Change coming for premier senior quarter-final draws

The quarter-finals of the county premier senior championships are likely to undergo a notable change from next year onwards.

For the first seven years since the change in structure introduced in 2020, the knockout draw has been determined based on seedings applied based on group-stage showings. The top-ranked side progress directly to the semi-finals and there will be no change on that front but the make-up of the quarter-finals will be altered slightly.

Up to now, the three ties have been set by pairing the second seed with the fifth and the third with the fourth while the club in sixth take on the team emerging from the divisions and colleges championship.

This year, St Finbarr’s were the sixth-ranked teams in both codes, but beat Imokilly by 11 points in the hurling and Carbery by 20 in the football. In 2025, the hurling fixture also pitted the Barrs with Imokilly, ten points the winning margin, while Ballincollig edged Duhallow in the football.

Going forward, the quarter-final against divisional opposition will go to the second-ranked team; a group winner rather than a runner-up. Then, as in the four grades below premier senior, third will play sixth while fourth up against fifth. If third v sixth were to lead to a repeat fixture from a group, the draw would be altered so that third would take on fifth with fourth doing battle with sixth.

Another potential change could see the introduction of home and away fixtures in the group stages of the junior B hurling and football and junior C football championship.

If this were to come to pass, each team would have one home match and one away game, with the final round of fixtures then taking place at neutral venues.

Speaking to The Echo last December, Joe Blake, who is a Cork delegate to the Munster Council, suggested that giving teams home games was something worth examinijng.

“What I would hope is that the CCC set up a sub-committee,” he said, “and I’ve no problem sitting on that.
“If they say that it’s a non-runner, then so be it, but I would hope that people come into this with open eyes and open minds and say that this has worked in other counties.

“Adrigole played in Bantry this year – it’s a superb venue but, unless you have a Beara team playing a Carbery team or a West Muskerry team, they’re not going to get county matches. At present, the only chance such clubs have to host games is if they were to win a county title and get a home draw in Munster.

“Why should they be penalised just because of their geographical location?”