The mounting feeling within Ulster in particular that the traditional early season inter-county competitions on the island should be restored is currently triggering widespread debate ahead of Saturday’s Central Council meeting.
It was initially felt that by scrapping the Dr McKenna Cup (Ulster), McGrath Cup (Munster), O’Byrne Cup (Leinster) and FBD League (Connacht), GAA chiefs would create flexibility in relation to what is regarded as an already crowded annual fixtures itinerary.
Cavan will submit a motion to Saturday’s high-level meeting urging that the competitions should be restored for January 2025 to facilitate county teams in coming to terms with new playing rules which are expected to get the green light at next month’s Special Congress.
While there would appear to be mixed feelings in the aftermath of the Railway Cup trial series held at the weekend in which several proposed new rules were very much in vogue, there would now appear to be a strong volume of opinion that would favour the implementation of new rules in restored early-season competitions.
It is understood that there are strong feelings in Cavan as well as in other Ulster counties in relation to aspects of the rules and it now remains to be seen if they can be ‘trialled’ by counties in January.
Cavan PRO Susan Brady stresses that there is a strong desire to have the new rules introduced “as smoothly as possible” and this is why Breffni County officials are keen to see steps taken to ensure this.
“While the decision to rule out the January provincial competitions was taken recently, it is important that the new rules are implemented smoothly. It is to be hoped that any discussion at the Central Council meeting will be beneficial and this will allow us to move forward,” says Brady.
“There is no doubt that the new rules, if implemented, will add to the game as we know it and given that we might see more open play and maybe more scoring I think it can be assumed that the entertainment value of games might be enhanced.
“Obviously there is a demand for a better standard of Gaelic football and this might be delivered because of the steps that we are about to take. We have a good product and we want people to get the maximum enjoyment from it.”
While it was initially understood that the scrapping of the early-season competitions was for 2025 only, there is a strong belief that this might be on a longer-term basis.
Fermanagh manager Kieran Donnelly also took charge of the Ulster side who won the Railway Cup ‘rules trial’ two-games series over the course of the weekend and while he acknowledges that the players by and large came to terms with the demands made upon them, there is still considerable scope for improvement moving forward.
“We were very conscious of the work-load that players had to absorb in the games at the weekend. We were not allowed to make substitutions unless someone was injured and you were always conscious that players had to manage themselves in the two games,” says Donnelly.
“I think that rolling substitutions might become an option going forward and while I think that the four quarters might be possible, we may have to continue with matches of two halves. Obviously there are elements to discuss and steps to take as we go forward.
“There is no doubt that players can become accustomed to the new rules but they have to be given a chance. I know that even though there was a small crowd in Croke Park at the weekend I think they enjoyed the games.
“I think that there is great scope going forward but we will see what happens in January.”