Five in contention for top hurling post

GAELIC GAMES: The long-overdue appointment of a national director of hurling will move a step closer to becoming a reality when five candidates are interviewed for the position in Croke Park next Monday.

The five candidates, from an initial list of 18 applicants, all hail from tier one hurling counties. The role will be reviewed every three years.

The interview panel includes a representative from a traditional hurling county, the Hurling Development Committee (Nicky English), Croke Park (head of games, Pat Daly) and an external human resource person. The preferred candidate is expected to be rubber-stamped by the HDC.

"I'm sure they will come back to the hurling committee with the recommendation and I imagine we will have a say when it comes back to us," said HDC member Liam Griffin. "It will go through the normal human resources channels within Croke Park - with the HDC represented.

"I feel confident this will be sorted now. I would be extremely disappointed if it wasn't. The HDC are very anxious because we have come to the end of our time. I am very happy with the initial plans, which we were a part of - but they are only the start - provided they are embraced with goodwill, particularly at county and provincial level."

The GAA have dismissed the extravagant salaries that have been suggested for the new position. "The six-figure sums that have been touted in the media are totally wide of the mark," said Daly. "There has been a lot of spinning going on for whatever reason.

"I think some people, maybe in the back of their minds, had this notion that we would have a director general for hurling - maybe a separate organisation for hurling. The Central Council simply wouldn't buy into that.

"The reality is we have a very good games development structure, which is getting better all the time. We now have a games development administrator in every county and a new hurling structure. This person will complement what's there as opposed to reinventing the wheel."

One rumoured candidate, Wexford's George O'Connor, has not applied for the job.

Meanwhile, the women's Gaelic Football Association have criticised the GAA for failing to inform them of a fixture change in this year's International Rules series. There is now a direct clash with the inaugural women's version of the hybrid game.

The first women's Test series will take place on Tuesday October 31st in either Cork or Galway, with the second Test in Parnell Park on November 4th. According to the official GAA diary, the men were due to play on October 15th and 22nd. These dates were changed yesterday to the weekends of October 28th/29th and November 4th/5th.

Combining the two Test series is out of the question as the shinty internationals are already on the men's undercard. Also, the women's association have agreed a television deal with TG4, while the men's series is on RTÉ.

"It is extremely disappointing to discover that significant changes in dates have been made without any consultation," said women's GFA chief executive Helen O'Rourke.

"We decided on our dates according to the official diary of the GAA. We were also in telephone contact with the stadium. It was common sense and courtesy to avoid any clash with other events on the GAA calendar and we wanted to have our own week of international football.

"Now we read in the newspapers that the GAA has changed the dates of their Tests so that there is the possibility of a direct clash with ours. It is totally unreasonable to change a master plan in this fashion without having some regard for the effect it would have on other bodies within the association.

"We are really angry about this. A lot of work has already gone into organising and planning for what is a major development in women's Gaelic football. It puts us in an impossible position and it is very unfair to our players and to our colleagues in Australia and to TG4. We have no choice but to stick with the dates despite the possibility of a clash."