Return unlikely for second-team inter-county competitions

On Wednesday, we ran a sports quiz and a question that could have been included was – which was the first trophy awarded at the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh?

Before you rush to check in which order the Cork county championships concluded in the autumn of 2017, we’ll save you the time checking: it came on the first weekend of inter-county action in July of that year, with Kilkenny beating Cork in the All-Ireland intermediate hurling final.

Martin Keoghan, now the holder of six Leinster senior hurling medals, was part of the victorious Cats side, while Patrick Collins kept goal for Cork.

It was the Rebels’ first and only outing in that edition of the championship; in 2018, when Ger Millerick helped Cork to avenge the previous year’s result in Nowlan Park against a Kilkenny side featuring Mikey Carey, the All-Ireland final was the sole fixture in the grade.

While the second-tier championship was good to Cork as a testing ground for future stars – 20 All-Irelands across intermediate and junior – a return is unlikely for that.

Equally, the All-Ireland junior football championship is now contested by Kilkenny counties from outside the island and it is unlikely to revert to the developmental competition that served Cork and Kerry well.

While Munster Council chairperson Tim Murphy would be in favour of the old system, he accepts that there is not sufficient support elsewhere.

“I think it worked actually very well in Munster,” he says, “and it was something that we certainly want.

“In my time in Kerry we wanted to retain them but there was absolutely no appetite at all outside of Munster to retain it and hence it's gone over. You have Kilkenny and New York and whatever you know playing in it.

“I don’t disagree with what they were saying at all, I think there’s an opportunity there or it certainly needs to be looked at. I suppose it would need appetite from the counties.”

Another change that does not look like being undone is provincial senior finals finishing on the day.

In his annual report 12 months ago, Munster CEO Kieran Leddy pointed out that, if replays were to be accommodated, the calendar would have to be extended on the off-chance of an extra date.

As it happened, last year’s hurling decider between Cork and Limerick finished level after 70 minutes and again after extra time, with the Rebels winning on penalties. While there might have been disquiet in some quarters with the method, overall there was acceptance.

“Well, I think I think the stats are that it is something like one in 10 or 12 years is the likelihood of it happening,” Murphy says.

“Building in a replay has a lot of knock-on effects as well for teams, so I think, as of now, there's no real appetite to go there.

“There hasn't really been any kind of negativity from any of the counties in Munster.”