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Replying To legendzxix: "Has it had its day? With the new Division 1B, that's a good level. Down and Kildare will be in Division 1B next year alongside Clare, Wexford and Dublin." Totally disagree. I think for the winners of the Mcdonagh especially its a great opportunity to test yourself against higher opposition & gives you an idea of the level you will have to get to for following year. Would not like to see the q/t finals removed. As iv said previously if they are to continue at least give them 2 weeks to prepare, 6 days is a joke. As for Mr Burns saying removing the q/f finals will help grow the Mcdonagh is another joke. The Gaa & Rte don't care. It gets absolutely no coverage or promotion & by removing these games the Mcdonagh teams will get even less coverage
carlo (Carlow) - Posts: 310 - 22/07/2025 15:01:11
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Replying To carlo: "Totally disagree. I think for the winners of the Mcdonagh especially its a great opportunity to test yourself against higher opposition & gives you an idea of the level you will have to get to for following year. Would not like to see the q/t finals removed. As iv said previously if they are to continue at least give them 2 weeks to prepare, 6 days is a joke. As for Mr Burns saying removing the q/f finals will help grow the Mcdonagh is another joke. The Gaa & Rte don't care. It gets absolutely no coverage or promotion & by removing these games the Mcdonagh teams will get even less coverage" @ Onion Breath:
I think expanding to 8 should be considered anyway. Kildare and Meath swapped places over the last few years. Whether that benefits hurling is debatable.
On semi finals. For the McDonagh to grow - packing out home venues for the semi finals should be a target.
@ carlo:
The final would still be getting coverage. Coverage is always going to be contentious. If semi finals start bringing crowds, the appeal might increase. It won't be an overnight success like.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9477 - 23/07/2025 17:33:09
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Replying To legendzxix: "@ Onion Breath:
I think expanding to 8 should be considered anyway. Kildare and Meath swapped places over the last few years. Whether that benefits hurling is debatable.
On semi finals. For the McDonagh to grow - packing out home venues for the semi finals should be a target.
@ carlo:
The final would still be getting coverage. Coverage is always going to be contentious. If semi finals start bringing crowds, the appeal might increase. It won't be an overnight success like." The Mcdonagh cup is the most competitive competition in the GAA.But the winners have not been able to sustain their challenge for more then 2 years in McCarthy.Diluting the competition makes that even tougher.If Croke Park are serious about promoting hurling and helping the Mcdonagh winners to reach the top level they need to promote the competition better and grant the winners all home ties in the following years Leinster championship.
jobber (Westmeath) - Posts: 1889 - 23/07/2025 18:54:32
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if the McDonogh final was on the Saturday of the AI weekend it could be a great occasion
Play it in Thurles which most years would be central to both teams. Or Portlaoise or Tullamore if crowd is likely to be small
The "preliminary" QF messes up the McDonogh schedule - its played to early and too quickly, all just so you can squeeze in a ritual hammering
it could easily be expanded then to 8 teams. Personally I wouldnt expand it to semi finals (top 4) since everybody already plays in the one league. QFs and SFs in AI series help to address any gap in standards between the 2 "provinces"
The real reward ofr McDonogh should be winning the trophy and qualifying for the following year where you play a series of games to develop, not a one-off beating
I think most people here agree that 1) hurling needs development in so called weaker counties, and 2) GAA pays too much lip service to this and not enough substantiative development.
But I think the preliminary QF is lip service and not in the best interests of McDonogh teams , and nor is it in the interests of the McCarthy cup teams or hurling in general. So the McDonogh teams should be saying to GAA, ok if you want to drop this game here's what we want in return
Yadse (Limerick) - Posts: 217 - 23/07/2025 21:12:29
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Replying To Yadse: "if the McDonogh final was on the Saturday of the AI weekend it could be a great occasion
Play it in Thurles which most years would be central to both teams. Or Portlaoise or Tullamore if crowd is likely to be small
The "preliminary" QF messes up the McDonogh schedule - its played to early and too quickly, all just so you can squeeze in a ritual hammering
it could easily be expanded then to 8 teams. Personally I wouldnt expand it to semi finals (top 4) since everybody already plays in the one league. QFs and SFs in AI series help to address any gap in standards between the 2 "provinces"
The real reward ofr McDonogh should be winning the trophy and qualifying for the following year where you play a series of games to develop, not a one-off beating
I think most people here agree that 1) hurling needs development in so called weaker counties, and 2) GAA pays too much lip service to this and not enough substantiative development.
But I think the preliminary QF is lip service and not in the best interests of McDonogh teams , and nor is it in the interests of the McCarthy cup teams or hurling in general. So the McDonogh teams should be saying to GAA, ok if you want to drop this game here's what we want in return" All the tiered finalists get their day out in Croke Park. If there are changes for any reason the choice is probably keeping the final paired with the Leinster final or moving to curtain raiser for semi final. Both semi finals had big crowds. A reason to keep the McDonagh final paired with the Leinster final.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9477 - 24/07/2025 12:31:48
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Replying To Yadse: "if the McDonogh final was on the Saturday of the AI weekend it could be a great occasion
Play it in Thurles which most years would be central to both teams. Or Portlaoise or Tullamore if crowd is likely to be small
The "preliminary" QF messes up the McDonogh schedule - its played to early and too quickly, all just so you can squeeze in a ritual hammering
it could easily be expanded then to 8 teams. Personally I wouldnt expand it to semi finals (top 4) since everybody already plays in the one league. QFs and SFs in AI series help to address any gap in standards between the 2 "provinces"
The real reward ofr McDonogh should be winning the trophy and qualifying for the following year where you play a series of games to develop, not a one-off beating
I think most people here agree that 1) hurling needs development in so called weaker counties, and 2) GAA pays too much lip service to this and not enough substantiative development.
But I think the preliminary QF is lip service and not in the best interests of McDonogh teams , and nor is it in the interests of the McCarthy cup teams or hurling in general. So the McDonogh teams should be saying to GAA, ok if you want to drop this game here's what we want in return" What the second tier counties(not weak counties we have 5 tiers) need is improved access to quality coaching for all of our clubs.Kildare,Laois,Westmeath,Carlow,Down and Kerry are all counties promoting hurling at a good level but are all majority football counties so resources are scarce.The Mcdonagh final should be on All Ireland final day.We have had magnificent finals over many years so let us showpiece that our second tier counties are not weak but just shy of the highest level.With these two enticements hurling in Mcdonagh counties will improve.
jobber (Westmeath) - Posts: 1889 - 24/07/2025 17:27:59
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Lads, lets face it if Kildare are relegated from Leinster next year it is back to square 1 and they will be hugely knocked back. I hurled with one of the lads on the Kildare team in college and he was as good if not better than many lads from the top hurling counties.
Some lads sneered at him behind his back because of where he was from. I never saw anything like the level of arrogance and some of the lads sneering at him aren't even hurling themselves any more.
We need to give these counties an opportunity. We can't just let winning the McDonagh be a glass ceiling. It won't happen but the championship needs to go to knock-out provincials and open draw groups after that so these counties know there is somewhere to take the game.
If that is what the GAA want, this is the only way forward. Otherwise, we'll never have a new team entering the fray unless its at the cost of somebody else.
StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 1967 - 25/07/2025 12:02:57
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Replying To jobber: "The Mcdonagh cup is the most competitive competition in the GAA.But the winners have not been able to sustain their challenge for more then 2 years in McCarthy.Diluting the competition makes that even tougher.If Croke Park are serious about promoting hurling and helping the Mcdonagh winners to reach the top level they need to promote the competition better and grant the winners all home ties in the following years Leinster championship." Great idea re giving the winner all home ties in the Leinster the following year.
Onion Breath (Carlow) - Posts: 1777 - 25/07/2025 14:52:21
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Replying To Onion Breath: "Great idea re giving the winner all home ties in the Leinster the following year." Bring it to your man Tom Ryan he has the power.It would be a huge boost for hurling supporters in our counties and give us a real chance of staying up.
jobber (Westmeath) - Posts: 1889 - 26/07/2025 12:49:13
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MOTION 6: This motion from Laois is to dispense with the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals. The proposal is that the third place team in the Leinster and Munster SHC will simply play the runner-up in the opposite province in two quarter-final matches.
The second element of the Laois proposal is that in the Joe McDonagh Cup, the top team will qualify for the final with the second and third teams meeting in a semi-final. The second placed team will have home advantage.
The motion is proposing to do two things, it is seeking to get rid of the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final, and introduce a new round in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
Motion 18 is similar from CCCC. That is simply to dispense with the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals. If Motion 6 passes, Motion 18 won't be heard.
MOTION 18: If Motion 6 passes there will be no need for this motion. It proposes to terminate the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals.
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These motions are going under the radar. A bit like European referenda - seems like it will keep coming back and back until delegates are good boys and make the correct decision!!
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9477 - 25/02/2026 23:54:39
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Replying To carlo: "Totally disagree. I think for the winners of the Mcdonagh especially its a great opportunity to test yourself against higher opposition & gives you an idea of the level you will have to get to for following year. Would not like to see the q/t finals removed. As iv said previously if they are to continue at least give them 2 weeks to prepare, 6 days is a joke. As for Mr Burns saying removing the q/f finals will help grow the Mcdonagh is another joke. The Gaa & Rte don't care. It gets absolutely no coverage or promotion & by removing these games the Mcdonagh teams will get even less coverage" Test themselves? They get hammered every year, even the players themselves have little interest in playing a top tier county in a knockout game. It's actually demeaning to tier 2 hurling counties to face likes of Tipp as Offaly did a couple of years ago
Claretandblue (Westmeath) - Posts: 2584 - 26/02/2026 10:10:53
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Replying To legendzxix: "MOTION 6: This motion from Laois is to dispense with the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals. The proposal is that the third place team in the Leinster and Munster SHC will simply play the runner-up in the opposite province in two quarter-final matches.
The second element of the Laois proposal is that in the Joe McDonagh Cup, the top team will qualify for the final with the second and third teams meeting in a semi-final. The second placed team will have home advantage.
The motion is proposing to do two things, it is seeking to get rid of the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final, and introduce a new round in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
Motion 18 is similar from CCCC. That is simply to dispense with the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals. If Motion 6 passes, Motion 18 won't be heard.
MOTION 18: If Motion 6 passes there will be no need for this motion. It proposes to terminate the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals.
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These motions are going under the radar. A bit like European referenda - seems like it will keep coming back and back until delegates are good boys and make the correct decision!!" How are they under the radar? The Joe Mcdonagh is a great competition, and I think the Laois motion will be great for promoting it if passed. Joe Mcdonagh final could be later in the year.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 18544 - 26/02/2026 10:51:41
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Replying To legendzxix: "MOTION 6: This motion from Laois is to dispense with the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals. The proposal is that the third place team in the Leinster and Munster SHC will simply play the runner-up in the opposite province in two quarter-final matches.
The second element of the Laois proposal is that in the Joe McDonagh Cup, the top team will qualify for the final with the second and third teams meeting in a semi-final. The second placed team will have home advantage.
The motion is proposing to do two things, it is seeking to get rid of the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final, and introduce a new round in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
Motion 18 is similar from CCCC. That is simply to dispense with the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals. If Motion 6 passes, Motion 18 won't be heard.
MOTION 18: If Motion 6 passes there will be no need for this motion. It proposes to terminate the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals.
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These motions are going under the radar. A bit like European referenda - seems like it will keep coming back and back until delegates are good boys and make the correct decision!!" Yeah, seems inevitable that the preliminary quarter-finals will be done away with. I've long said I'm in favour of that happening. And it's noteworthy that the motion to do so is coming from one of the regular McDonagh Cup counties themselves (Laois).
I suspect the part of their motion about introducing a McDonagh semi-final instead stems from what happened back in 2023. Going into the last round of group games, Offaly were already assured of a place in the final, and Laois seemed set to join them.
But then Offaly put out a weakened team v Carlow, Carlow won that match, and leapfrogged Laois in the table such that they (Carlow) played Offaly in the final instead.
I just don't know why it's taken them three years to do so.
Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3359 - 26/02/2026 10:57:47
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2nd v 3rd semi finals should be brought in to the lower hurling tiers as well. New York have been catered for with a semi final.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9477 - 26/02/2026 11:19:04
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Replying To legendzxix: "2nd v 3rd semi finals should be brought in to the lower hurling tiers as well. New York have been catered for with a semi final." Yes they should be brought in.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 18544 - 26/02/2026 12:24:11
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Replying To Claretandblue: "Test themselves? They get hammered every year, even the players themselves have little interest in playing a top tier county in a knockout game. It's actually demeaning to tier 2 hurling counties to face likes of Tipp as Offaly did a couple of years ago" I can only speak of Carlow & they certainly weren't hammered by Dublin in 2023. They were right in that game until the last 5 minutes when Dublin pulled away. Especially for the winners of the Joe Mcdonagh it's a great opportunity to play one of the bigger teams as the whole county is on a high after winning the joe Mac & it's a great to haveone of the big guns coming to your home town for a preliminary q/t final. If you get a beating so be it. It will show you the level that's needed for the leinster Championship the following year. I know from talking to some of our county hurlers they hope this is not taken away by the gaa
carlo (Carlow) - Posts: 310 - 26/02/2026 16:08:08
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Replying To carlo: "I can only speak of Carlow & they certainly weren't hammered by Dublin in 2023. They were right in that game until the last 5 minutes when Dublin pulled away. Especially for the winners of the Joe Mcdonagh it's a great opportunity to play one of the bigger teams as the whole county is on a high after winning the joe Mac & it's a great to haveone of the big guns coming to your home town for a preliminary q/t final. If you get a beating so be it. It will show you the level that's needed for the leinster Championship the following year. I know from talking to some of our county hurlers they hope this is not taken away by the gaa" Carlow are in 1B. Coming up against Clare, Wexford and Dublin. With the new league format - there is a fair chance to test yourselves against bigger teams. Needing a preliminary quarter final for that is of less relevance.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9477 - 26/02/2026 16:42:56
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