Following on from last weeks piece. “The day hurling died”, there has been some mixed reaction. Some have agreed with the article, others have disagreed. Some have written in, like Aidan below, with balanced opinions, while others have resorted to personal attacks on my hurling ability and GAA background. This is exactly what I was speaking about last week. The pride and passion in Limerick hurling is still there and it will never disappear. However, the plain facts are there for all to see. The last minor title Limerick won was in 1984.
The last under 21 was in 2002. The last senior All Ireland was in 1973. Limerick have won three minor titles, four under 21 titles and seven senior titles. Is this good enough for 125 years? I think you’ll agree we could do better.
So, where to now for Limerick and hurling in general? The structures in Limerick have been changed and there is hope that the Lifting the Treaty plan will produce some stars of the future. I am in no doubt that it will. The question stil arises though. Will there be a good enough hurling championship for the kids to play in?
National Changes
There are several options open to the GAA to make hurling more successful. The backdoor system has taken the gloss off of the provincial championships, often creating a false sense of momentum for teams who only have to play four games to win an All Ireland.One option is to make the provincial championships round robin group affairs with home and away ties. The purpose of the home and away is to make sure that venues like the Gaelic Grounds and fans from Limerick get to see their team more often on their own doorstep. The resulting All Ireland series can then be seeded from these group placings, with teams who do not qualify making up the Christy Ring and Nicky Rackard Cups. The benefit of this? It allows teams like Kilkenny to play Carlow, Wexford, Laois etc twice. All the hurlers involved will become better with games and the interest is kept alive for longer. Teams such as Limerick would then benefit from the extra games and fan exposure. Thus creating an interest which will fuel the desire of the young kid to pick up a hurley.
Local Changes
Again, there are many many ideas on this topic. One which has always stuck with me is the lack of games for the hurlers in clubs not on county panels. There are two options here. Does the county board create a new “non panel players” league, to run alongside the inter county championship, or does it go all the way and make all panelled players on the county team unavailable to their clubs for the championship season. I know that this is considered controversial, but it may just allow more players to come through and play. As it stands, some club players are merely minding jerseys for senior players. This does not allow for the talent to come through at club level nor does it allow for the senior panel to be refreshed.
Phoenix from the ashes
To finish, Limerick hurling is still alive and next year will see a massive improvement I am sure. From the ashes of the season just passed, green shoots of Limerick GAA will grow. Changes are needed and they will be made. Limerick GAA fans can look forward to days in the sun with new heroes. 2010 could be our year.
