GAA must abide by own rules

You just couldn’t make it up. Well, you probably could, but you would do a better job of it.

And we all know the facts. And we all know that the announcement last Thursday that the 2017 Christy Ring Cup finalists will be promoted to the Leinster SHC for 2018 was ill-timed, coming as it did just 48 hours before the 2017 final between Antrim and Carlow.

The document with the proposals for reforms to the GAA Hurling Championships 2018 -2020 was released last week - was that good timing by the GAA?

It’s an old cliche, I think it is anyway, FACT IS STRANGER THAN FICTION.
Most times it’s not, but on this occasion it is.

Let’s deal with some FACTS - Meath won the Christy Ring Cup in 2016 after two games against Antrim, no need to go into the history of that debacle that was the first contest, but Meath were eventually declared champions after Antrim had two bites at the cherry (another cliche).

Fast-forward 10 months to April 2017: Meath contested three games in the Leinster SHC round robin where they beat Kerry and lost to Laois and Westmeath - that was sufficient to earn a place back in the 2018 Christy Ring Cup as, despite beating Kerry, Meath ended up with an inferior scoring difference to Kerry and were relegated.

Fast-forward two more months to last Saturday: Antrim ran out at Croke Park for a third attempt in 12 months to win the Christy Ring Cup, this time against Carlow. They lost again.

However, in 2018 Antrim will compete in the Leinster SHC round robin along with Carlow, Kerry, Westmeath and Laois.

The Meath manager Martin Ennis couldn’t be faulted if he found it difficult to muster up the enthusiasm for another campaign in the Christy Ring Cup.
After all, the team that lost 2016 and 2017 finals gained promotion to an expanded five-team 2018 Leinster SHC round robin.

Now, there is one rule here that has been ignored by the members of the ‘Reform Committee’ and I’m surprised that the GAA hierarchy has not highlighted that anomaly.

Two months ago the GAA and Leinster Council gave Meath Co Board a ‘wrap on the knuckles’ and told them they could not implement changes to the JFC for 2017 after Simonstown Gaels objected to the new format that had been sanctioned at a Co Board meeting last January.

Basically, Meath officials were told that the rules of a competition could not be changed (relegation and promotion from the 2016 JFC) after the competition had started - or in this instance had been completed.

Clonard (relegated from JFC) and Moynalty (promoted from Junior B) benefited. Clonard escaped relegation.

Applying the same logic in reverse - Meath GAA Co Board must now remind the GAA and Leinster Council to abide by their own guidelines or rules.

The precedent was set by the GAA / Leinster Council - so Meath cannot now be relegated from the Leinster SHC round robin but Carlow and Antrim have to be facilitated.

It’s an easy solution - a six team round robin in 2018 will take five weekends to play, the same as a five-team, and everyone will be happy.

Meath Co Board and the Meath Hurling and Development Committee officials convened on Monday night at Dunganny to discuss - they must make sure that they win this contest and win it quickly.

See video from Christy Ring Cup presentation at Croke Park in 2016 after the second game against Antrim - James Toher raising the cup.