O Riain competition renaming up for debate
By Shane Brophy
28 motions will be discussed by clubs next Tuesday night at the annual club structures meeting for 2022 competitions.
They highest profile debate will likely be over the future naming of the Seamus O Riain Cup competition with no fewer than six motions on what to call the second tier competition in club hurling going forward.
The County Management Committee, along with Newport are proposing that the O Riain Cup be renamed the Premier Intermediate Championship, with the winners progressing to represent Tipperary in the Munster Intermediate Championship, which the O Riain Cup winners are not allowed to as it is a senior grade competition.
However, at a County Board meeting of clubs last August, a decision was made to break the link between the Dan Breen and O Riain Cups, with the creation of new divisional championships for O Riain Cup level teams, meaning for instance a repeat of what occurred this year with an O Riain team in Killenaule winning the South senior title, but playing in a Dan Breen Cup quarter final would not be allowed.
This proposal is backed by both Kiladangan and Eire Og Annacarty who have submitted motions to that effect, but is being rejected by Burgess and Carrick Swan who want the status quo to remain with a divisional winner getting a place in the knockout stage of the Dan Breen Cup. However, if a change does come about, Burgess are also proposing it be delayed until 2023 when the new sixteen team limit in championships, brought in at GAA Congress last February, comes into force.
Elsewhere, Eire Og Annacarty and St Patrick’s are proposing the return of quarter finals in the junior ‘A’ hurling and football championships, as was the case upto 2019 where since only the four divisional winners advance.
In football, Aherlow have submitted three motions that in senior football, only the third placed teams in groups play for the Tom Cusack Cup, while the fourth placed teams play off in relegation respectively. They are also looking for an open draw for the county senior and intermediate championships, rather than having semi-finalists seeded from the previous year.
In terms of the County Hurling & Football Leagues, the County CCC are proposing reverting to the pre 2019 format of eight teams per division with two groups of four with the group winners playing in division finals with the bottom teams in each group playing off in a relegation decider, with the next divisions winner bring promoted for the following year, and so on.
Four motions will pertain to the age grades where the County Management Committee are proposing that of the under 19 and under 21 grades currently in existence, just one of under 19, 20 or 21 be played going forward. However, Cappawhite and Knockavilla Kickhams have proposed counter motions for the current grades to be retained.
The County Management Committee have also put forward a motion that Under 17 grade become an all-county championship in both hurling and football with groups on a geographically regionalised basis to reduce travel.
Newcastle and Skeheenarinky have proposed a joint motion for the creation of a new ‘C’ grade at under 19, 20 or 21 level in both hurling and football to cater for clubs that cannot field at fifteen aside in ‘B’ grade, adding that this grade should be minimum eleven aside.
Nenagh Eire Og are proposing that all juvenile players on county panels be available to play for their clubs in all championship matches after some competitions proceeded without county players in 2021, with some clubs eliminated from competitions before their county players were eligible to play
In terms of grading players, Moyne-Templetuohy are proposing that the listing of the first eighteen players on a clubs first team for championship so junior championships can begin, be re-examined with exemptions included for players on the first eighteen to regrade if they haven’t played on the first team.