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Replying To Viking66: "How exactly is only 5 games of hurling in nearly 2 months at the end of the intercounty window, and those 2 months being the only 2 months of summer in the intercounty window, overegging the omelette?
I know you are from Kerry, but thats being pretty mean with eggs!" Round 2 in football, currently the weekend after the hurling provincial finals, is in a false position. It should be 2 weeks earlier.
The end of intercounty season schedule should be something like the following:
...
Hurling group stage completed
Football Rounds 2A and 2B
Hurling provincial finals and All Ireland preliminary quarter finals. (Hurling's equivalent of Rounds 2A and 2B)
Football Round 3
Hurling quarter finals & Tailteann semi finals
Football quarter finals
Hurling semi finals
Football semi finals
Hurling Final
Football Final
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9957 - 07/07/2026 03:47:07
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Replying To Viking66: "How about doing away with League finals and AIQFs and AISFs, and running the Provincial Championships on a home and away Round Robin basis up to the end of June, 8 games in Munster and 10 in Leinster, with the finals 2nd weekend in July, and the AI final between the Provincial winners the same weekend as the Football AI? And have the lower tier finals 1st week in July, with semifinals berween 2nd and 3rd placed teams the last week in June, so as to give the teams that finished 1st the advantage of a week off before their final." Seriously??
All Ireland football quarter finals are locked in. All Ireland hurling semi finals are locked in. Everything else are the highways and byways that lead to those final 5 weekends.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9957 - 07/07/2026 09:56:55
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Replying To legendzxix: "If 3rd and 4th are advancing from the groups, 3rd Munster v 4th Leinster and 3rd Leinster v 4th Munster is the way to go. Anything else is just unnecessarily convoluted.
The key is home advantage. 3rd at home in preliminary quarter finals. Runners up at home in quarter finals." My idea was to give the 4th place an extra hurdle to cross but I like this too with runners-up & 3rd place getting home advantage. 2 preliminary QFs played the same weekend as the provincial finals:
Leinster 3rd home to Munster 4th, winner to QF
Munster 3rd home to Leinster 4th, winner to QF
No extra weekends would be required. Leinster 4th is up against it but that's the price paid for finishing so low.
Applied to this year's championship might look like this:
Preliminary QF - first team at home
Clare v Kilkenny
Offaly v Waterford
QF - first team at home
Dublin v Clare
Cork v Waterford
M Lyster (Antrim) - Posts: 505 - 07/07/2026 12:15:17
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Replying To legendzxix: "Seriously??
All Ireland football quarter finals are locked in. All Ireland hurling semi finals are locked in. Everything else are the highways and byways that lead to those final 5 weekends." Yes but in Football everyone is in one of the 2 AI competitions. In hurling theres only 6 in the same time period. Thats why there are so many more Football games and teams involved than there are in hurling in June. Agree July is never going to have many games in it,but there could and should be way more hurling games in June.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20263 - 07/07/2026 14:50:53
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Replying To legendzxix: "Round 2 in football, currently the weekend after the hurling provincial finals, is in a false position. It should be 2 weeks earlier.
The end of intercounty season schedule should be something like the following:
...
Hurling group stage completed
Football Rounds 2A and 2B
Hurling provincial finals and All Ireland preliminary quarter finals. (Hurling's equivalent of Rounds 2A and 2B)
Football Round 3
Hurling quarter finals & Tailteann semi finals
Football quarter finals
Hurling semi finals
Football semi finals
Hurling Final
Football Final" Round 2a and 2b in Football involve 32 counties playing 16 games, TC and SM.
Thats nothing like the hurling Provincial finals and preliminary QFs, which are 4 games involving 8 teams.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20263 - 07/07/2026 14:55:19
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All teams play mixed-province, inter-group ties, encompassing all Prov 'KO ties', prior to AIC KO:
TWO OPTIONS
OPTION ONE
- Munster KO 5 & Leinster KO 5
- AIC with two groups of 5 (A & B)
- Groups 'formed', not drawn
- Muns QF loser to Group A, winner to B
- SF opponent of Muns QF winner to A
- Muns Finalists placed in opposite groups
- Muns SF losers to opposite groups
- There is a Muns trio in A & pair in B
- Lein QF winner to Group A, loser to B
- SF opponent of Lein QF winner to B
- Lein Finalists placed in opposite groups
- Lein SF losers to opposite groups
- There is a Lein pair in A & trio in B
- Merge to form two groups of 5 (A & B)
- Each team completes a 5-game inter-group
schedule, including all their Prov KO ties (1-3)
- Prov KO is 'winner on the day' (1 point each, if
drawn at full time)
- 10th team relegated/ McDonagh Cup Champ
promoted
- Top 6 advance to AIC KO from a combined 10-
team table
- Top 2 of 6 earn QF byes (not necessarily
Prov Champs)
- AIC KO targets 'intra-group ties' to avoid repeat
pairings
- QFs could be 3v6 & 4v5 (avoid repeat pairings, if
possible)
SFs could have 'seed 1 v lowest QF seed winner'
______
SCHEDULE
- Apr 18/19: Muns QF & Lein QF
- Apr 25/26: 4 Prov SFs & 1 'Cross-Prov' tie
(QF losers), to 'form' Groups A & B
- May 2/3: Bye Week
- May 9/10: 3 'Cross-Prov' & 2 'Intra-Prov'
(non-Prov KO) ties
- May 16/17: 5 'Cross-Prov' ties
- May 23/24: Bye Week
- May 30/31: 1 'Cross-Prov' & 2 'Intra-Prov'
(non-Prov KO) ties;
Prov Finalists get bye week
- June 6/7: 2 Prov Finals & 3 'Cross-Prov' ties
______
Or, alternatively (my preferred choice):
OPTION TWO
- Target 'growing the game' (more 'Kildares')
- Consider a 'Lein KO 9' (& Muns KO 5)
- Lein splits to a 'quartet & quintet' instead
- Merge 'Lein quartet & Muns trio' to AIC Group A
- Schedule '7v7' (reduce NHL, if necessary)
- Top 6 advance to AIC KO from a combined 14-
team table
- 14th team relegated/ McDonagh Cup Champ
promoted
omahant (USA) - Posts: 3470 - 07/07/2026 15:11:37
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Replying To Viking66: "Round 2a and 2b in Football involve 32 counties playing 16 games, TC and SM.
Thats nothing like the hurling Provincial finals and preliminary QFs, which are 4 games involving 8 teams." Round 5 of Leinster and Munster round robin: say 3 of 11 exit the championship. If football round 2A and 2B was the following weekend, 4 of 16 exit the championship. This is all very reasonable as football has 4 quarter finals and hurling has 2 quarter finals.
Talk about looking at the glass half empty!! Hurling have at least 2 home games. Eaten bread is soon forgotten!
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9957 - 07/07/2026 15:45:25
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Replying To omahant: "All teams play mixed-province, inter-group ties, encompassing all Prov 'KO ties', prior to AIC KO:
TWO OPTIONS
OPTION ONE
- Munster KO 5 & Leinster KO 5
- AIC with two groups of 5 (A & B)
- Groups 'formed', not drawn
- Muns QF loser to Group A, winner to B
- SF opponent of Muns QF winner to A
- Muns Finalists placed in opposite groups
- Muns SF losers to opposite groups
- There is a Muns trio in A & pair in B
- Lein QF winner to Group A, loser to B
- SF opponent of Lein QF winner to B
- Lein Finalists placed in opposite groups
- Lein SF losers to opposite groups
- There is a Lein pair in A & trio in B
- Merge to form two groups of 5 (A & B)
- Each team completes a 5-game inter-group
schedule, including all their Prov KO ties (1-3)
- Prov KO is 'winner on the day' (1 point each, if
drawn at full time)
- 10th team relegated/ McDonagh Cup Champ
promoted
- Top 6 advance to AIC KO from a combined 10-
team table
- Top 2 of 6 earn QF byes (not necessarily
Prov Champs)
- AIC KO targets 'intra-group ties' to avoid repeat
pairings
- QFs could be 3v6 & 4v5 (avoid repeat pairings, if
possible)
SFs could have 'seed 1 v lowest QF seed winner'
______
SCHEDULE
- Apr 18/19: Muns QF & Lein QF
- Apr 25/26: 4 Prov SFs & 1 'Cross-Prov' tie
(QF losers), to 'form' Groups A & B
- May 2/3: Bye Week
- May 9/10: 3 'Cross-Prov' & 2 'Intra-Prov'
(non-Prov KO) ties
- May 16/17: 5 'Cross-Prov' ties
- May 23/24: Bye Week
- May 30/31: 1 'Cross-Prov' & 2 'Intra-Prov'
(non-Prov KO) ties;
Prov Finalists get bye week
- June 6/7: 2 Prov Finals & 3 'Cross-Prov' ties
______
Or, alternatively (my preferred choice):
OPTION TWO
- Target 'growing the game' (more 'Kildares')
- Consider a 'Lein KO 9' (& Muns KO 5)
- Lein splits to a 'quartet & quintet' instead
- Merge 'Lein quartet & Muns trio' to AIC Group A
- Schedule '7v7' (reduce NHL, if necessary)
- Top 6 advance to AIC KO from a combined 14-
team table
- 14th team relegated/ McDonagh Cup Champ
promoted" If you want to have more than 6 teams left by May 24th, simple solution is start the championship later.
There are plenty games, too many in fact. If Wexford, Offaly, Kildare ,Tipperary , Waterford all got 3 more games this year would they have fared any better?
No
SixtiesKid (Galway) - Posts: 403 - 07/07/2026 15:58:45
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Replying To omahant: "All teams play mixed-province, inter-group ties, encompassing all Prov 'KO ties', prior to AIC KO:
TWO OPTIONS
OPTION ONE
- Munster KO 5 & Leinster KO 5
- AIC with two groups of 5 (A & B)
- Groups 'formed', not drawn
- Muns QF loser to Group A, winner to B
- SF opponent of Muns QF winner to A
- Muns Finalists placed in opposite groups
- Muns SF losers to opposite groups
- There is a Muns trio in A & pair in B
- Lein QF winner to Group A, loser to B
- SF opponent of Lein QF winner to B
- Lein Finalists placed in opposite groups
- Lein SF losers to opposite groups
- There is a Lein pair in A & trio in B
- Merge to form two groups of 5 (A & B)
- Each team completes a 5-game inter-group
schedule, including all their Prov KO ties (1-3)
- Prov KO is 'winner on the day' (1 point each, if
drawn at full time)
- 10th team relegated/ McDonagh Cup Champ
promoted
- Top 6 advance to AIC KO from a combined 10-
team table
- Top 2 of 6 earn QF byes (not necessarily
Prov Champs)
- AIC KO targets 'intra-group ties' to avoid repeat
pairings
- QFs could be 3v6 & 4v5 (avoid repeat pairings, if
possible)
SFs could have 'seed 1 v lowest QF seed winner'
______
SCHEDULE
- Apr 18/19: Muns QF & Lein QF
- Apr 25/26: 4 Prov SFs & 1 'Cross-Prov' tie
(QF losers), to 'form' Groups A & B
- May 2/3: Bye Week
- May 9/10: 3 'Cross-Prov' & 2 'Intra-Prov'
(non-Prov KO) ties
- May 16/17: 5 'Cross-Prov' ties
- May 23/24: Bye Week
- May 30/31: 1 'Cross-Prov' & 2 'Intra-Prov'
(non-Prov KO) ties;
Prov Finalists get bye week
- June 6/7: 2 Prov Finals & 3 'Cross-Prov' ties
______
Or, alternatively (my preferred choice):
OPTION TWO
- Target 'growing the game' (more 'Kildares')
- Consider a 'Lein KO 9' (& Muns KO 5)
- Lein splits to a 'quartet & quintet' instead
- Merge 'Lein quartet & Muns trio' to AIC Group A
- Schedule '7v7' (reduce NHL, if necessary)
- Top 6 advance to AIC KO from a combined 14-
team table
- 14th team relegated/ McDonagh Cup Champ
promoted" Ah stop!
Seanfan (Roscommon) - Posts: 738 - 07/07/2026 16:00:41
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Replying To SixtiesKid: "If you want to have more than 6 teams left by May 24th, simple solution is start the championship later.
There are plenty games, too many in fact. If Wexford, Offaly, Kildare ,Tipperary , Waterford all got 3 more games this year would they have fared any better?
No" Its not about Wexford faring better in the short term. Its about hurling faring better in the long term.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20263 - 07/07/2026 17:19:56
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Replying To legendzxix: "Round 5 of Leinster and Munster round robin: say 3 of 11 exit the championship. If football round 2A and 2B was the following weekend, 4 of 16 exit the championship. This is all very reasonable as football has 4 quarter finals and hurling has 2 quarter finals.
Talk about looking at the glass half empty!! Hurling have at least 2 home games. Eaten bread is soon forgotten!" The issue is hurlings profile in the 2 summer months of the County Championship window. Or complete lack thereof. 7 top tier games total in 2 months, with 2 of them being on the 1st weekend of June.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20263 - 07/07/2026 17:23:00
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Replying To Seanfan: "Ah stop!" Did you read all that?!
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20263 - 07/07/2026 17:24:28
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Ah stop!
Seanfan (Roscommon) - Posts: 728 - 07/07/2026 16:00:41
That makes sense when you have something better - is there any valid reason why you can't present it?
omahant (USA) - Posts: 3470 - 07/07/2026 19:20:48
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Replying To SixtiesKid: "If you want to have more than 6 teams left by May 24th, simple solution is start the championship later.
There are plenty games, too many in fact. If Wexford, Offaly, Kildare ,Tipperary , Waterford all got 3 more games this year would they have fared any better?
No" Well look, preliminary quarter finals of 3rd v 4th can easily be accommodated on the same weekend as provincial finals. On that one, I would say just bring the motion to Congress and let that be that.
I'd agree on starting the championship later. The entire GAA calendar should move at least 3 weeks later:
1. National leagues starting on the 3rd weekend of February.
2. All Ireland finals on the 2nd and 3rd weekends of August.
3. County finals 3 weeks later than currently.
4. All Ireland club finals on the 2nd weekend of February.
The optics of counties exiting the championship before June is bad. An alignment of 3 weeks without impacting the club only timescale is where the should be some agreeable solution.
Lower tier hurling group stages ended on May 16th. 3 weeks later would at least get them to the start of June.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9957 - 07/07/2026 22:42:22
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Replying To Viking66: "Did you read all that?!" First 3 lines ....
Seanfan (Roscommon) - Posts: 738 - 08/07/2026 09:37:57
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Replying To legendzxix: "Well look, preliminary quarter finals of 3rd v 4th can easily be accommodated on the same weekend as provincial finals. On that one, I would say just bring the motion to Congress and let that be that.
I'd agree on starting the championship later. The entire GAA calendar should move at least 3 weeks later:
1. National leagues starting on the 3rd weekend of February.
2. All Ireland finals on the 2nd and 3rd weekends of August.
3. County finals 3 weeks later than currently.
4. All Ireland club finals on the 2nd weekend of February.
The optics of counties exiting the championship before June is bad. An alignment of 3 weeks without impacting the club only timescale is where the should be some agreeable solution.
Lower tier hurling group stages ended on May 16th. 3 weeks later would at least get them to the start of June." The motion to extend the county season just 2 weeks into August was so dead in the water that it actually got withdrawn without a vote. No point dwelling on something that noone seemed to want at Congress.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20263 - 08/07/2026 13:45:10
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Replying To Viking66: "The motion to extend the county season just 2 weeks into August was so dead in the water that it actually got withdrawn without a vote. No point dwelling on something that noone seemed to want at Congress." Not talking about extending the season. Nothing gets extended if something start 3 weeks later and finishes 3 weeks later.
You're dwelling a lot on the end of season hurling for some bizarre reason. 4 quarters is a non runner. We all have to accept suggestions that are non runners.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9957 - 08/07/2026 14:31:14
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Replying To legendzxix: "Not talking about extending the season. Nothing gets extended if something start 3 weeks later and finishes 3 weeks later.
You're dwelling a lot on the end of season hurling for some bizarre reason. 4 quarters is a non runner. We all have to accept suggestions that are non runners." None of us have to agree with any of the rest of us. The forum is great to be able to discuss ideas and get feedback on them from lads all over the country.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20263 - 08/07/2026 17:37:03
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Replying To legendzxix: "Not talking about extending the season. Nothing gets extended if something start 3 weeks later and finishes 3 weeks later.
You're dwelling a lot on the end of season hurling for some bizarre reason. 4 quarters is a non runner. We all have to accept suggestions that are non runners." You are extending the intercounty when you go into August. The cut off point is 31/7 afaik.
I think it has to happen but viking is also correct. The political goodwill just isnt there to make it happen. That is why we are really only talking about 1 weekend( 2nd weekend in june) within this current time frame.
The provincial finals are on the first weekend of june. You can add extra games to the weekend but they will be completely overshadowed by the finals. They are also guarenteed to be behind a paywall if televised at all as RTE schedule will be swamped with the provincial finals and football qualifiers. They wont show another hurling match because of balance.
The next weekend has no hurling but lots of footballs there is an opportunity for exposure there. 3rd v 4th fits in well there. I can see Clare v KK being attractive. Offaly v Waterford might not be.
The following weekend is the quarter finals and the last weekend is a recovery weekend before the semi finals and that is necessary.
As for the other lower tiered championships I dont see any demand coming from the counties themselves. Take Kerry. Their hurling championship quarter finals take place this weekend. Thats happening for a reason.
Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 726 - 08/07/2026 18:09:43
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Replying To Viking66: "None of us have to agree with any of the rest of us. The forum is great to be able to discuss ideas and get feedback on them from lads all over the country." Absolutely. But like it's barmy to then block one's ears or close one's eyes in this case to reasonable push back.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9957 - 09/07/2026 02:29:24
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