CHRIS OF DEATH TO THE IDEA OF TAILTEANN CUP
DERRY star Chrissy Mckaigue believes there would have been a ‘mass exodus to America’ if the Tailteann Cup had gone ahead.
The experienced defender is dead set against the Tier 2 competition which was supposed to kick off this summer.
The plan was for teams that finished in Divisions 3 or 4 in the League to be redirected to the Tailteann Cup, unless they reached their provincial final.
Derry looked set to close out their League campaign in Division 3 and would have had to then beat Armagh followed by Tyrone or Donegal to avoid Tier 2 football.
Mckaigue claimed on
The Sideline View podcast that players would simply have walked away after the League.
The dual star said: “I just think the Tier 2 would have been an absolute catastrophe. This year you saw a real desperation in Division 2 and Division 3 in particular. The League was so important because you didn’t want to be playing Tier 2.
“For your development as a player, as a team, you need to be playing the best teams. We all can’t win and we all can’t achieve trophies but I think there’s a lot of prestige in competing against the best.
“I would have been very, very fearful this year if Tier 2 had have happened, that when you would have entered your provincial championship there would have been a mass exodus to America because boys were going to prioritise that I would say.
“If you were from a club that had a chance of winning a club championship, were you realistically going to prioritise a Tier 2 All-ireland over a club championship? I would have been doubtful about that too.”