Live

Highlights on Off The Ball

10:00 AM-01:00 PM

Highlights on Off The Ball
Advertisement
Football

Galway County Board passes motion for hurlers to move to Munster Championship

A motion at the Galway GAA Annual Congress was unanimously passed on Monday night, that may resul...



Galway County Board passes mot...
Football

Galway County Board passes motion for hurlers to move to Munster Championship

A motion at the Galway GAA Annual Congress was unanimously passed on Monday night, that may result in the county's hurling teams joining the Munster Championship.

Galway's senior hurlers joined the Leinster Championship in 2009, winning their sole title in 2012. The Westerners have played in a further four finals between 2010 and 2016.

Despite their impressive record in Leinster, Galway have yet to play a provincial championship match in their own county. The last time they have played a provincial match on home soil was the 2011 Phase 2 Qualifier against Clare. Despite the impasse at championship level, Galway still play their league matches at home in Salthill.

The motion, brought forward by the Liam Mellows club, calls for all the inter-county hurling teams from Galway, to play "in a single Provincial System".

Speaking to the Galway Bay FM in October, the County Board Secretary John Hynes said; "We first came into Leinster in 2009 and since then we've played a total of 48 games. We've played 26 in the championship and 22 in the Walsh Cup and over that period of time, it's only our senior teams that have been in and then two years ago our intermediate team was allowed into Leinster.

"What our underage teams need - our under-21s and Minors - is structured, competitive games to help them develop because at underage level, it's all about player development and unfortunately with the current situation, Leinster have confirmed to us that they are not going to accommodate us at under-21 or Minor level in their championships, so as a result of that, we have an onus as the custodians of the GAA in the county and development of the games to ensure that our underage teams do get meaningful competitive games and that's why we're bringing this issue to a national level," he said.

As the Liam Mellows motion was passed, it will go to the 2017 GAA Congress, with the chances of Galway moving to the Munster Championship becoming a real possibility. Either that, or we may finally see some Leinster Championship matches in Salthill. 

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Football