After making the draw for the All-Ireland football quarter-finals ten days ago GAA president Jarlath Burns said that the GAA need to work on raising the standards of hurling countrywide. Right now just 11 of the 32 counties play at the top level, the MacCarthy Cup. Only seven of that top ten: Cork, Kilkenny, Tipperary Limerick, Clare, Galway and Wexford have won the MacCarthy Cup in recent years. Offaly’s last win was in 1998, Waterford’s last All-Ireland win was in 1959, Dublin’s won the MacCarthy Cup back in 1938, while Kildare has never qualified for a Leinster final.
Burns said: ‘‘We are not going to solve this particular challenge overnight or even in the next three or four years. It could take maybe 20 years for us to get to the level that we want.’’
I mention these statistics as we head into the All-Ireland hurling semi-final weekend. Galway might give Cork a good game at Croke Park on Saturday afternoon, but on Sunday Limerick are unlikely to be troubled by Clare. The Munster final in Pairc Ui Chaoimh on June 6 where Limerick beat Cork by a point, was barely over when commentators began to say that we would likely see those two counties in opposition again on All-Ireland final day. Since then Limerick have been idle, while Cork racked up a massive 6-25 in their facile win over Offaly in the All-Ireland quarter-final. The standard of hurling in Munster is currently much higher than in the other provinces and it’s difficult for the GAA to have competitive quarter-finals under the present structure. Kevin O’Donovan, the Cork GAA CEO agrees, saying: ‘‘If we are all interested in promoting hurling, we have a responsibility to all counties, not just the golden circle we are lucky to be part of at the moment.’’ The Round Robin system has guaranteed more games in Munster where most games are sold out, and in Leinster also. But the quarter-finals which were introduced in 1997, and benefit the counties who don’t make it out of their province, have mainly resulted in double-digit defeats. There is talk of a new play-off system based on American College football, which should we are told, give us competitive quarter-finals, but that is just talk for now. Cork’s hurlers have incredible support and on Saturday red will probably be the dominant colour on the terraces when they play Leinster champions Galway. The meeting of Limerick and Clare on Sunday is unlikely to be a sell-out. I’m going for a Cork-Limerick final, but I have been wrong in the past!
