Antrim move into Leinster
Thursday, 9 October 2008
Thanks, in no small measure to the tireless work of Antrim County Chairman John McSparran, the Antrim Senior hurlers will now compete in the Leinster Championship.
At Saturdays Special Congress in Croke Park the Cushendun doctor made an excellent case for such a move and when it came to a show of hands he was given overwhelming backing.
The revamped structure will see the Saffrons joined by Galway in the Eastern Province in a move that the GAA hope will end the isolation of both Counties and bring a balance to the Leinster competition.
It certainly will not end the dominance of Kilkenny but it will give both the Ulster and Connaght sides meaningful opposition.
More than 80% of the delegates backed the motion which will now see a very strong "Province" in which Dublin Offaly and Wexford also feature.
On a day of changes at Headquarters new Disciplinary measures were also pushed through but not before the carrot of an experimental basis was introduced.
The new plan which forces Yellow carded players from the field of play but allows Managers to replace them with one of six allocated substitutes in an effort to stamp out six re-categorised fouls will come into play during in the new seasons tournaments and League action but not the 2009 Championship. From January the new plans will come into effect giving them some time to bed in before next Years Congress in Cork at Easter time. A view will be taken then as to whether they should be written in stone. Delegates also backed measures to streamline the Lower Tier Hurling Competitions and it was agreed that a new fourth tier be introduced, the Lory Meagher Cup, to cater for weaker and non-traditional hurling counties.
The final issue to be dealt with was that of player burn-out with limits on when underage County teams can begin training and the number of sessions they can hold. Round robin structures for underage championships were also confined to the dust bin.
