All-Ulster hurling team a non-runner

lala88

All-Ulster hurling team a non-runner

30 October 2012


Antrim's Aaron Graffin and Derry's Paddy Henry during the Ulster SHC Final at Casement Park. ©INPHO
A leading Antrim GAA official has poured cold water on a suggestion from the GPA that a combined Ulster team be formed to compete in the All-Ireland SHC.

The players' body passed a motion at its AGM last Friday proposing that the possibility of an all-Ulster team be examined.

The GPA recommended that Ulster combine minor and under 21 squads initially but Antrim chairman Jim Murray has dismissed the notion.

"I know this is an initiative from a players' body looking to explore it but I'm surprised it has come into the public domain like this without any prior consultation with us," he told the Irish Independent.

"I can't speak for any other Ulster county but as regards ourselves I wouldn't see us discussing this for too long. Our aim is to try and improve Antrim hurling. I don't honestly see how this move could achieve this. I'd have thought there are other problems first for a players' body to deal with."

Do people think this would be a runner? Its clear to see Antrim think they would be too good for it but what about the other counties? Even if it was only done for a year or two to give some of the players from the ''weaker'' counties a chance to play the top teams

Clareman

I can never see things like this happening, in West Clare hurling is very weak and most clubs West of Ennis would be purely football only, it was mooted a few times the possibility of forming an combination of a number of clubs to have a "Peninsula" club but every time it was shot down because football is still strong and guys haven't much interest in going out playing with lads they are going to be going out to beat the next day.

I would say that if football was weak as well that it could be a possibility, but when you have 1 strong code and players playing both any kind of setup like this will never take off.

iDave

Its unlikely to happen. In some ways it dose make sense and maybe it should be tried with Ulster representing 8 counties with Antrim competing seperately. The team would have no fanbase though. Cant see too many traveling from Derry, Letterkenny, Virginia to say Clones to support a Railway cup team. Also getting lads to go out on the field and die for each like they do for the counties is unlikely too.
But hey its always worth a go.

randd1

It was never a runner from the off, there's too much individualism and pride in the counties for that to happen.

kupus

I think its a great way of strengthening hurling though, it becomes higher profile and with a high profile, it generates more interest in the non hurling counties.
Eventually down the road they can revert to playing as a single county and if some of the county teams fall short, then they can join together again while the stronger counties can continue on their own.
Its a win win for everybody imo.

In ulster you can have Don/Der/Try as one team,
Have the base somewhere beside the Tyrone west border with Donegal
and have games played in a rotation format between the 3 counties.

Fer/mon/cav as another
Have the training base slap bang where the 3 counties border
and again play games in a rotation format.
Antrim on their own and armagh and down together.

In Connacht
Sli/may/ros/leit
training base in ballaghadreen and games again on a rotation basis
Galway on their own
There is 6 teams there that could play a champions league style format.
All teams get 5 games with 1st and 2nd in a play off for the final. Realistically its going to be Galway V antrim. Winner goes onto QF of AI, loser into backdoor.
Other 4 teams well there can be a 3rd an 4th place play off and then 5th and 6th.

Everybody gets 6 games, great exposure, great novelity factor, Galway and Antrim get good games to help them further their own aims of getting to an AI and the weaker counties get experience.


In leinster ah jaysis I forgot about them and Im not changing the above
Long/west, mea/lou, Kildare/Wick, Laois/carlow, Kilkenny, offaly, dublin, wexford

Hmm thats 8 teams in leinster so stick longford/westmeath in with Uls/Con championship that leaves them both with 7 teams in each Championship.
OR OR
Have 2 tables of 4 teams with 2 of the big dogs in each playing home and away thats 6 games and top one in each play against each other for the leinster title...

Ah here I'm winging this at the moment and havent thought it out and Im off to bed, but I think ye get my gist.

Squidgy Black

From a logistics point of view it'd be near impossible. For lads to travel from places like Donegal, Fermanagh and Cavan just to train for a county team when they've got their own club commitments, and especially at minor level when lads are still in school. And of course it'd almost certainly be based in Antrim seeing as it's the most prominent county.

buck65

This will surely happen in the future though, even being discussed now at this level is a breakthrough.

Ando's Saggy Bottom

In theory if done correctly it could be a very good thing. Possibly consider the same in Connacht minus Galway.

mrbango

Don't know much about hurling in the north but this is not going to improve anything. Would be hard to return to compete as seperate counties. I would suggest counties joining up for club competitions .

In ulster you can have Don/Der/Try as one team,
Have the base somewhere beside the Tyrone west border with Donegal
and have games played in a rotation format between the 3 counties.

Fer/mon/cav as another
Have the training base slap bang where the 3 counties border
and again play games in a rotation format.

Antrim on their own and armagh and down together.

In my opinion if you improve club hurling first you have a base to improve county teams.

kupus

Pete Campbell wrote: »

In theory if done correctly it could be a very good thing. Possibly consider the same in Connacht minus Galway.

I'd combine Connacht and Ulster together. and as for logistics what if you play for malin head and you have to go to bundoran for a club game thats a 5 hr round trip anyway.

So if Donegal derry and tryone are joined together they can travel to strabane and train there thats roughly an hour from each of the furthest spots in the 3 counties.

In connacht you can be based in tubberrurry and thats roughly 1 hr from the furthest spot of each county.

Logistics is used only an excuse.
If that was really the case why is their a football league at all where its possible that games like donegal play wexford, or antrim play kerry can be thrown up.

kupus

mrbango wrote: »

Don't know much about hurling in the north but this is not going to improve anything. Would be hard to return to compete as seperate counties. I would suggest counties joining up for club competitions .

In my opinion if you improve club hurling first you have a base to improve county teams.

A waste of money throwing it at club hurling in many parts people dont even know about club hurling or that a club even exists because it dosent get the column inches that the football gets.

Join the counties first and get them competing to a decent level, THEN fund clubs in the areas.

It may also change the mentality of players, I had a friend who played hurling for one of the weaker counties and was considered one of the best but for him it was like getting his teeth pulled, roll out of bed on a sunday and just get a beating from the big dogs.....
Any every sunday it was the same thing he used to say when he came back....Im not going thru with this ****e again next week. Of course he did though as he loved the game.

But give him an option of joining three counties where they could take a scalp of Galway Antrim Dub etc and im pretty sure he'd take it.