Fixtures workload will keep O'Keeffe busy

The old GAC will serve out its final year as the Central Games Administration Committee (CGAC), the new body charged with organising fixtures and referee appointments.

Once that term is over, to coincide with the end of the current presidency, the newly-constituted CGAC will take over with the four provincial secretaries joining the committee, together with four other members appointed by the GAA's management committee.

Tony O'Keeffe, the last chair of the GAC, will shortly be concentrating his energies on this newly-specified remit. Virtually their last task under the former designation has been to sort out this year's National League finals.

The restructuring of the GAC has been on GAA president Seán Kelly's agenda since he took office, and O'Keeffe has been aware of the plan to split the functions of the GAC into fixtures and discipline from the start of his term of office.

"When Seán Kelly spoke to me about this two years ago or so, when he was appointing me first, he intimated that there would be a division of responsibilities."

There had been speculation that O'Keeffe would be offered the choice of chairing the central disciplinary committee (CDC), but he has made no secret of his preference for fixtures, and says that the president is aware of this.

"There wasn't really a choice. But he would have known from my interests in Kerry that I would have been more likely to opt for fixtures."

Part of the reason for reforming the GAC was that the combined workload of fixtures and discipline had increased exponentially, particularly in recent years since the introduction of the qualifier system in both football and hurling.

"It has grown enormously," says O'Keeffe. "There's one weekend coming up, on June 18th, that will have 26 fixtures between football qualifiers, All-Ireland hurling round robin, the Ring Cup (the new hurling championship for Tier II counties) and the Rackard Cup (for Tier III) - as well as all of our usual championship games."

This crowding of the schedules makes the fact that next Sunday week sees only one fixture, the Leinster meeting of Offaly and Louth, all the more puzzling. According to O'Keeffe, the committee considered staging the Clare-Kilkenny National Hurling League Division One final on that day but ultimately decided to go with the coming Bank Holiday Monday.

"We did consider May 8th, but we were conscious that counties had been organised to run off internal competitions on this weekend, which was designated as one for clubs. There's a strong feeling that clubs should be allowed have their players for certain weekends and this is one of them."

He also points out that his committee doesn't actually arrange the provincial championship fixtures and so has no control over the precise calendar on a week-by-week basis.

Neither does he foresee a time when that might change in the same way that authority over disciplinary matters within the senior provincial championships has transferred in recent years.

"The provincial councils have autonomy in this and I couldn't see them giving that up. But if it were possible it would be good to have a calendar laid out for the year.

"The provincial secretaries will come on board after next year (as members of the new CGAC) and that will give them the opportunity to build on the present situation where they're involved in drawing up the master fixtures plan and planning fixtures with a view to television coverage."

O'Keeffe also confirmed that the under-21 All-Ireland football final will be held on Saturday week, May 7th, with venue to be decided after next weekend's semi-finals.