Hurling 2024

[Milltown Row2]

I'm hoping for a initially buy with clubs players and sponsors to the set up should he be coming in.

After that, like any manager they will be judged on results and improvements on previous years

Our targets are reasonable, stay up in Div 1, stay in the McCarthy cup, target gains against teams that are just above our level and bring in new talent

I would have thought by going for Davy if that actually is the case, they would be looking to move forward from where they have been over last couple of years. I don't know if that is possible with the current group I've a feeling we are a few short but who knows.

I think we need to be real also, we can't just bring lads into the county to play for us, we have a vibrant Div 1 league that when it gets down to the business end of things the Antrim champions are competing at a higher end, we just need to make a top 3 teams into a top six set of teams to have players that are developing onto the senior intercounty set up.

We have been poor at underage and unfortunately that's not changing soon, so to be where we are with poor underage success, shows the effort of the clubs and coaches across the county. That said, making that leap to tier one is difficult. 

[EmeraldOpal]

Should they make the points part of the goalposts more narrow in hurling.

[Truthsayer]

Should they make the points part of the goalposts more narrow in hurling.

After one of the best All Ireland finals ever and a brilliant championship why would we change things?

[johnnycool]

Should they make the points part of the goalposts more narrow in hurling.

After one of the best All Ireland finals ever and a brilliant championship why would we change things?

On a practical level, I'm not sure if you're with a dual club or not, but how would that work?

After this years football they should be looking to widen the posts by about 10 metres...

[SaffronSports]

Should they make the points part of the goalposts more narrow in hurling.

After one of the best All Ireland finals ever and a brilliant championship why would we change things?

On a practical level, I'm not sure if you're with a dual club or not, but how would that work?

After this years football they should be looking to widen the posts by about 10 metres...

And bring them forward about 10 metres too when Shane Walsh is playing

[seafoid]

Nicky English: Hurling being undermined by the crammed calendar of the last three years
We've now reached a situation where only the All-Ireland semi-finals and final are being played at the height of summer – the optimum time for hurling

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Young Clare fans greet the players on their arrival at Wolfe Tones GAA club in Shannon, following the county's All-Ireland final triumph. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho
Nicky English's picture
Nicky English
Sat Sept 07 2024 - 06:00

Oasis may have put the final nail into hopes of expanding the fixtures window for next year's intercounty championship.

It's not thought likely to change at Saturday's Central Council meeting and I suspect minds were already made up about next year's calendar.

I am glad though that in future there is likely to be a replay of drawn All-Ireland finals rather than extra time.

I equally believe that hurling is being undermined by what has happened in the past three seasons. Some of that may have to be accepted for the greater good but there are other issues that could be addressed in the interests of everyone. Even two additional weeks in the calendar could alleviate problems.

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Nicky English: Hurling being undermined by the crammed calendar of the last three years

First, there is the time of year, which is one of those problems that can't be addressed but it is worth acknowledging that it has a role in compromising the quality of championship play.

I've made the point previously that there is a lot of hurling being played in bad weather. Who knows what the weather patterns are going to be but we are pushing back into the year, leaving only the All-Ireland semi-finals and final being played at the height of summer.

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The Munster final was played in very cold conditions this year, admittedly unusually cold, but the closer you get to May, the more that is likely to happen. Play is a step slower when the championship starts. It's a different surface.

In traditional terms, it's end of league conditions. League semi-finals always ran the chance of being quite poor. This was for a few reasons – imbalance of motivation, lack of competitiveness but one of them definitely was the pitches were on the turn.

Agronomy is more advanced than it was but at the same time, it's less than ideal.

Short of playing every Munster match in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, which has had millions invested in its playing surface, it appears that we just have to accept two different standards of hurling as the season progresses.

From a marketing and promotional perspective, we are playing a lot of big games in direct competition with the climax of the English Premier League and the European Champions Cup in rugby. The rugby isn't guaranteed an Irish interest but it has happened consistently over the past few years with all the associated hype.


Clare captain Tony Kelly and manager Brian Lohan lift the Liam McCarthy cup at Wolfe Tones club in Shannon. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho
Two years ago, the All-Ireland hurling final weekend was up against Ireland winning a Test series in New Zealand and Rory McIlroy being one of the last group out on the final day of the British Open. There was no question of the hurling being overshadowed but it was fighting for finite space.


This complicates things for the GAA as does the number of hurling matches in particular that are streamed on GAAGo. I have no problem with subscription broadcasting but using a platform that is difficult for many people to access – between technical issues and broadband quality – in my view impedes proper promotion of the game.

Again, that comes with the territory but other matters are more easily addressed. It was ridiculous that three of the championship's last five games threw in before 4pm on a Saturday. Hurling needs better promotion. If you're trying to push the game in Dublin where the crowds are slow to come out for the hurlers, you have to do better than that.

Their opponents Cork are the best supported team in the country but you're asking them to play in Thurles at 1.15pm on a Saturday in an All-Ireland quarter-final. That makes no sense whatsoever and is in effect downgrading the game and the championship.

I'd like to see the quarter-finals played on a Sunday. A semi-final shouldn't be played at 3pm on a Saturday. Again, I have no problem with the day but it needs to be at a time when the full focus of the audience can be on it.

Then, on occasion there are simply too many matches. You have days when two Leinster and two Munster fixtures are up against each other. This logjam has resulted in some matches not being screened at all – notoriously, last year when one of the big traditional set pieces of the hurling summer, Wexford v Kilkenny, wasn't shown anywhere and of course it turned out to be a firework display of a game.

If you are trying to promote hurling to an audience that flicks in and out of it, like audiences do with most other sports, it is not ideal that momentum isn't really reached until the All-Ireland semi-finals and final. Then the season is over.



Cork's Patrick Horgan dejected after the All-Ireland final loss to Clare after extra time. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
One of the biggest disadvantages is the way in which the hurling champions are no sooner crowned than attention switches to the onrushing football final. You get a quick flash of Clare coming home but there's no time for further reflection before high-profile hurling heads off into the sunset.

There will be club fixtures but they don't have the same penetration with the public for obvious reasons. An extra week between the finals would make a significant difference to hurling's ability to stay in the public mind a little longer.

The intense concentration of fixtures can have other consequences. For one reason or another there were injuries going into this year's final. Two of the game's top forwards were affected – Hurler of the Year elect Shane O'Donnell and leading points scorer Patrick Horgan both came into the final carrying injuries. Another, Tony Kelly, was only coming back after missing a lot of game time.

Even switching focus for a moment to the football final, Galway's three marquee forwards, Shane Walsh, Damien Comer and Rob Finnerty had injury concerns going into the final. Finnerty had to go off early and neither of the others played anywhere near form. That was operating off the same timetable.

You can gain a week immediately by getting rid of the preliminary All-Ireland quarter-finals, which are an anomaly. The McDonagh Cup winners will have access to the Liam MacCarthy the following season, which is how promotion works in most sports.

I accept that this doesn't buy you an additional week – because counties wouldn't be asked to play an All-Ireland quarter-final seven or eight days after losing a provincial final – but it would reduce wear and tear on players.


Not getting time to breathe means that people's attention often wanders. In theatrical terms, too many big productions are being moved off-Broadway and I think that has to be damaging over time.

[Truthsayer]

Am a long time following hurling. I didn't realise only 5 players are allowed on the line to defend against a free. That was wat ref in an underage match did yesterday and ones were saying he was right. There you go...

[Milltown Row2]

Am a long time following hurling. I didn't realise only 5 players are allowed on the line to defend against a free. That was wat ref in an underage match did yesterday and ones were saying he was right. There you go...

Ref's are always right... even when they are wrong...

Though you can have as many players as you want on the line if the free was outside the 21

[Blowitupref]

Hurling All-Stars Nominations

Goalkeepers

Patrick Collins (Cork)

Nickie Quaid (Limerick)

Eibhear Quilligan (Clare)

Defenders

Adam Hogan (Clare)

Conor Cleary (Clare)

Conor Leen (Clare)

Diarmuid Ryan (Clare)

John Conlon (Clare)

David McInerney (Clare)

Eoin Downey (Cork)

Robert Downey (Cork)

Ciarán Joyce (Cork)

Dan Morrissey (Limerick)

Kyle Hayes (Limerick)

Barry Nash (Limerick)

Huw Lawlor (Kilkenny)

David Blanchfield (Kilkenny)

Calum Lyons (Waterford)

Tadhg de Búrca (Waterford)

Chris Crummey (Dublin)

Paddy Burke (Antrim)



Midfielders

Darragh Fitzgibbon (Cork)

Tim O'Mahony (Cork)

Tony Kelly (Clare)

Cathal O'Neill (Limerick)

Conor Burke (Dublin)

Cian Kenny (Kilkenny)



Forwards

Shane O'Donnell (Clare)

Mark Rodgers (Clare)

Aidan McCarthy (Clare)

Peter Duggan (Clare)

David Fitzgerald (Clare)

David Reidy (Clare)

Shane Barrett (Cork)

Seamus Harnedy (Cork)

Patrick Horgan (Cork)

Brian Hayes (Cork)

Gearóid Hegarty (Limerick)

Tom Morrissey (Limerick)

Aaron Gillane (Limerick)

David Reidy (Limerick)

Lee Chin (Wexford)

Rory O'Connor (Wexford)

John Donnelly (Kilkenny)

James McNaughton (Antrim)



Hurler of the Year Nominees

Shane O'Donnell (Clare)

Darragh Fitzgibbon (Cork)

Kyle Hayes (Limerick)



Young Hurler of the Year Nominees

Adam Hogan (Clare)

Eoin Downey (Cork)

Cathal O'Neill (Limerick)

[johnnycool]

Hurling All-Stars Nominations

Goalkeepers

Patrick Collins (Cork)

Nickie Quaid (Limerick)

Eibhear Quilligan (Clare)

Defenders

Adam Hogan (Clare)

Conor Cleary (Clare)

Conor Leen (Clare)

Diarmuid Ryan (Clare)

John Conlon (Clare)

David McInerney (Clare)

Eoin Downey (Cork)

Robert Downey (Cork)

Ciarán Joyce (Cork)

Dan Morrissey (Limerick)

Kyle Hayes (Limerick)

Barry Nash (Limerick)

Huw Lawlor (Kilkenny)

David Blanchfield (Kilkenny)

Calum Lyons (Waterford)

Tadhg de Búrca (Waterford)

Chris Crummey (Dublin)

Paddy Burke (Antrim)



Midfielders

Darragh Fitzgibbon (Cork)

Tim O'Mahony (Cork)

Tony Kelly (Clare)

Cathal O'Neill (Limerick)

Conor Burke (Dublin)

Cian Kenny (Kilkenny)



Forwards

Shane O'Donnell (Clare)

Mark Rodgers (Clare)

Aidan McCarthy (Clare)

Peter Duggan (Clare)

David Fitzgerald (Clare)

David Reidy (Clare)

Shane Barrett (Cork)

Seamus Harnedy (Cork)

Patrick Horgan (Cork)

Brian Hayes (Cork)

Gearóid Hegarty (Limerick)

Tom Morrissey (Limerick)

Aaron Gillane (Limerick)

David Reidy (Limerick)

Lee Chin (Wexford)

Rory O'Connor (Wexford)

John Donnelly (Kilkenny)

James McNaughton (Antrim)



Hurler of the Year Nominees

Shane O'Donnell (Clare)

Darragh Fitzgibbon (Cork)

Kyle Hayes (Limerick)



Young Hurler of the Year Nominees

Adam Hogan (Clare)

Eoin Downey (Cork)

Cathal O'Neill (Limerick)

I'd go with the following although I think Shane Barrett deserves one over Patrick Horgan but it will be the other way round for sentimental reasons.

Kelly also will get a midfield berth for similar reasons, the final alone even though he hardly pucked a ball the whole championship to that point. due to injury mind.

For me John Donnelly was the most consistent forward from Kilkenny and should get it over some of the others. KK will get one All Star for being Leinster champions, quota's and all that.

Lee Chin had a great year, but probably won't get one.