Club hurling matches disrupted after Galway’s draw with Dublin

HURLING Committee Chairman Michael Larkin insists there will be club championship games played over the summer months, although he concedes that when these will be played is very much dependent on Galway’s involvement in the Leinster and All-Ireland championships.

Following last Sunday’s Leinster quarter-final draw between the Tribesmen and Dublin at Croke Park, the Hurling Committee has been left scrambling to re-work the senior and, to a lesser extent, the intermediate club championship fixtures.

With Galway’s game re-fixed for O’Connor Park, Tullamore this Saturday, the majority of this weekend’s senior championship games have been postponed, with only the Clarinbridge v Kiltormer clash and Craughwell’s SHC tie against Carnmore standing.

Larkin admits the championship has been left a bit up in the air. “That is the position. A lot of it depends on Galway’s performances really going forward. If they win on Saturday, at the moment, we would be looking at July 12th. However, for example, if they were to win and then lose to Offaly or Laois, you are looking at qualifiers kicking in.

“To my knowledge, the first qualifier is July 4th – that weekend – and the next is on the weekend of July 11th. If Galway was in that position, it would add a further complication to the club championship because then the round of July 12th would be in trouble.”

At any rate, the implications of last Sunday’s draw have meant that eight SHC games will have to be rescheduled and, again, when these outstanding matches will take place is dependent on the fortunes of Anthony Cunningham’s charges in the replay this Saturday.

Should Galway defeat Dublin, the likelihood is that the outstanding club fixtures will not be played until the weekend of July 12th – as pencilled in by the fixtures booklet – but if they lose on Saturday, then the remaining third round SHC and IHC games will be played the following Friday and Saturday.

“As long as Galway keep going, you have to be mindful of what is going on. Obviously, once Galway exits the championship – and we hope that will be September – the club championship will kick in. However, we will have to look at the long delays for minors and U-21s.”

The worst case scenario for the club championship would be for Galway to win next Saturday and then subsequently lose the Leinster semi-final as this would take a number of weekends out of the equation and leave, possibly, August 16 as the only viable date. Again, that would depend on Galway’s results.

“It is a tricky situation but the first hurdle is Saturday evening – to get over that – and basically we will have to see what happens after that,” concludes Hurling Committee Chairman Larkin.

In addition to the two SHC games, there are a number of intermediate fixtures going ahead this weekend. See fixtures.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.