Sorry... what we do here is expensive and GAA funding is way off inflation
WHEN it comes to the issue of the rising costs involved in the preparation of intercounty teams – which has doubled over the past 10 years to nearly €40million – I would have been on the outside every year saying this is not sustainable. Now I’m driving the train.
You’re trying to raise standards all the time. The expectation from players and management is so high – that’s what drives it on. Plus added massive inflationary issues. It’s how you fund it is the question – and the input from Croker hasn’t kept up with inflation.
It’s really about the effort on the ground. It’s why you’re seeing more full-time staff in counties. In Offaly, we have created full-time positions in terms of operations, administration, head of performance, head of medical, nutrition, coaching and more – now we have a full team and hopefully a really strong sustainable structure.
We’re always trying to get better bang for our buck.
You still need your sponsors because we spent €1.2m on our teams. In 2019, that was 700k.
Some of the figures quoted from other counties are unbelievable. I saw a county spending over €2million – I don’t know where the money is going because we have left no stone unturned.
I’d be at complete loggerheads with the GPA over the idea of not putting some limit on collective sessions. For the last two years, teams have been going to just two nights collectively – either Tuesday and Thursday or Wednesday and Friday. For other gym sessions et cetera the players can do all the other stuff on their own. It’s not even a training cap but an agreement or consensus that travelling takes up time. That this is a more flexible and more player-friendly way to operate where the same work can be done – without the same cost.
And we are doing that with our development squads. They have one night on their own, and then every team is involved between 9am and 2pm on Saturday at our Centre of Excellence, The Faithful Fields.
It’s about finding a model that suits the players best – and that is sustainable for county boards.
In any case, it’s great to see the National Hurling League back. With the split season, it’s quite a while since we’ve had some proper intercounty action.
It seems like a long time ago since the All-Ireland final. We had a fantastic club championship, particularly the All-Ireland semis and finals which were packed full of quality and drama but the new season starts here. And with another new format. Only the top three from Group A and Group B in the current Division One – plus the fourth best team – will make the cut for the top flight in 2025.
Over my lifetime being involved in county hurling, I’ve seen a load of different changes. Only in the GAA could you start in one competition and win another. But that’s what happened in 1991 when Offaly won its only National Hurling League title.
We actually started out in Division 2 – back then it was Division 1, 2, 3 and 4. There was no 1A or 2B etc. And the format saw a mix and match between the top divisions. The top two in Division 1 qualified for the semi-final while the next two featured in quarter-finals against the best placed in Division 2. Like I said, only in the GAA.
I look at how exciting the first round of the football league was last weekend and wonder is there a lesson for hurling in that? The stakes are even higher now it is linked to Championship status.
Maybe hurling is not as competitive in terms of the gap between some of the top counties and the rest but we might have to think outside the box in terms of breathing new life into the new season.
As it stands, for the hurling league, the attitude of certain teams depends on where they are in a certain cycle. Take Limerick as an example. After winning back-toback titles, there were a couple of years where clearly they didn’t take it as seriously. They were late back from holidays or had players missing.
Last year saw a complete change. They had a lot more work done before Christmas and hit the ground running. My own view is that this was John Kiely saying ‘we can’t afford a psychological slip’. Not in a year when they had a shot at history in terms of a four-in-arow of All-Ireland titles.
They won the League in comprehensive fashion against Kilkenny and while they struggled at times in the Munster championship, they produced when it mattered. Especially in the second half of the All-Ireland final.
The Munster round robin is so competitive it’s very hard for any team to figure out the best way to go about it, whether to go in with form and momentum or refreshed. So it will be interesting to see how they attack it.
For me, the big winners of the new format are the fringe teams. For the likes of Carlow, Offaly, Kildare and Westmeath, the gulf is there. It’s up and down between the divisions.
But this year, for say Offaly who are in Group A of Division 1, they know that, worst case scenario, they will be part of Division 1B in 2025. So there’s an element of pressure off in that respect.
Will the top teams be happy to fluctuate between Division 1A and 1B? I’m not so sure about that, not when they think about gates and profile. So there will definitely be a
It’s about finding a model that suits the players and is sustainable
I can’t imagine the top amateur hurling teams having Rashford type problems
cut and thrust to this year’s competition.
Look at Galway who had a comfortable win against ourselves and against Laois in the Walsh Cup – and then get beaten by Wexford in the final. Henry Shefflin has that Kilkenny mentality of always wanting to be competitive so Galway will want to use it to kick on.
Limerick and Kilkenny will be competitive – that is their nature – and Cork have reason to make a push. They have to be frustrated for a long time now with the lack of silverware, given the talent they have.
In Tipperary, Liam Cahill would have been very disappointed with the way last year finished for them. In Waterford, there’s always a focus around Davy Fitz so who knows what will happen there. With Keith Rossiter coming in as manager, Wexford will want to make an impact.
On a broader front, you have all our amateur players going hard at it over the winter. Sometimes, it’s about finding the right balance between all the training and preparation. You look at Marcus Rashford, on about 380k a week, and he deciding to on the lash in Belfast and not go training.
I can’t imagine any of the top amateur hurling teams having the same sort of issue this spring. Not when there is real jeopardy around keeping top flight status.