Galway on warpath over the cancellation of minor grades

IF one was to measure the levels of anger and disappointment at the cancellation of the All-Ireland minor championships in camogie and ladies football on the Richter Scale, the results would be seismic.

The proclamations from the respective governing bodies that these competitions would not be concluded in 2020, due to the fall-out from the Covid-19 pandemic, sent shockwaves through the participating counties, particularly as competitions in other grades were allowed to commence or continue.

In camogie, the primary reason given for not completing the All-Ireland series – and this may also be the case in ladies football – is that many counties adult teams may not be able to field without a selection of their minors if these players were tied up with their underage sides during the crossover of games in a tight inter-county window.

However, Galway minor camogie manager Caroline Murray believes this does not have as big an impact on the Division 1 counties – more so, it’s the lower tier counties affected – and the Camogie Association should have not adopted the one size fits all approach.

“I am not sure if they consulted with many counties but they took it that some counties rely on their minors for their adult teams and that they wouldn’t have teams in the adult competitions if they ran adult and minor at the same time,” says Murray, who guided the Tribeswomen to an opening round victory over Offaly in March before sport was shut down.

“But, that is definitely not the case for the Division 1 teams. They could easily run it the way it was and look at a different format for the Division 2, 3 and 4 teams – maybe run those over two weekends or a blitz format. I even think our own girls might not mind what sort of format it is as long as they got some format at this stage.”

Since the announcement of the cancellation of minor competitions in June, an online petition has been set up seeking the restoration of these championships, with almost 5,000 names signed up as of yesterday morning (Wednesday).

It is understood several county board have also made representations to Croke Park on this matter. Indeed, one county board is rumoured to be considering taking the matter to the DRA (Disputes Resolution Authority) – if it has not already done so.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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