Philip Lanigan offers the GAA 15 ways to broaden the appeal of hurling
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THE hurlers of Galway and Kilkenny flew half-way round the world to Sydney to compete for the inaugural Wild Geese Trophy.
The hurlers of Limerick, Cork, Clare and Wexford left for Boston to play a modified, goals-only ‘Super 11s’ format in the famed Fenway Park, a version of the game that doesn’t actually exist on the ground.
With hurling struggling to survive or prosper in the top half of this small island, and the game at the highest level still largely the preserve of a traditional nine or 10 counties, it’s no wonder overseas trips by top-tier hurling counties haven’t been universally acclaimed.
What hurling is crying out for is a national plan. Here then, is one to truly make hurling a 32-county game. 1 Upgrade the media rights package to include a club version of The Sunday Game. TG4 set the gold standard in terms of Gaelic games coverage outside of the elite, but there is an obvious demand for a highlights show on the same evening as all the action, which can complement GAA BEO on Monday nights.
The product is there — Sunday’s Leinster semi-final between Ballyboden St Enda’s and Coolderry produced a staggering 10 goals and 53 points while the other semi-final between Ballyhale Shamrocks and Naomh Éanna also threw up 10 goals — and the summer has shown there is huge demand for hurling action.
2 Stipulate that lower-tier hurling competitions need to be part of the television rights deal. The lack of coverage for this year’s inaugural Joe McDonagh Cup — the secondtier competition whose finalists feed into the Liam MacCarthy Cup — was shameful, only fuelling the perception that it’s all about the elite. There are so many platforms on which a live match can be featured each weekend, plus extended highlights.
3 Implement structural reform. The final of the original second-tier competition, the Christy Ring Cup, was intended to feature on the same bill as an All-Ireland semi-final. Instead, it has been sadly downgraded. The finals of the Joe McDonagh/Christy Ring/Nicky Rackard/Lory Meagher Cup should be part of All-Ireland semi-final weekend, especially now that it’s a weekend doublebill. A self-contained McDonagh Cup would also allow the MacCarthy Cup schedule to be tightened.
4 Establish a GAA channel, underpinned by a loop of games footage. TG4’s ‘AllIreland Gold’ series was hugely popular. A GAAGO subscription already includes access to archive matches, the service already proving highly popular. It shouldn’t be only those outside the island of Ireland, though, who can access such a resource.
5 Devise a social and recreational version of hurling and camogie. This would do so much to address the high dropoff rate in Gaelic games where the focus is all about official competition. There is a vast, untapped market — except it’s not in Sydney or Boston, it’s right here at home.
6 Fully integrate the camogie and ladies football associations. The growth of hurling should go hand-in-hand with the growth of camogie. More joined-up thinking can only help the promotion of both.
7 There is an immediate way to spark a hurling revolution: make dual code nurseries — in Gaelic football and hurling — compulsory in dual clubs up to Go Games level. Demystify hurling from a young age and ensure a change in attitude towards the game in clubs and counties that don’t give anything like the same attention to hurling as Gaelic football. It would immediately broaden the playing base.
8 Help make hurlers recognisable. The introduction of faceguards means that many of the game’s stars are faceless. So insist on hurlers not wearing their helmets in the pre-match parades. Personalised jerseys is another way to go; the names on the back of helmets like the Super 11s is one more way of pushing the players’ profiles.
9 Establish hurling and Gaelic games as a central part of the new PE curriculum. Our national sports deserve prominence, and extra care and attention, no more than the Irish language.
10 Incentivise the funding of school equipment via participation. How many primary or secondary schools don’t even enter teams in competition?
Or give proper encouragement to hurling and camogie in PE?
The aim should be to put a hurley in every schoolchild’s hand. Reward those schools who do just that. And incentivise and recognise the value of teachers taking teams, particularly during after school hours, rather than standing over the status quo.
11 Replace the existing AllIreland minor grade with the Under-17 Celtic Challenge competition, a 32-county model that this summer featured roughly 40 teams. It’s all about participation and development so big population centres like Dublin or traditional top-tier counties like Kilkenny, Cork or Tipperary enter multiple teams. That would, in turn, make county development squads more about participation than, ultimately, hot-housing the best talent.
12 Replace the soulless freetaking shoot-out from the 65-metre line to decide matches with a penalty shootout — always a crowd favourite.
13 Bolster Ulster hurling. The ‘Gaelfast’ programme launched this year — a five-year plan to promote Gaelic games in schools across Belfast with in excess of £1m funding — is an important start. But more can be done.
Re-establish a combined Ulster colleges hurling team and allow it to compete in official competition. Twin each county in Ulster with a top-nine county, with a view to sharing expertise and support on the ground and establishing a connection right down to club level. Promote cross border leagues, like the Táin competition at senior level and Táin Óg at juvenile.
14 Establish a nationwide scheme, via clubs and county boards, to subsidise hurling equipment. At €75 euro for a standard plain helmet, and €25 euro for a juvenile hurley that might last six training sessions or six months, it’s a significant extra compared to rival sports.
15 Expand the role and powers of the GAA’s National Hurling Development Manager. A vote at Central Council and Congress level would give Martin Fogarty a real say in shaping policy. Make that role central to implementing a strategic plan.