Hurling legends hit out at ‘crazy’ scheduling of summer’s big games
Two hurling legends want significant change to the scheduling and timing of major games as the season comes through one of its worst pinch points.
The lunchtime throw-in for the first All-Ireland hurling quarter-final between Dublin and Cork last Saturday and now a 3.0 throw-in for an All-Ireland semi-final between Kilkenny and Clare has been described as a “disaster” by former Kilkenny All-Ireland winner Eddie Keher.
And Cork’s John Fenton has suggested the compacted season is “unfair” on players and supporters while denying the promotion he says that hurling deserves.
“Saturday might be OK for some people but it’s not for an awful lot of people,” said Keher of the All-Ireland semi-final. “To travel to games on a Saturday is very difficult.”
The 3.0 throw-in has been set because of TV scheduling once again. With RTÉ 2 taken up with Euro 2024 in the evenings, accommodation can only be made to broadcast live earlier in the day.
“I think it’s a total disaster what is happening, they are trying to promote but they have actually downgraded it to an extraordinary level,” said Keher, speaking at the launch of the 23rd Circet All-Ireland GAA golf challenge in Killarney.
“Have the games on prime Sundays, available to people in both reality and on television,” added Keher. “They have to take the hard decision and go back to the way it was some years ago.
“The best way to promote hurling is to have the great hurlers – the likes of Cian Lynch, Tony Kelly, TJ Reid, Eoin Cody – to the forefront during all the summer so that young people can aspire to what they are producing, rather than aspiring to heroes in other sports.”
Fenton wants to see the county season stretched out but acknowledges difficulties in accommodating club fixtures, especially in a dual county like Cork.
“I would be in favour of keeping the round-robin but we have to stretch it,” he said. “It’s absolutely crazy that there are so many games compacted into such a short space of time. It’s very unfair on the players, it’s very unfair on the spectators.”*