robin format, with the top team in each group qualifying for the semi-finals and the best two second-placed teams playing each other in a quarter final, the winners taking the fourth semi-final place. The last team in each group would playoff with the Intermediate champions (see below), with the ultimate loser playing in the Intermediate championship the following year. This structure would maintain interest throughout the round-robin system, with teams which lose their first two matches still having something to play for in the last series (i.e. to avoid the relegation playoffs).
Some element of seeding might be desirable in allocating counties to the three championship groups, in order to ensure some degree of equality of standards between the groups. Thus, the National League finalists could be kept apart, as could the last-placed counties in the Munster and Leinster championships plus the Ulster champions.
There would also be an Intermediate championship made up of the three remaining counties from the Ulster championship plus the six Intermediate league teams. These would play off in three groups of three, with the best four teams qualifying for the semi-finals and the last three playing off with the Junior champions (below) for relegation/promotion. The remaining 12 counties would play either in a single Junior championship consisting of four round-robin groups, or in A and B championships of two groups each.
According to this system, the draw for the championship groups would only be made following the completion of the league. However, all counties in the senior championship would know in advance that they would have at least three games, and all other counties would know that they would have at least two games. With the dates for these games fixed in advance, county boards could plan their internal competitions accordingly. Based on this year's diary, the round-robin games in the senior championship would have been played on June 11, June 25 and July 9, with the quarter-final on July 16, the semi-finals on July 30 and the final on August 13. This would give most counties all of August, September and October to complete their club championships. As it is, the current All-Ireland hurling championship is too long-drawn out altogether, with a five-week gap between Offaly's semi-final game and the All-Ireland final.
To complete the annual calendar, An Moltóir would suggest that the Oireachtas tournament be recast as a league-style competition embracing all senior hurling counties to be run off in October/November when county selectors could start trying out new players and putting squads together for the following year. The All-Ireland club championship would be run off simultaneously. The counties whose clubs reach the final on March 17 could, if requested, have their initial games in the provincial championships in early March postponed until after the club final is completed. This proposal, then, provides three major inter-county competitions of ascending status and importance; retains the provincial championships; gives all leading counties at least three championship games in high summer; and still provides plenty of time for the completion of county championships.
Undoubtedly it will be rejected out of hand by the conservatives who dominate the GAA administration, but it is high time anyway that these stick-in-the-muds were made answerable to the people that matter and who are leading the demand for change: the players and the paying public.
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