SPLIT’S A WIN FOR HEGARTY
MANY may have bemoaned the absence of All-Ireland finals across this month of September — but Gearoid Hegarty hails the split season as a“major success”.
You'd have to go back as far as 2017 for the last time the All-Ireland hurling final took place in its traditional setting on the first Sunday of the ninth month, with each of Limerick's four titles in the interim coming in August (twice), December and, this year, July as the split season got its first proper airing.
That left a bigger vacuum than many people were comfortable with amid calls for the climax of inter-county season to be shifted back, though the finals will only take place a week later in 2023 and will still be done and dusted before August rolls around.
That won't quieten those who are lobbying for a less clustered inter-county schedule, though Limerick star Hegarty is loving the new fixture format.
“I'm a huge fan,”he said.“The demands on the inter-county player are just unreal. Now, nobody is forcing us to play – I could easily ring John Kiely when I'm finished this interview and tell him I've had enough and I don't want to play anymore – so I'm not giving out.
Demands
“But I'm saying the demands on the inter-county player are extreme – and getting more and more. You have to put your life on hold – again it's my decision and I love doing that and plan to do it for another number of years.
“I understand there are negatives associated with the split season but
I'd love if there was a survey done of players as to how they like it. I feel like, unfortunately, the players are forgotten about a lot in some of these discussions that go on around rule changes. I'd imagine inter-county players are loving it.
“A good friend of mine was getting married in Portugal – I was able to go to it. On August 11.
“I understand there are drawbacks to the split season but for the player, and I'm specifically talking about the player