O’Donovan unimpressed by Hand Pass proposals

By Shane Brophy

Former Tipperary All-Ireland senior hurling winning defender Conor O’Donovan has send the recommendations from the Hurling Expert Advisory Committee (HEAC) relating to the handpass won’t lead to a change in behaviour in relation to the skill.

The Nenagh Eire Og clubman who won All-Ireland’s in 1989 and 1991 has been a vocal advocate on the issue of ball-throwing in the game, and in the recently published interim report from the HEAC, in the findings of the public survey of over 8,400 respondents, illegal hand-passing or ball-throwing was the top issue among all stakeholder groups, including Club Officials & Administrators, Referees & Match Officials, Inter-County Players, Media & Broadcasters, Club Players, Coaches & Team Managers, the Parents of Players, and Hurling Supporters.

In one of the recommendations of the HEAC, headed up by former Cork, Wexford and Carlow senior hurling manager John Meyler, relating to the hand-pass is effectively proposing the status quo but with the insertion of the word “clear” into the definition of the hand-pass to read that the ball must be “released and struck with a clear and definite striking action of a hand.”

“They are just playing with words,” O’Donovan said.

“It is a misnomer because what they have said there is what is pretty much covered in rule 4.2b anyway that the ball has to be released and struck with a definite striking action so what is the difference between a definite striking action and a clear and definite strike?”

Other amendments in relation to the hand-pass to be trialled in the third-level Fitzgibbon League starting later in October are the banning of two consecutive hand-passes, and an increase to six steps allowed for players in possession which O’Donovan feels are “a cop out.”

“This will allow ball throwing to continue and I would argue it will be as bad, if not worse, as it is now,” he said.

“I’d also be fairly sure the likelihood will be that referees will completely ignore it as it is just one handpass and they will let it off.

“Three things were highlighted as issues, the handpass, the tackle, and steps. Sort out the handpass and it will go a long way to reducing the issues there are there with steps and the tackle.”

O’Donovan’s own proposal to allow the handpass only when played off the hurley was defeated at GAA Congress in 2025 garnering 32% support, but he has suggested his previous idea could be amended to allow players to drop the hurley to hand-pass as the case in hurling up to 1990.

“There is pressure on a swarmed player to hand-pass from the same hand but if he was allowed to drop the hurley and complete the hand-pass from the other hand, it would satisfy both issues,” he suggested.

A native of Effin in Co. Limerick but long time ensconced in Nenagh, Conor is also critical at the lack of urgency from referees on the hand-pass issue, feeling their credibility is being undermined by allowing illegality to happen.

“The referees could sort this out overnight if they stood up,” O’Donovan said.

“All they have to say to the leadership in Croke Park, there has to be a rule change because throwing is going on and we cannot police it. The heads of the refereeing body need to stand up and be counted. It is reflecting very negatively on them in terms of the quality of their officiating whether they are letting a throw go or penalising a dodgy handpass incorrectly, that is sub-standard refereeing.

“Really, the bigger picture as far as I am concerned is the integrity of the game of hurling.”

In the interim report on the “hand-pass and throwing problem,” the HEAC said: “everyone agreed on the core problem: the ball is being thrown rather than handpassed, referees are not enforcing the rule, and the practice is now actively coached at every level.”

Games Intelligence Unit data from Division 1A and 1B of the 2026 National Hurling Leagues found roughly four in ten passes were hand-passes, and many stakeholders felt a significant share of these were, strictly speaking, illegal throws.

The report went on to say: “The most frequently proposed solution, initially put forward by Conor O’Donovan, was to allow the handpass only when played off the hurley – this removes the throw without banning the skill, and makes the pass clearly visible to both referee and spectator.

“The second most popular idea was simply to enforce the existing rule, require a clear, visible separation between hand and ball, with the onus on the player, backed by a coordinated two-to-three week zero-tolerance period to reset behaviour.

“A third option was to cap consecutive handpasses at two or three before the ball must be struck.

“A significant minority, strongest among Joe McDonagh and Liam MacCarthy respondents, argued the more honest fix would be to legalise the underarm throw outright, since enforcement is now effectively impossible.

“Over 65% of coaches, referees and media wanted stricter enforcement; inter-county players were least enthusiastic but around half still favoured tightening the rules.”

Conor O’Donovan has been critical the direction of hurling has been going in, revealing that as far back as 2008 was the first time he contacted Croke Park about the growing issue of illegal handpassing.

“The game has become a hybrid sport,” O’Donovan said.

“Ball-striking, ball-throwing and running with the ball in the hand, it’s no longer essentially a ball-striking sport and that is very sad. So far, the GAA at the top level have allowed it to deteriorate or evolve like that.”

He was also critical of some of the members of the HEAC whom he feels don’t have the will to address the current issues in the game.

“For the likes of John Meyler and even Ursula Jacob who were the two who spoke most about it, for them to say that the game of hurling has never been better, that is pure rubbish, the game of hurling has never been worse because you have all these issues arising because the game has become possession based by way of throwing the ball.

“Because the game is more possession based, when the ball is on the ground, you are seeing more players standing over to roll-lift the ball, it increases the risk of serious injury because you have guys over the ball, totally exposed, and other guys running into tackle. These instances are happening because the focus is on possession.”