Cork GAA: Clubs vote through radical change for junior grades
Andrew O'Connor, Boherbue in action against Simon O'Neill, Ballinhassig. If Hassig win their division in 2022, they'll be promoted. Picture: Larry Cummins.
BRIAN Hurley and Seán Meehan have been appointed joint-captains of the Cork senior football team for 2022.
The news was announced at Tuesday’s county board meeting at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, with Castlehaven man Hurley and Kiskeam’s Meehan succeeding Ian Maguire, who had held the role since 2018.
Earlier in the meeting, board delegates voted to inaugurate a county-wide premier junior championship grade.
While it had been envisaged that the lower intermediate hurling – the fifth tier – would disappear at the end of 2022 as part of restructuring, it will now be retained as the premier junior.
Underpinning the change was the logistical difficulty in divisional junior A championships being completed in time for the county championships to run off and provide Munster representatives.
While maintaining the status quo was an option for delegates (Option C), it received just 14 of the 233 votes cast. Option A, which would have seen the intermediate A championships recast as premier junior and premier intermediate becoming intermediate, had 99 votes while Option B – fifth-tier premier junior – received 120.
The 12 teams in the 20222 PJHC will be Kilbrittain – last year’s beaten LIHC finalists – Glen Rovers, Ballygarvan, Tracton, Argideen Rangers, Milford, Ballygiblin – the 2021 junior champions – Barryroe, Dripsey, St Finbarr’s, St Catherine’s and Russell Rovers.
With the junior A football championship providing a Munster representative this year, that code will take precedence in the divisions – but county secretary Kevin O’Donovan was keen to point out that this did not equate to divisional hurling championships being ignored until football was finished.
Prior to the vote, delegates had engaged in healthy debate around the options.
Matt Aherne of Passage was against what proved to be the chosen method as it would weaken divisional championships: “I know relegation is a dirty word for some clubs but we eventually arrived at competitive, outstanding championships.
“If we go for Proposal B, it appears that we’d have to promote eight teams to make up a fifth grade in the football – that would further decimate the divisions. If this happens, they’d be weaker again.
“We could have gone for the status quo because it would give us more of a chance of winning a county junior championship. When I pointed that out to our fellas that the status quo would mean a knockout championship, they weren’t in favour.”
Cork’s Central Council delegate Tracey Kennedy leaned towards Option B as it benefited more clubs, but she said that it was “absolutely critical that we take a serious look at junior A and B. Every club – not just those advancing to the county championships – is entitled to a meaningful programme and we have to examine what we offer them.”
Shamrocks delegate Liam Shanahan felt that the proposals were “bending over backwards for intermediate clubs.
He wondered if a two-up, two-down promotion and relegation system was a worthy notion but Kevin O’Donovan – who pointed out that he is from a junior club, Kilmeen/Kibree – said that, while it was considered, it was felt that, with one-up, one-up down in other grades, that should pertain.
“In terms of it being a slight on junior clubs – we have 92 junior A football clubs and 74 hurling and expecting them to come to one in the same time as 12 premier senior clubs come to one didn’t work anymore. It’s a matter of mathematics.”
John Arnold (Bride Rovers) asked if there was a risk of All-Ireland club finals being scheduled for earlier than currently the case, necessitating another change next year.
“I cannot see into the future,” O’Donovan replied. “It’s my belief they will stay the same for the foreseeable future.”
The proposed transfer of All-Ireland U20 hurling winner Shane O’Regan from Watergrasshill to Sarsfields remains in stasis.
The Watergrasshill delegate was asked by the club to ask the committee “to give great consideration not to granting the transfer” and chairperson Marc Sheehan noted that correspondence on those lines had been received and would be dealt with.
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