The Fitzgibbon and Sigerson Cups are two of the oldest, proudest competitions in the GAA.
Founded in 1911 and 1912 respectively, the third level competitions have stalked GAA history ever since, but this year, more than ever, College teams are struggling.
The Laois senior hurlers were back training in October of 2017 in preparation for the 2018 National League. Most county teams had begun their pre-season training programmes by November.
With inter-county players getting younger and younger year after year, county outfits are becoming more and more dominated by college students.
Take the Limerick team who take on Clare on Sunday in the Munster Hurling League final – more than 10 of their starting fifteen will be playing Fitzgibbon Cup in two weeks’ time when the competition kicks off.
Given the rigorous training regimes involved with a modern day inter-county panel, it will have been nigh on impossible, and borderline stupid for any of these players to train with their colleges in the last few weeks.
Before that, going back to November, the college hurling and football league competitions were in full swing. The county players might have got permission to play the odd game for their colleges, but do you think they were slogging with their fellow students training?
What sort of a way is that to build a team spirit? When the club players are putting in the hard yards, training like dogs in the muck of November, and they mightn’t even know their teammate who’s going to come in and take their place on the big day.
And this isn’t the county player’s fault. This is a fault of the system.
Because we’re all well aware that the third level colleges want the best county players in their ranks. They’ll go to massive lengths through scholarships and other offers to attract the hottest county underage stars to their set-ups.
And, then they’ll realise that it mightn’t have been worth the while when the county star misses every other training session and team trip because of their county commitments.
Because the National League is beginning earlier this year, and with hurling and football rounds doubling-up on the same weekends, college teams and their county players don’t have a chance.
Running the whole way into the National League are these pre-season competitions, with more and more county players getting their ‘chance’ in these again – crucially, this year, it’s for their counties.
Because the colleges have been taken out of these competitions, such as the Walsh Cup this year. Where’s last year the county players had to play with their colleges.
Now they’re going into Fitzgibbon Cup campaigns with their best players not having even pulled on their college jerseys.
That’s not fair on anybody. But if the GAA want to restore the value of these competitions, a value that has been diminishing for years, they have a simple solution.
Get rid of the National Leagues.
Because with the new round-robin system in place in hurling this year – which is similar to a league structure – doesn’t it just render the National League a waste of competitive games?
What’s the point in playing a load of league games, when at the end of the day, if a team win the league and lose their first round provincial game, that whole League campaign doesn’t matter a damn.
The championship could then begin and end earlier. College competitions would be given a fairer chance. Club competitions would be given a fairer chance. All GAA players would benefit.
Michael Fennelly wants it. We all want it.
“I wish the year would be shorter, have it a six or seven month year. The league and the round-robin – are they not the same thing at this stage? I haven’t looked into it a whole lot, but to me, the league is like championship. Then you’ve a break of two months, and then you’ve championship again in two months,” said the recently retired Kilkenny legend.
“Why not just accumulate the games together, and just have one big group, or one big championship between the teams?” He asked.
Fennelly feels we should get rid of the provinces, and run the round-robin of the championship off in a league setting.
“We have only two provinces, one is artificial. Leinster is artificial, it’s going, thank God, that’s a step in the right direction that they will get rid of it. Galway are in Leinster, but Galway are from Connacht, so to me, the provinces are gone, they’re dead.
“If Kilkenny are playing Galway in the first round of the championship. Play Cork, play Waterford. Play home and away games, you can’t beat that excitement. I know the round-robin is like that,” he said.
And wouldn’t it solve so many problems, because at the moment, do we really care if our county wins the National League?
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