Shane Dowling column: Football identified a problem and tackled it - hurling hasn't
It is not even a debate - the football championship has been far superior to the hurling championship in 2026
Shane Dowling
17:47, 22 Jun 2026
I was away on a family holiday this weekend. I managed to negotiate two hours off for myself. The plan was simple: find a sports bar, sit down, and watch Clare against Dublin. That was the plan. The reality was different.
The bar was packed with televisions. Hurling was on one side. Mayo against Meath was on the other. I parked myself in front of a telly for the All-Ireland quarter-final. But every time a roar went up, it was coming from the football. Eventually, I found myself turning my head away from the hurling and watching Mayo and Meath instead.
What does that tell us? It tells us football has changed. And it tells us hurling needs to.
The new football rules have transformed the game. Matches are watchable again. They are exciting. There is jeopardy. There is space. There is unpredictability. Most importantly, there is entertainment. Football identified a problem and tackled it. Hurling hasn't.
Clare and Dublin was another example. The conceding of puck-outs has become a scourge. Teams are happy to allow an opposition goalkeeper pick out a defender standing 20 yards away. Nobody presses. Nobody contests. The ball goes sideways. Then sideways again. The sting is gone from the game. And this wasn't an isolated case. Too many championship matches this year have followed the same script.
Clare are now in an All-Ireland semi-final. Fair play to them. But they were hammered twice in Munster. That tells its own story about the championship.
So let's not dance around the obvious. Football has been better than hurling this season. By a distance. That's not a debate. It's reality.
Football had the courage to conduct a major review. It accepted that the game had drifted. It accepted that supporters weren't enjoying what they were watching. The result has been one of the most entertaining football championships in years. There is a committee examining hurling. Good. Now let's see some action.
Darragh Fitzgibbon was asked recently about possible changes and his view was that hurling is fine. You can understand that response from a current player. What else can he say? But as an ex-inter county player, I strongly believe the game needs a serious review. People don't like change. Every suggestion is met with the same argument: "Hurling is fine." No. It isn't.
Liam Sheedy made the point that hurling is over 140 years old. That's true. But the game that existed 140 years ago is not the game we have now. Players are bigger. Players are stronger. Players are fitter. Coaches are more sophisticated. Everything has evolved except parts of the rulebook. Nobody is calling for 15 changes. We don't need a revolution. But we do need tweaks. Football went from being deeply frustrating to genuinely enjoyable because people weren't afraid to act. Why should hurling be different?
Take the issue of players looking for frees. It has become one of the most irritating parts of the modern game. Let's be honest about it. Players actively seek contact. They grab an opponent's arm. They hook onto a hurley. Then the arms go into the air and they appeal for a free. And too often they get one.
Here's my confession. If I was playing, I'd probably do the same. Players will always exploit whatever the rules allow. That's not the problem. The problem is officials continue to reward it. Referees should be reviewing clips every week. They should be identifying these incidents and agreeing to stamp them out. One referee with the courage to blow against it consistently would make a huge difference. Because supporters can see what's happening. And they are tired of it.
The same applies to puck-outs. The short puck-out has become a curse. It slows games down. It removes contests. It reduces jeopardy. Maybe the answer isn't obvious. But surely it's worth discussing. Football wasn't afraid to have those conversations. And look at the result.
Then there is the bigger picture. GAA president Jarlath Burns recently said hurling has never been stronger and pointed to counties like Kildare, Laois and Carlow making breakthroughs. I don't agree. Kildare spent one season at the top table and are back in the Joe McDonagh Cup. That isn't a breakthrough.
The reality is that hurling will probably never be a genuinely competitive game in more than 12 to 14 counties. That's not being negative. That's being realistic. So support those counties. Invest heavily in them. Give them every chance to close the gap.
But counties also need to look at themselves. Take Dublin. The population is there. The resources are there. The funding is there. At some stage, results have to follow.
For me, this has been the poorest hurling championship in a very long time. Maybe since those bleak years around the start of the last decade when crowds were drifting away and too many games were forgettable.
The players are not the problem. The commitment is extraordinary. The conditioning is extraordinary. The preparation is extraordinary. But the game itself needs help. Not radical change. Not endless tinkering. Just sensible adjustments.
Tackle the scourge of players hunting frees. Address the short puck-out. Increase the contest. Increase the jeopardy. Increase the entertainment. Don't be afraid of change. Football wasn't.
And that's how we ended up in a situation where a lifelong hurling man walked into a sports bar to watch Clare against Dublin and somehow spent the afternoon glued to Mayo against Meath.
It is not even a debate - the football championship has been far superior to the hurling championship in 2026
Shane Dowling
17:47, 22 Jun 2026
I was away on a family holiday this weekend. I managed to negotiate two hours off for myself. The plan was simple: find a sports bar, sit down, and watch Clare against Dublin. That was the plan. The reality was different.
The bar was packed with televisions. Hurling was on one side. Mayo against Meath was on the other. I parked myself in front of a telly for the All-Ireland quarter-final. But every time a roar went up, it was coming from the football. Eventually, I found myself turning my head away from the hurling and watching Mayo and Meath instead.
What does that tell us? It tells us football has changed. And it tells us hurling needs to.
The new football rules have transformed the game. Matches are watchable again. They are exciting. There is jeopardy. There is space. There is unpredictability. Most importantly, there is entertainment. Football identified a problem and tackled it. Hurling hasn't.
Clare and Dublin was another example. The conceding of puck-outs has become a scourge. Teams are happy to allow an opposition goalkeeper pick out a defender standing 20 yards away. Nobody presses. Nobody contests. The ball goes sideways. Then sideways again. The sting is gone from the game. And this wasn't an isolated case. Too many championship matches this year have followed the same script.
Clare are now in an All-Ireland semi-final. Fair play to them. But they were hammered twice in Munster. That tells its own story about the championship.
So let's not dance around the obvious. Football has been better than hurling this season. By a distance. That's not a debate. It's reality.
Football had the courage to conduct a major review. It accepted that the game had drifted. It accepted that supporters weren't enjoying what they were watching. The result has been one of the most entertaining football championships in years. There is a committee examining hurling. Good. Now let's see some action.
Darragh Fitzgibbon was asked recently about possible changes and his view was that hurling is fine. You can understand that response from a current player. What else can he say? But as an ex-inter county player, I strongly believe the game needs a serious review. People don't like change. Every suggestion is met with the same argument: "Hurling is fine." No. It isn't.
Liam Sheedy made the point that hurling is over 140 years old. That's true. But the game that existed 140 years ago is not the game we have now. Players are bigger. Players are stronger. Players are fitter. Coaches are more sophisticated. Everything has evolved except parts of the rulebook. Nobody is calling for 15 changes. We don't need a revolution. But we do need tweaks. Football went from being deeply frustrating to genuinely enjoyable because people weren't afraid to act. Why should hurling be different?
Take the issue of players looking for frees. It has become one of the most irritating parts of the modern game. Let's be honest about it. Players actively seek contact. They grab an opponent's arm. They hook onto a hurley. Then the arms go into the air and they appeal for a free. And too often they get one.
Here's my confession. If I was playing, I'd probably do the same. Players will always exploit whatever the rules allow. That's not the problem. The problem is officials continue to reward it. Referees should be reviewing clips every week. They should be identifying these incidents and agreeing to stamp them out. One referee with the courage to blow against it consistently would make a huge difference. Because supporters can see what's happening. And they are tired of it.
The same applies to puck-outs. The short puck-out has become a curse. It slows games down. It removes contests. It reduces jeopardy. Maybe the answer isn't obvious. But surely it's worth discussing. Football wasn't afraid to have those conversations. And look at the result.
Then there is the bigger picture. GAA president Jarlath Burns recently said hurling has never been stronger and pointed to counties like Kildare, Laois and Carlow making breakthroughs. I don't agree. Kildare spent one season at the top table and are back in the Joe McDonagh Cup. That isn't a breakthrough.
The reality is that hurling will probably never be a genuinely competitive game in more than 12 to 14 counties. That's not being negative. That's being realistic. So support those counties. Invest heavily in them. Give them every chance to close the gap.
But counties also need to look at themselves. Take Dublin. The population is there. The resources are there. The funding is there. At some stage, results have to follow.
For me, this has been the poorest hurling championship in a very long time. Maybe since those bleak years around the start of the last decade when crowds were drifting away and too many games were forgettable.
The players are not the problem. The commitment is extraordinary. The conditioning is extraordinary. The preparation is extraordinary. But the game itself needs help. Not radical change. Not endless tinkering. Just sensible adjustments.
Tackle the scourge of players hunting frees. Address the short puck-out. Increase the contest. Increase the jeopardy. Increase the entertainment. Don't be afraid of change. Football wasn't.
And that's how we ended up in a situation where a lifelong hurling man walked into a sports bar to watch Clare against Dublin and somehow spent the afternoon glued to Mayo against Meath.
