After Paraic Duffy shortened the GAA season, Leinster have just made it longer again

"This is a dictatorship."

The 2019 O'Byrne Cup kicks off soon but 10 of its games will take place in 2018. Eight of them in 2019. This year, Paraic Duffy's new proposals were implemented across the inter-county calendar. Despite adding more matches to the championship schedule, the GAA shortened the football and hurling seasons by three weeks by pulling the All-Ireland finals out of September for the first time - only the Pope's visit eventually pushed the football decider to the first Sunday of September. The idea is to give club players more time to play championship and finish off their seasons and, thus, either more time to prepare for a provincial stint or more time to have a proper winter break. And, after going through Congress and having the proposal voted on democratically, change was brought about the right way. Months later and the shortened inter-county season just got longer. The O'Byrne Cup has been brought forward three weeks and now kicks off on December 8. Kildare, for example, who made it as far as the Super 8s this year, aren't officially allowed back to training until December 8 but that first official training session clashes with their first game and the start of the 2018 season. O'Byrne Cup dates:

• Dec 8
• Dec 15
• Jan 5
• Jan 12 (semis)
• Jan 18/19 (final)

Dublin, the All-Ireland champions, have a bye to the O'Byrne Cup semi-final but the rest of the counties are back out in five weeks' time. After one season of shortening the inter-county season, Leinster have gone off on what is described as a "solo run" and made the season longer without having the approval of Congress.

"It just doesn't make sense that the Leinster Council would just fix that," Colm Parkinson said on The GAA Hour.

"So we're trying to condense the season and make it shorter. They've just made the season longer by three weeks.

"After last year, Paraic Duffy making it shorter by three weeks, they've made it longer in the other direction.

"By three weeks."

"They've been allowed to do that without consulting anyone," Wooly continued.

"Paraic Duffy's changes of the championship had to go through Congress. You make sense of that to me, that the Leinster Council just could do a solo run on that and not consult with anyone.

"So now, for Leinster clubs, the season is no shorter than it was before Paraic Duffy had brought this brilliant new proposal of the Super 8s.

"Nothing should happen without them having a say or all stakeholders having a say. 

"This is dictatorship."

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