County panels set to be cut

GAELIC GAMES/News round-up: The GAA is set to revise the recent expansion of senior intercounty panels to 30 players, and reduce the number to the previous limit of 24.

Such a move is part of the proposals of the Fixtures Task Force, whose final report was released earlier this week, and is also gaining support at a number of county conventions.

Under its proposals regarding club fixtures, the task force noted that from the various submissions received, the decision to increase intercounty panels to 30 players has had a detrimental effect.

As a result it recommends that official intercounty panels revert to 24 players, and that exemption from playing club games before major intercounty fixtures only apply to these 24 named players.

According to Paraic Duffy, chairman of the task force, the proposal is based solely on the concerns of clubs. Yet other factors - primarily increasing costs - are likely to ensure the proposal gains the necessary support.

"We're making this proposal purely in the context of fixtures," he said. "At the moment those 30 players enjoy the protection of not being asked to play club games and so on, and we feel that by reducing the panels back to 24 that would at least release another six players. And that's the only basis for the proposal.

"Other people may have different reasons for supporting the proposal, such as cost and expenses or whatever, but we're proposing the change only because we feel the current number ties up too many players.

"And the truth is, on a panel of 30 there will always be a certain number that have no chance of actually playing. And we feel they would be far better off playing with their clubs. So it's purely in the context of making it easier to play club fixtures. If people have other reasons for supporting the proposal then it's up to them."

The expansion of panels to 30 players was introduced for the championship of 2002, and originated from a proposal of the GAA's Players Committee, then chaired by Jarlath Burns. It gained almost unanimous support at the time although it now appears that from an organisational point of view the expansion is unsustainable.

"I know a lot of team managers will not be happy about reverting back to 24 players," added Duffy. "Some of them anyway. Others have said to me they would have no problem with a panel of 24 for the league, but that they would have a problem with 24 for the championship. So how it will pan out eventually, and whether it will differentiate between league and championship, I just don't know. It depends on what counties want."

Already the proposal to reduce county panels appears to have significant backing at official level. At the Kerry county convention, held in Killarney on Wednesday night, chairman Seán Walsh made a particularly strong reference to the issue.

"The one rule that needs urgent attention at the moment is that 30 players are allowed on intercounty senior panels," said Walsh. "This should be reduced back to the original position of 24 players; there is no reason in having a panel of 30 players to play a 15-man game. It adds an extra cost to the preparation of teams, a cost that any county can ill afford to carry at the moment.

"It also has a detrimental, effect on club football as more players are tied up with the county team, thus not being able to spend more time with their club team. The argument that 30 players are required for training purposes does not stand up as far as I am concerned."

There is also support for the move from Cork county secretary Frank Murphy. In his report to their convention on Sunday, Murphy backed the idea of reducing the panel number to 24.

Meanwhile, although the Kerry chairman made no reference to the ongoing question of the opening of Croke Park to other sports at his county's convention, he said in a interview on Radio Kerry yesterday that control of the facility should be given to Central Council.

Walsh said: "I have always maintained, as I have for the last number of years, that Croke Park should be in control and the opening of it should be a matter for Central Council and not with Congress.

"Congress is too tight because it only meets every 12 months while if the Central Council had the control of Croke Park and the opening of Croke Park then on a monthly basis or a two-monthly basis, they could say who gets it or when it is available."

When asked if he would have a personal difficulty with other sports being played at Croke Park, Walsh said: "I would have absolutely no bother with it whatsoever. I believe it is a fabulous, fabulous stadium . . . I would have no problem in we showing it to the world with other sports being played on it.

"I think it is a marvellous facility and it has to be run as a business, rather than have it treated as hallowed ground as many people have seen it over the past 100 years."

In other news, the Dublin senior hurling management team has been completed with Colm Mac Sealaigh, Mick O'Riordan and Tommy Ryan joining new manager Humphrey Kelleher.

Both O'Riordan (St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh) and Ryan (Craobh Chiaráin) worked with the previous manager Marty Morris, while Mac Sealaigh (Kevins HC) was the combined Dublin Colleges manager for several years.