Fermanagh and Louth oppose planned exclusion from Hurling League
November 22, 2023
Fermanagh's John Duffy lifts the Lory Meagher Cup ©INPHO/Tommy Dickson
Fermanagh and Louth GAA have called on Central Council delegates to reject the proposal to remove counties with less than five adult hurling clubs from the Allianz Hurling League.
Along with Leitrim, Cavan and Longford, Fermanagh and Louth are facing the prospect of being excluded from the 2025 League if the controversial recommendation is adopted at a Central Council meeting on December 2.
In a statement, Fermanagh GAA said: "Fermanagh GAA wish to put on record of our shock and disappointment at the proposals. We do not concur that we were appropriately consulted on a proposal of this magnitude to remove Fermanagh from the Allianz Hurling League prior to them being presented at the Ard Chomhairle meeting of 4 November.
"Fermanagh GAA have worked extremely hard with our small base of volunteers over the last number of years to develop sustainable hurling structures to allow the game to grow and flourish. This year along with our seven underage clubs we have three adult clubs participating in Championships.
"Along with our well-established hurling club of Lisbellaw St.Patrick’s, we were able to recommence our Junior Hurling Championship with Erne Gaels winning over Lisnaskea Emmetts. These are small but important steps in the growth of hurling in Fermanagh, which we will continue to work hard to grow further.
"We are extremely proud of the achievements our senior county hurling team especially in recent years, winning the Allianz league Division 3B title and promotion in 2022, winning the Lory Meagher Cup on two occasions (2021 & 2015) and reaching the final on three other occasions (2020, 2014 & 2012).
"We retained our Nickey Rackard Cup status in 2022 and narrowly missed out this year by a slim margin in a number of games. We also note the outstanding performance of Luca McCusker, representing Ireland, in the recent Shinty International with Scotland.
"To deny our hurlers the opportunity to represent their county on fewer occasions than other counties would be a travesty and detrimental to the development of hurling in Fermanagh.
"We call for a serious discussion on hurling resources within the smaller counties and again ask for a fairer distribution of funding to support hurling in Fermanagh."
See our website for statement in full: https://t.co/WnsycCUhaS pic.twitter.com/7epLoZIFT7
— Fermanagh GAA (@FermanaghGAA) November 21, 2023
TweetLouth GAA Statement on CCCC Proposal pic.twitter.com/Ag4WKJ4DgT
— Louth GAA (@louthgaa) November 21, 2023
