It doesn’t just make sense in Munster, it makes sense in all provincial championships.
The Munster Council has approved a three-year plan to seed the provincial senior football championship.
From 2026, the top two Munster teams in the previous year’s Allianz Football League will be kept apart in the semi-final draw. That means All-Ireland Champions Kerry and Cork will be on opposite sides.
This announcement has drawn criticism, with Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford stating they will “evaluate potential next steps” after expressing their frustration.
However, if we analyse the statistics, it makes sense to do this.
Since the Táilteann Cup arrived in 2022, league placing has become vital. League position now determines most of the Sam Maguire Cup field. Yet some counties have still reached the Sam Maguire through provincial finals despite being well off the pace.
Take Clare. In 2022 they finished fifth in Division 2 and later reached the All-Ireland quarter-finals with big wins over Meath and Roscommon. But once the Sam Maguire group stage began in 2023, their record nosedived – nine games, nine defeats, and an average losing margin of nine points, including a 24-point loss to Donegal and a 17-point loss to Down.
It must be said that Clare have suffered heavy retirements and injuries, but the issue I am debating here is the structure itself. This is not a criticism of any particular county.
In 2023 there was a perfect example of earning your place. Clare, recently relegated to Division 3 for the first time since 2016, overturned Cork, who were secure in Division 2. That victory gave Clare real justification for their place in the Sam Maguire, as they had beaten a side ranked above them.
However, in back-to-back years now due to the current system, Clare have qualified for the Sam Maguire by beating two Division 4 sides. Waterford in 2024, and Tipperary in 2025, both came before predictable heavy losses to Kerry in successive Munster finals.
Connacht saw a similar anomaly in 2023. Sligo reached that year’s final, and the Sam Maguire, by beating New York and London, then lost to Galway by 14 points. Does this really warrant a place at the top table?
Meanwhile, no team outside Division 1 or 2 has reached a Leinster final in recent years, and Ulster teams face far tougher routes. Take Antrim for example, who this year were drawn against the reigning All-Ireland Champions Armagh in the Quarter Final.
The Solution?
The 16 places in the Sam Maguire should be allocated to the following season’s Division 1 and 2 counties, with the previous year’s Táilteann Cup winners also included if they aren’t already. Only a county that wins its provincial championship – for example Roscommon’s shock 2010 Connacht title – should be able to leapfrog the divisions.
However, if the GAA wants to keep a provincial-final appearance as enough to reach the Sam Maguire, introducing seeding is a fair compromise. It ensures that every county must face at least one top-tier opponent before securing a place in the competition.
