M Donnelly GAA Interprovicinals (AKA Railway Cups)

cormac halpin

Tom Joad wrote: »

Not going to get dragged into that one with you Cormac - you started a thread about the shocking behaviour of one county devaluing the competition etc but said that the players never had. In response, I said Kildare are not the first county to do this and you were making it out to be a big issue.

You started this thread with the following hyperbole



Kerry example was from a quick google to show that Kildare are not the first county to deliver a "kick in the stones" for this fine old tournament. There are I am sure countless other examples of this treatment by other counties.

Its a relic of a tournament from the past - its still at the wrong time in the Calendar, GAA continue to pay lip service to it.

Maybe you are being genuine and care for this fine old tournament but you are kidding yourself if the players and fans do - even within the GAA, Christy Cooney wanted to end it but the traditionalists in the Central Council wanted to keep it going so lip service is being paid to it. The venue and charity element to it are a step in the right direction but the biggest issue is when it is being played and please stop trying to deflect the discussion by throwing examples I have used into it.

The players do care for it, I think you'll find they have regularly fought to keep it on, if they didn't care they wouldn't bother attend trials or the games.

You believe it to be a relic, I believe it to be a storied competition that was ousted from its pride of place on the calendar and treated with the orphan child ever since. We disagree, so be it.

By the way, you mentioned Kerry, yet you still didn't show me the last time no Kerry player made himself available for the tournament? I'm quite frankly curious as to when this may be. Sure the Competition has been neglected and devalued, yet each year enough stellar names from our game make themselves available, go out of their way, to take part.

There is life in it, and no amount of naysayers will change that anytime soon. It just needs the correct handling and it hasn't had that in decades. They are trying now to provide it with this, hence why this action is a kick in the stones, nothing more, nothing less.

The past is irrelevant in this instance, its a new administration, who are trying to do right by this Competition. Again, you have yet to say anything that has come close to changing my mind on that.

Tom Joad

cormac halpin wrote: »

Christy Cooney was the worst President the Association has had in decades. Liam O'Neill is attempting to save this Competition after years of neglect. Not sure how relevant this is in that regard.

Its relevant in that it shows that the GAA themselves cannot decide what to do with this tournament and there are as many is Croke Park would consign it to the history books as those who want it revived. Players and counties see it as an inconvenience and another clogging of the calendar and the timing is awful. And yet you are outraged by Kildare's disdain for the competition and their treatment of some gentlemen and poor olde Gillers :rolleyes:

klairondavis

cormac halpin wrote: »

I guess we won't know what made them unavailable. It's just that someone mentioned that it was because of burnout or they like, yet they are either training with Kildare or playing with their Clubs, so burnout would seem to be an unlikely reason for their unavailability. It would seem that none of us really know anything until the players perhaps make it clear themselves. Either way, they have refused this chance en masse.

I don't know how you arrive at that conclusion. The article in the newspaper does not reveal any details.

We do not know how many Kildare panelists were invited. It could have been no more than a handful for all we know. Perhaps the few players concerned are carrying injuries, maybe they have holidays booked for this weekend or perhaps they intend on playing some part for their clubs in the Aldridge Cup. If they are playing for their colleges midweek it could be that they think they could do without another possible two matches with Leinster.

To simply say that the Kildare panel have refused 'en masse' or to suggest that the players concerned have been pressured by management is pure conjecture on your part, not fact.

cormac halpin

klairondavis wrote: »

I don't know how you arrive at that conclusion. The article in the newspaper does not reveal any details.

We do not know how many Kildare panelists were invited. It could have been no more than a handful for all we know. Perhaps the few players concerned are carrying injuries, maybe they have holidays booked for this weekend or perhaps they intend on playing some part for their clubs in the Aldridge Cup. If they are playing for their colleges midweek it could be that they think they could do without another possible two matches with Leinster.

To simply say that the Kildare panel have refused 'en masse' or to suggest that the players concerned have been pressured by management is pure conjecture on your part, not fact.

Apologies, I was referring to those having been invited refusing en masse. I should have made that clearer.

Tom Joad

cormac halpin wrote: »

The players do care for it, I think you'll find they have regularly fought to keep it on, if they didn't care they wouldn't bother attend trials or the games.

You believe it to be a relic, I believe it to be a storied competition that was ousted from its pride of place on the calendar and treated with the orphan child ever since. We disagree, so be it.

By the way, you mentioned Kerry, yet you still didn't show me the last time no Kerry player made himself available for the tournament? I'm quite frankly curious as to when this may be. Sure the Competition has been neglected and devalued, yet each year enough stellar names from our game make themselves available, go out of their way, to take part.

There is life in it, and no amount of naysayers will change that anytime soon. It just needs the correct handling and it hasn't had that in decades. They are trying now to provide it with this, hence why this action is a kick in the stones, nothing more, nothing less.

The past is irrelevant in this instance, its a new administration, who are trying to do right by this Competition. Again, you have yet to say anything that has come close to changing my mind on that.

You say players care - obviously some do, just as many don't. Again some fought to keep it on other didn't.

I never said there was a time that no Kerry players were available - but come on 2 Kerry players made available for Munster weakens Munster more than no Kildare players for Leinster. Kerry didn't "kick it in the stones" so "it was more of a light flick" then.

I'm not trying to change your mind on anything - I'm merely rejecting your assertion that Kildare are the big bad wolf in all of these and have done something shocking and embarassing as a ridiculous argument which is not even grounded in fact - you don't have any proof that Kildare took a decision en masse to boycott the railway cup.

cormac halpin

Tom Joad wrote: »

Its relevant in that it shows that the GAA themselves cannot decide what to do with this tournament and there are as many is Croke Park would consign it to the history books as those who want it revived. Players and counties see it as an inconvenience and another clogging of the calendar and the timing is awful. And yet you are outraged by Kildare's disdain for the competition and their treatment of some gentlemen and poor olde Gillers :rolleyes:

Mickey Whelan and Sean Boylan are two of the greatest gentlemen involved in this Association, please show them the respect their CV's have earned them. Anyone who is in the 'Nell last year to see Boylan's passion for the competition will acknowledge that. If GAA men like Boylan, Whelan and Kernan are for it, then that's all I need to know.

So feel free to roll your eyes all you like, if that's all you have to contribute at this stage.

cormac halpin

Tom Joad wrote: »

You say players care - obviously some do, just as many don't. Again some fought to keep it on other didn't.

I never said there was a time that no Kerry players were available - but come on 2 Kerry players made available for Munster weakens Munster more than no Kildare players for Leinster. Kerry didn't "kick it in the stones" so "it was more of a light flick" then.

I'm not trying to change your mind on anything - I'm merely rejecting your assertion that Kildare are the big bad wolf in all of these and have done something shocking and embarassing as a ridiculous argument which is not even grounded in fact - you don't have any proof that Kildare took a decision en masse to boycott the railway cup.

I would imagine the majority fought to keep it on, hence why it's still here. The best still make themselves available, Brogan, O Sé et al, that's all the matters really, why would you want anything less than the best

Light flick, kick, is this where we're at now?

It is you who is obsessed with Kildare in this instance. I merely singled them out initially as it was them who put themselves in that position. Had it been any other County, then it would have been aimed at them. The point of the matter is they chose to do as they have, so be it. The tournament will go on, it's just a shame they took this decision to make themselves unavailable.

Tom Joad

cormac halpin wrote: »

Mickey Whelan and Sean Boylan are two of the greatest gentlemen involved in this Association, please show them the respect their CV's have earned them. Anyone who is in the 'Nell last year to see Boylan's passion for the competition will acknowledge that. If GAA men like Boylan, Whelan and Kernan are for it, then that's all I need to know.

So feel free to roll your eyes all you like, if that's all you have to contribute at this stage.

Where have I shown any disrespect for any of the above mentioned . I'm really not sure if you being deliberately obtuse or just don't understand my points but if I really have to explain each one in minute detail I could be here a while. Its unfortunate really but we could have had a serious debate on the interprovincials but not if your posts are all attempts to take this on tangents to deflect from the discussion.

Now back to you as you started this thread - can you back up your original assertion - that's how debate works - you make a point and then back it up.

Another kick in the stones for this fine old tournament. Disgraceful carryon and
one you hope Comhairle Laigheann would see fit to dole out punishments
for.

I wish Giller and the boys all the best regardless, but what a snub
to gentlemen like Pat, Sean and Mickey.

cormac halpin

:rolleyes: Unbelievable how you carryon. I don't understand how or why I bother.

What original assertion is that?

Another kick in the stones for this fine old tournament.

It is another kick in the stones. By the way, thanks for pointing out I said another, thereby pay reference to all the others.

Disgraceful carryon and one you hope Comhairle Laigheann would see fit to dole out punishments for.

It is disgraceful carryon to snub a storied tournament such as this.

I wish Giller and the boys all the best regardless, but what a snub
to gentlemen like Pat, Sean and Mickey.

I do wish them all the best. And they are gentlemen. And it is a snub.

Honestly, if I have to go through each of my posts from the first post onwards, I'd prefer not to debate with you, although I get the impression debate isn't what you seek somehow or other.

Tom Joad

What is my carry-on Cormac - want to check my record on this site and see how many infractions I have got or if I engage in winding up other people here.


Last attempt and getting to the core of this - By your assertions on this thread you want Kildare punished for snubbing this competition and see it as Kildare trying to insult legends of the game such as Mickey Whelan and Sean Boylan. I along with other posters have said that your assertions are ludicrous as this tournament is a relic and the treatment of the tournament is consistent with other counties treatment of it over the years and even the treatment within HQ. Some posters are even challenging the factual assertion you have made.

I have come to the conclusion that as you are unwilling to back up or debate your assertions that considering such other threads as "kildare in financial crisis" and "your copying the avatar of another Kildare poster" are part of your general winding up antics here and there is no substance to your opening post.

This renders debate with you, while mildly amusing on an otherwise dreary Tuesday afternoon, completely futile.

DARK-KNIGHT

Tom Joad wrote: »

What is my carry-on Cormac - want to check my record on this site and see how many infractions I have got or if I engage in winding up other people here.


Last attempt and getting to the core of this - By your assertions on this thread you want Kildare punished for snubbing this competition and see it as Kildare trying to insult legends of the game such as Mickey Whelan and Sean Boylan. I along with other posters have said that your assertions are ludicrous as this tournament is a relic and the treatment of the tournament is consistent with other counties treatment of it over the years and even the treatment within HQ. Some posters are even challenging the factual assertion you have made.

I have come to the conclusion that as you are unwilling to back up or debate your assertions that considering such other threads as "kildare in financial crisis" and "your copying the avatar of another Kildare poster" are part of your general winding up antics here and there is no substance to your opening post.

This renders debate with you, while mildly amusing on an otherwise dreary Tuesday afternoon, completely futile.

Well said tom

klairondavis

Learned today that three Kildare players were invited to join the panel. Two of them are attending a wedding and the other player is nursing a slight injury.

DARK-KNIGHT

klairondavis wrote: »

Learned today that three Kildare players were invited to join the panel. Two of them are attending a wedding and the other player is nursing a slight injury.

Talkin bout OP throwing toys out of pram without finding out the true facts and throwing crap at certain fans here.

Anyways that's this put to bed isn't it? Who were the players out of interest klairon? I'm guessing Doyle, Bolton and podge?

largepants

I'd be prepared to debate the subject with a genuine poster who is seriously concerned but in this instance there are other agendas.

For one who is so morally upstanding where is his outrage at the medal for sale on ebay? Bluffer of the highest order.

iDave

Ok can the lovers tiff take it elsewhere please. Heres the Ulster squad for those who are interested

Kieran McKeever (Armagh); Kevin Niblock (Antrim); Tommy McElroy (Fermanagh); Brendan McVeigh, Paul McComiskey, Mark Poland, Benny Coulter (all Down); Darren Hughes (capt), Kieran Hughes, Conor McManus (all Monaghan); David Gibney, Gearoid McKiernan (both Cavan); Pascal McConnell, Joe McMahon, Sean Cavanagh, Martin Penrose, Peter Harte, Cathal McCarron, Justin McMahon, Conor McAliskey (all Tyrone); Michael Murphy, Neil McGee, Eamon McGee, Mark McHugh (all Donegal); Chrissy McKaigue, Dermot McBride (both Derry).

Clareman

largepants wrote: »

I'd be prepared to debate the subject with a genuine poster who is seriously concerned but in this instance there are other agendas.

For one who is so morally upstanding where is his outrage at the medal for sale on ebay? Bluffer of the highest order.

Attack the post not the poster

Prop Joe

Heard that John Evans has pulled the Rosscommon guys from the Connacht side

klairondavis

DARK-KNIGHT wrote: »

Talkin bout OP throwing toys out of pram without finding out the true facts and throwing crap at certain fans here.

Anyways that's this put to bed isn't it? Who were the players out of interest klairon? I'm guessing Doyle, Bolton and podge?

I don't know who the three players were but that's what I heard - only three players were asked and none are available for the reasons outlined above. It's a non story really.

DARK-KNIGHT

klairondavis wrote: »

I don't know who the three players were but that's what I heard - only three players were asked and none are available for the reasons outlined above. It's a non story really.

Thanks for letting us know klairon.. Appreciate it

Tom Joad

iDave wrote: »

Ok can the lovers tiff take it elsewhere please. Heres the Ulster squad for those who are interested

Kieran McKeever (Armagh); Kevin Niblock (Antrim); Tommy McElroy (Fermanagh); Brendan McVeigh, Paul McComiskey, Mark Poland, Benny Coulter (all Down); Darren Hughes (capt), Kieran Hughes, Conor McManus (all Monaghan); David Gibney, Gearoid McKiernan (both Cavan); Pascal McConnell, Joe McMahon, Sean Cavanagh, Martin Penrose, Peter Harte, Cathal McCarron, Justin McMahon, Conor McAliskey (all Tyrone); Michael Murphy, Neil McGee, Eamon McGee, Mark McHugh (all Donegal); Chrissy McKaigue, Dermot McBride (both Derry).

Very strong Ulster panel - from a Cavan perspective nice to see Givney and McKiernan getting recognition. Two of the great hopes for Cavan football.

augustus gloop

8 tyrone players and only 4 donegal???? whats up with that? also on another note, a club mate of mine is on the Ulster panel, we are applying to have out club match postponed this weekend, and we will get it too, any club in the country could do this so the argument of club fixtures is a non starter.
Being asked to represent the collective, be it club, county or province is a matter of pride that is at the core of the GAA, if one is fit, it should be regarded an honour to be selected, not a hinderence

iDave

Here is Leinster

Stephen Cluxton (Dublin), Kieran Lillis (Laois), Michael Quinn (Longford), Graeme Molloy (Wexford), Ger Brennan (Dublin), Adrian Flynn (Wexford), John Heslin (Westmeath), Paul Flynn (Dublin), Redmond Barry (Wexford), Michael Darragh Macauley (Dublin), Paddy Keenan (Louth), Joe Sheridan (Meath), Bernard Brogan (Dublin), Cian O'Sullivan (Dublin), Neil Gallagher (Louth), Sean McCormack (Longford), Dessie Dolan (Westmeath), Barry Gilleran (Longford), Brian Malone (Wexford), James Stafford (Wicklow), Brendan Kavanagh (Carlow), Brendan Murphy (Carlow), Graham Reilly (Meath).

celt262

augustus gloop wrote: »

8 tyrone players and only 4 donegal???? whats up with that? also on another note, a club mate of mine is on the Ulster panel, we are applying to have out club match postponed this weekend, and we will get it too, any club in the country could do this so the argument of club fixtures is a non starter.
Being asked to represent the collective, be it club, county or province is a matter of pride that is at the core of the GAA, if one is fit, it should be regarded an honour to be selected, not a hinderence

The club games involving the two Cavan players have also been postponed.

dastardly00

Jaysus, only 489 were at the Connaught vs Leinster hurling match yesterday......

iDave

Looking forward to going to Croker myself for the finals.

klairondavis

Kildare players were also notable by their absence yesterday. All-Ireland winning Dublin boss Gilroy stated that he contacted many of them and they had genuine reasons to turn him down.

“There were weddings being organised, stuff like that, Johnny Doyle felt he needed a break, so they were bone fide about it,” he said.

“Johnny certainly made it clear to us that he’d love to be playing. But he says he’s 35 and when he gets a break he’s got to take it at the moment. So you have to respect that.”

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/brogan-pulls-it-out-of-the-fire-for-leinster-223019.html

There you have it.

Boom__Boom

dastardly00 wrote: »

Jaysus, only 489 were at the Connaught vs Leinster hurling match yesterday......

The Independent reported between 300 and 400

The attendance at the Munster Ulster double-header was reported as 1,615

Despite a serious PR effort in the press its hard not to see the notion of the Railway Cup as being dead.

The phrase flogging a dead horse is all that comes to mind.

wonder88

very dissappointing attendance at the two games. While I would consider myself as a supporter of the competition it looks like the sporting public have said no. However to give some context, I went to a divison 2 National League game two weeks ago between two fairly strong GAA counties; Galway v Derry and the crowd was no more than 600.

jjjd

wonder88 wrote: »

very dissappointing attendance at the two games. While I would consider myself as a supporter of the competition it looks like the sporting public have said no. However to give some context, I went to a divison 2 National League game two weeks ago between two fairly strong GAA counties; Galway v Derry and the crowd was no more than 600.

The problem with the Railway Cup is that the matches are not played at the right time of the year, IMO. They deserve to be played in Croke Park in front of a capacity crowd in the summer. After all, the inter-pros are meant to represent the best talent from each of the counties of each province and therefore deserve the best treatment. They should be marketed as such.

I always find after the August bank holiday weekend when most counties have been eliminated there seems to be a lull or anti-climax during August when we are so used to having so many Championship matches in June and July. At this stage you are just waiting around for the semis and finals which are quite drawn out. In fact I will so as far as saying after the August weekend I look on with sadness that the Championship is coming to an end for another year. During August (apart for the bank holiday weekend) there are so few matches really.

With so many inter-county players at their peak of their fitness and conditioning, and their county eliminated by August, there is an opportunity that these players would make themselves available for selection for their province. The semi-finals of the Railway Cup could be played on the Saturday night before Championship matches on Sunday, making a weekend out of it. The finals of the Railway Cup could be played on the eve of the All-Ireland finals as well, making another weekend out of it. It gives the opportunity for the best players in the country a chance to play in Croke Park in September even if their county doesn't make it. Who can argue with that?

fixxer

Just to add a little more truth into the Kildare situation for cormac, it was no surprise Gilroy came out this week saying it was nonsense that Kildare had made players unavailable since after the original players could not go McGeeney recommended him five other names from the squad which he declined to try out. Not quite the story cormac hoped for in the end.

bruschi

jjjd wrote: »

The problem with the Railway Cup is that the matches are not played at the right time of the year, IMO. They deserve to be played in Croke Park in front of a capacity crowd in the summer. After all, the inter-pros are meant to represent the best talent from each of the counties of each province and therefore deserve the best treatment. They should be marketed as such.

I always find after the August bank holiday weekend when most counties have been eliminated there seems to be a lull or anti-climax during August when we are so used to having so many Championship matches in June and July. At this stage you are just waiting around for the semis and finals which are quite drawn out. In fact I will so as far as saying after the August weekend I look on with sadness that the Championship is coming to an end for another year. During August (apart for the bank holiday weekend) there are so few matches really.

With so many inter-county players at their peak of their fitness and conditioning, and their county eliminated by August, there is an opportunity that these players would make themselves available for selection for their province. The semi-finals of the Railway Cup could be played on the Saturday night before Championship matches on Sunday, making a weekend out of it. The finals of the Railway Cup could be played on the eve of the All-Ireland finals as well, making another weekend out of it. It gives the opportunity for the best players in the country a chance to play in Croke Park in September even if their county doesn't make it. Who can argue with that?

clubs.

I agree with you in principal, but when a team gets knocked out of championship their club championship goes into full on action and its pretty much non stop during August and September. I know for myself, we had games for 9 weeks in a row from August through September between hurling and football, and even then there were still games after that.

I genuinely dont know what the solution is, but would agree to seeing these games in August would be a great spectacle.

FatherTed

jjjd wrote: »

The problem with the Railway Cup is that the matches are not played at the right time of the year, IMO. They deserve to be played in Croke Park in front of a capacity crowd in the summer. After all, the inter-pros are meant to represent the best talent from each of the counties of each province and therefore deserve the best treatment. They should be marketed as such.

I always find after the August bank holiday weekend when most counties have been eliminated there seems to be a lull or anti-climax during August when we are so used to having so many Championship matches in June and July. At this stage you are just waiting around for the semis and finals which are quite drawn out. In fact I will so as far as saying after the August weekend I look on with sadness that the Championship is coming to an end for another year. During August (apart for the bank holiday weekend) there are so few matches really.

With so many inter-county players at their peak of their fitness and conditioning, and their county eliminated by August, there is an opportunity that these players would make themselves available for selection for their province. The semi-finals of the Railway Cup could be played on the Saturday night before Championship matches on Sunday, making a weekend out of it. The finals of the Railway Cup could be played on the eve of the All-Ireland finals as well, making another weekend out of it. It gives the opportunity for the best players in the country a chance to play in Croke Park in September even if their county doesn't make it. Who can argue with that?

Good idea but what if KK are in the hurling final as usual, then the "best" players would not necessarily be involved. Or if Cork and Kerry get to the AI football final, what would Munster do?

Maybe have them immediately after the Football finals. One problem with that is that club championships are still going on. Also make them double-headers e.g. for the semis Connacht v Leinster in both hurling+football at one venue and Munster v Ulster in the other.

Tom Joad

Why not have them New Years Day in Croke Park and really promote them - most players have done the hard conditioning, their would be no clash with other commitments in the diary. I know I for one am dying for a bit of ball on the telly/ to attend over the holiday season. Wouldn't take long for it to be a fixture in the diary..

Connorzee

Curtain raiser to the All Ireland Final, in between the minor and senior match. Leave out those that are playing in the final, and you'd still have the best hurlers/footballers in the country all playing on one day...

MfMan

Connorzee wrote: »

Curtain raiser to the All Ireland Final, in between the minor and senior match. Leave out those that are playing in the final, and you'd still have the best hurlers/footballers in the country all playing on one day...

Possibility of ticket dilution then for supporters of main counties taking part though.

ProudDUB

Connorzee wrote: »

Curtain raiser to the All Ireland Final, in between the minor and senior match. Leave out those that are playing in the final, and you'd still have the best hurlers/footballers in the country all playing on one day...

Not sure if Croker is up to hosting 3 games on one day. What if the day is wet? The pitch would be a total mess by the time the seniors arrived. It would be a terrible shame if the most important game of the year was decided by a bad bounce, or a key player twisting his ankle in a divot that wasn't there at the start of the day.

I was at the Leinster/Connaught game. It was a shame the crowd was so small, as it was a cracking match. Berno was on fire. T'was fablis !

I think that having it at this time of year doesn't help when most counties, players & supporters are more focused on the league kicking off and Sigerson. They could take or leave this competition really. Think it should be held at the end of the year, when most counties have been out of serious contention for silverware for quite some time, and supporters may be interested in going to see some of their lads in action again. No offence to Longford, but I think that holding the semi's outside of the larger population centers does not help in terms of marketing the event, and getting decent crowds to attend.

iDave

Decent match in Croker yesterday. Both sides seemed really up for it. Leinster had the better of it in the first half but a penalty for Ulster got them back into it. They took their goals well in the second half which were both killer blows for Leinster. All round very enjoyable match of football.

celt262

MfMan wrote: »

Possibility of ticket dilution then for supporters of main counties taking part though.

There would be no need to do anything different with tickets sure each club in country get 3.

zetecescort

I know the TV show is called League Sunday but would it have killed RTE to show a few minutes of todays game?

Congrats to Munster anyway

petronius

I heard a suggestion that they should schedule the
Football Railway Cup match on the same day/venue as the National League Hurling Final
and Hurling Railway Cup match on the same day/venue as the National League Football Final

it would increase the crowd and I think get some hurling fans to watch football and vice versa

Pete_Cavan

A better suggestion (which I read from a poster in another thread on here) is to play the games the day before their All Ireland final (so football interpro the day before football final and hurling interpro before hurling final). It would be a great way to capitalise on the hype surrounding the finals which would hopefully attract a decent crowd. It would also be a good time because players are at peak fitness at that time and you are guaranteed most players have no club or county commitments that weekend. Ok you are missing the players from the teams in the final but I think that is worth it if basically everybody else is available.

It would mean playing it off over one day but I dont think that is a bad idea. Play each match 20 minutes a half, two semi finals and a final. Obviously that would be all in one venue and could be moved around each year, hopefully this will help with crowds as local people come out to see stars they don't usually get to see.

petronius

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

A better suggestion (which I read from a poster in another thread on here) is to play the games the day before their All Ireland final (so football interpro the day before football final and hurling interpro before hurling final). It would be a great way to capitalise on the hype surrounding the finals which would hopefully attract a decent crowd. It would also be a good time because players are at peak fitness at that time and you are guaranteed most players have no club or county commitments that weekend. Ok you are missing the players from the teams in the final but I think that is worth it if basically everybody else is available.

It would mean playing it off over one day but I dont think that is a bad idea. Play each match 20 minutes a half, two semi finals and a final. Obviously that would be all in one venue and could be moved around each year, hopefully this will help with crowds as local people come out to see stars they don't usually get to see.

It sounds a good idea, and should be considered however it would exclude players from the teams in the all-ireland finals.