Next Saturday, as planned, the All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals will occur at Thurles. This comes after a tight decision at the emergency Central Council gathering to keep the games as they are and not swap them with the Tailteann Cup semi-finals, which are set to take place at Croke Park the following Sunday.
The proposal for the change, backed by Wexford, was thought to also be supported by the councils of Munster and Leinster provinces. Nonetheless, there were rumours over the weekend that the quarter-finals games could have been rescheduled for Sunday instead of Saturday, due to disappointment regarding their minor scheduling on a double bill which starts at midday. This scheduling is owed to RTÉ, the media rights holder’s commitment to broadcasting the URC final live, which has no Irish teams in it this year.
In Thurles, Dublin will compete against Cork and Wexford will go up against Clare. Wexford had requested a postponement due to them hosting the national under-14 Féile festival.
If the games had been swapped, the Tailteann Cup semi-finals would have been moved to Saturday. One of the counties affected by a potential change, Sligo, had already expressed their objection.
Seán Carroll, the county chair, sent an email published by the Irish Independent, in which he voiced Sligo’s dissatisfaction at the proposal. He argued that the benefits for the hurling counties would be scarce and temporary, while the potential move of the Tailteann Cup semi-finals from their prized Sunday slot would confirm the cup as an afterthought in the GAA’s calendar.
Without denying the importance of the Tailteann Cup for half of the Association, Carroll questioned the respectability of a competition that the Association is willing to move around at the whim of a few. He criticised the potential decision as disrespectful to all involved in the Tailteann Cup and its advocates, including those not directly involved themselves.
The Central Council debated the issue due to the Central Competitions Control Committee, the usual agency managing fixtures, had deferred it for elevated deliberation. This occurred as the exclusive scheduling for the Tailteann semi-finals was pivotal in marketing the Tier Two football championship.
As planned, both semi-finals – featuring matches of Down against Sligo, and Antrim versus Laois -is set to proceed on the upcoming Sunday.