Congress confounds with lack of joined-up thinking
IF there is one constant in GAA life, it is Congress’ limitless capacity to confound. Two decisions last weekend summed up why that body is not fit for purpose and has not been for a long time. A motion that the winners of the Christy Ring cup should be automatically entitled to a place in the quarter-finals of the Leinster Championship was passed. It was totally out of keeping with the structured way that the GAA has sought to address the handling of developing teams in the All-Ireland Senior Championship in recent years. The advent of the preliminary group stage in the Leinster Championship was devised to facilitate the relegation of teams from the Liam MacCarthy Cup but has also allowed promoted teams to find their footing at their own level. I believe it was a great idea, not just because it was a process to regulate numbers but also it provided a perfect opportunity for teams to adapt at a higher level, without being blown out of the water. This amendment will prove to be extremely beneficial to a team such as Kerry, last year’s winners of the Christy Ring Cup, but that opportunity will no longer be available from next year, when the winners go straight into the quarter-finals. That means that they will almost certainly get one game in the Leinster Championship while running the risk, if they are drawn against one of the stronger teams, of taking a hammering that will only serve to stall momentum and damage confidence. It also creates the huge anomaly that a team that were operating at a lower tier will automatically be entitled to advance further than those who have been playing at senior level for a number of seasons in the preliminary stages. When you see that lack of joined-up thinking in operation then it might go some way to explaining why the Congress delegates turned their back on moving the All-Ireland finals forward to help facilitate the introduction of a calendar year. It might explain it, but it in no way forgives it.