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Hurling Championship 2026

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Replying To Viking66:  "You seem to think Munster is seperate to the rest of Ireland, and doesn't include Kerry.
The Munster championship is part of the All Ireland series, same as the Leinster Championship. The Munster and Leinster Councils have to get approval from every other county at home and abroad, or a majority thereof, to change anything. Changes are made at Congress.
If someone proposed a motion at Congress that Kerry isnt allowed to compete in Leinster competitions any more, and a majority approved, then the Munster Council would have to facilitate Kerrys hurlers at underage."
Again you are putting words in my mouth. Ive already said many times that Kerry will play in Munster if they ever win the Joe McDonagh Cup. How many different ways do you want me to say it???
You conveniently dodge the prevailing point though. There are 6 teams in Leinster. There are , currently, only 5 in Munster. That means that both championships are not played to the same format. It also, currently, means that the weakest team in the overall competition is the 6th team in Leinster. Therefore, in a system that requires promotion and relegation, the 6th team in Leinster should be relegated.

Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 296 - 29/04/2026 14:38:35    2669773

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Replying To Viking66:  "Don't think anyone down here is blaming promotion and relegation for our current format."
That should read current form

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19412 - 29/04/2026 14:40:46    2669774

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Replying To Tadhg2020:  "Again you are putting words in my mouth. Ive already said many times that Kerry will play in Munster if they ever win the Joe McDonagh Cup. How many different ways do you want me to say it???
You conveniently dodge the prevailing point though. There are 6 teams in Leinster. There are , currently, only 5 in Munster. That means that both championships are not played to the same format. It also, currently, means that the weakest team in the overall competition is the 6th team in Leinster. Therefore, in a system that requires promotion and relegation, the 6th team in Leinster should be relegated."
Maybe we should just go back to 5 in Leinster, which Ive always been in favour of, and 2 up from the Joe Mac each year, with the bottom county in Munster and Leinster dropping into the Joe Mac then. That way 2 counties coming up each year get the opportunity to play better teams in Championship the following year.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19412 - 29/04/2026 15:05:13    2669783

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Replying To Tadhg2020:  "Offaly were protected from relegation. They were then relegated as soon as relegation was introduced. I think they were relegated again the following year. Thats how far they had allowed themselves to fall. It took them 3 or 4 years of team building to return. I dont recall them winning a leinster minor or u20 title prior to relegation so I suppose it depends on how you define things.

If you guys get your way there will be no end to the amount of teams in leinster. If there is only promotion and no relegation then, by logic, a team is added every year to your championship. If that's what yoi want then knock yourself out but I believe that a lone has to be drawn somewhere and that should have been at 5 participating teams
Thats how it was intended to be. Its now at 6 so, in my opinion, ye own promotion and relegation now.

On population, wexford has a similar population to Tipperary Clare and Waterford have smaller populations. Kilkenny is smaller but look at their success. Offaly is smaller alright but you also have Dublin which is 3 times Cork. We all have other sports to contend with etc so a lot of it comes down to how hard you work at grass roots and academy level to promote hurling."
Wexfords population has dropped in most of the GAA strongholds. The population has surged in the North of the county, which has become a bit of a dormitory for lads working in Dublin. All 3 of the big clubs up that way would be Football 1st, or dual Senior.
The number of players, adult and underage, that we have who only play hurling would likely be around the same as Kerry have. It would be significantly less than there are in Tipp, Waterford, or Clare.
On top of that we have way more adult and underage soccer teams, more than double the number there are in Tipp or Clare. Probably more than both of them put together. Soccer has always been huge in the county.
Agree with your last point though, the work has to go in at grassroots level.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 19412 - 29/04/2026 15:15:41    2669791

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Replying To Tadhg2020:  "Again you are putting words in my mouth. Ive already said many times that Kerry will play in Munster if they ever win the Joe McDonagh Cup. How many different ways do you want me to say it???
You conveniently dodge the prevailing point though. There are 6 teams in Leinster. There are , currently, only 5 in Munster. That means that both championships are not played to the same format. It also, currently, means that the weakest team in the overall competition is the 6th team in Leinster. Therefore, in a system that requires promotion and relegation, the 6th team in Leinster should be relegated."
In fairness, don't think anyone would argue that whoever ends up relegated from Leinster this year would have survived in Munster instead. And therefore, couldn't argue that sixth in Leinster isn't the weakest of the 11 teams in the top tier hurling championship.

But also in fairness, it's not as simple as saying that if one competition has a smaller number of teams, another competition has a greater number, and the competitions aren't played to the same format, then the weakest team in the larger competition is the weakest overall.

There are 11 teams in the Leinster Senior Football Championship. There are just six in Munster. By that "logic", the 11th-best (i.e. worst) in Leinster would be worst overall. Where would that leave Waterford?

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3561 - 29/04/2026 15:17:19    2669793

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Replying To Viking66:  "You seem to think Munster is seperate to the rest of Ireland, and doesn't include Kerry.
The Munster championship is part of the All Ireland series, same as the Leinster Championship. The Munster and Leinster Councils have to get approval from every other county at home and abroad, or a majority thereof, to change anything. Changes are made at Congress.
If someone proposed a motion at Congress that Kerry isnt allowed to compete in Leinster competitions any more, and a majority approved, then the Munster Council would have to facilitate Kerrys hurlers at underage."
"The Munster championship is part of the All Ireland series, same as the Leinster Championship."

And therein lies the problem. All this arguing, back and forth, on here about the make-up of the Munster and Leinster Championships misses the point; they are intrinsically different and not fit for purpose, nor fair nowadays, for deciding the make-up of the All-Ireland Championship.

The provisional Championships should be separated from, and played before the All-Ireland series. Probably instead of the National League.

The All-Ireland series should have equal number seeded groups, followed by a knock-out phase. You can debate about how many counties qualify, and from where, and how they are seeded, but that's a minor and easily sorted issue.

Cockney_Cat (UK) - Posts: 2877 - 29/04/2026 15:57:58    2669813

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Replying To bloodandbandage:  "You're free to dislike whom ever you wish yank! Although, I have noted your silence on Limerick's defeat last Sunday. Do you only sing when your winning???"
Always good to get a reaction from you B n B.
I did respond, wishing both Cork players the best of their injuries and recoveries.

As regards the match, Cork deserved it: better team on the day and better discipline. Lynch's red card was the correct and only decision there. Another Limk player might have gone for elbowing back (2nd half...could be Daragh O'Donovan but not 100% on that).

But we didn't like to see a big strong man like Sean O'Donoghue fall down like a stuck pig when Shane O'Brien didn't even make contact. You never saw the Rock at that lark. You can say that every team does it, but of late most teams don't; Clare still at it, though. In fairness to Tipp, and I dislike them too, they have never done it. That's why teams like Cork when they do it, it turns ppl against them. Even the commentator mentioned it, that there is no place in the game for falling around like that.

Could be a blessing in disguise for Limerick. They blew the heads off Cork last year in the round robin. What good did that do Limerick in the long run? It just lulled them into a sense of false security, thinking that they could produce such a performance any day they go out. They can't. No team is able to constantly repeat such a performance---but they had been waiting since the semi-final the previous year and were gunning for Cork.

Lots of hurling to be done yet, boy.

foreveryoung (USA) - Posts: 2509 - 29/04/2026 16:02:45    2669817

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Replying To Pikeman96:  "In fairness, don't think anyone would argue that whoever ends up relegated from Leinster this year would have survived in Munster instead. And therefore, couldn't argue that sixth in Leinster isn't the weakest of the 11 teams in the top tier hurling championship.

But also in fairness, it's not as simple as saying that if one competition has a smaller number of teams, another competition has a greater number, and the competitions aren't played to the same format, then the weakest team in the larger competition is the weakest overall.

There are 11 teams in the Leinster Senior Football Championship. There are just six in Munster. By that "logic", the 11th-best (i.e. worst) in Leinster would be worst overall. Where would that leave Waterford?"
In my opinion Galway are the elephant in the room. There is a good chance they will win Minor 20s and Senior hurling Leinster this year and probably will be in the majority of finals for the next few years. Will that do Wexford, Offaly, Dublin any good. No. 100%.
And the argument of sure just get better is not the answer. We cannot expect those Counties to turn it around without some experience and expectations of big days out.
Let Galway play in Leinster if needs be but don't let them play a Leinster Final??
I can guarantee you no Munster County wants them in Munster say as a replacement for Waterford as it makes their chances of success less. No different to any Leinster County at this stage. Kilkenny an execption maybe

Paull (Wexford) - Posts: 269 - 29/04/2026 17:31:02    2669832

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Lads, this thread was set up to discuss the games in this year's hurling championship, and already it has descended into the predictable arguments over structure, Munster v Leinster, etc. etc. There are multiple other threads where this can be discussed, so do you think it possible we could keep it to matches??

We have Clare v Limerick this weekend and some great match ups in Leinster with the minor hurling on Saturday, and not a peep! lots of moaning though...

bloodandbandage (Cork) - Posts: 517 - 30/04/2026 09:46:52    2669911

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Replying To Paull:  "In my opinion Galway are the elephant in the room. There is a good chance they will win Minor 20s and Senior hurling Leinster this year and probably will be in the majority of finals for the next few years. Will that do Wexford, Offaly, Dublin any good. No. 100%.
And the argument of sure just get better is not the answer. We cannot expect those Counties to turn it around without some experience and expectations of big days out.
Let Galway play in Leinster if needs be but don't let them play a Leinster Final??
I can guarantee you no Munster County wants them in Munster say as a replacement for Waterford as it makes their chances of success less. No different to any Leinster County at this stage. Kilkenny an execption maybe"
"We cannot expect those Counties to turn it around without some experience and expectations of big days out." - Why not? How much harder is it for Waterford to get to a Munster final than it is for wexford or Dublin to get to a Leinster final (Dublin were in a Leinster final last year btw) and yet Waterford manage to stay competitive. How long did Offaly go without a 'big day out'- their u20 all irelands were the result of people putting in work over years, the result of their turnaound rather than the cause of it.

When Wexford had the players at senior level and were well set up they won Leisnter and were close to an All ireland final in 2019. Having Galway in Leinster didn't do them any harm then. Wexford posters on here have pointed out time and time again that their problem over the years has consistently been dropping points against the teams ranked 5th and 6th in Leinster.


Sure maybe if we removed Galway and Kilkenny entirely then dublin and wexford will make the Leinster final every year and all those big days out will make them superpowers.

edit- I don't mean this to come across as having a go at wexford and Dublin. Second to Galway winning the All Ireland my biggest hope every year is for Kilkenny and Wexford/Dublin to knock out a Munster team to lessen the feeling of imbalance (and soften the cough of some of the munster lads) - but it doesn't make sense to me to say that having an extra challenge in Leinster somehow holds teams back becasue they do't waltz into the final every year

Overdahill (Galway) - Posts: 108 - 30/04/2026 09:51:25    2669914

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Replying To bloodandbandage:  "Lads, this thread was set up to discuss the games in this year's hurling championship, and already it has descended into the predictable arguments over structure, Munster v Leinster, etc. etc. There are multiple other threads where this can be discussed, so do you think it possible we could keep it to matches??

We have Clare v Limerick this weekend and some great match ups in Leinster with the minor hurling on Saturday, and not a peep! lots of moaning though..."
The Build up to Clare and Limerick has been overshadowed a little bit by the Cork and Limerick fixture last weekend, but as Limerick man working in Ennis for today its starting to get a bit salty today.

From what I can see, the general consensus from the Limerick side is that people are largely happy with the overall performance against Cork and feel if we can repeat that intensity and tighten up on the shooting accuracy we will hopefully be in with a shout in Ennis. Everyone knows we have a poor record in Ennis though and are hoping we can get something out of it to take the pressure off.

From the Clare people I have spoken to, they are quietly confident about their chances they feel Shane O'Donnell, Peter Duggan and Mark Rodgers "easily have the beating of the Limerick Backs" and their only worry is about "not giving away soft goals at the back" which they believe is helped by the fact that Lynch and Gillane are out for Limerick.

Form and Logic go out the window every time Limerick play Clare so I just can't even predict what the result might be

LimerickandProud (Limerick) - Posts: 247 - 30/04/2026 12:59:19    2669990

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Replying To LimerickandProud:  "The Build up to Clare and Limerick has been overshadowed a little bit by the Cork and Limerick fixture last weekend, but as Limerick man working in Ennis for today its starting to get a bit salty today.

From what I can see, the general consensus from the Limerick side is that people are largely happy with the overall performance against Cork and feel if we can repeat that intensity and tighten up on the shooting accuracy we will hopefully be in with a shout in Ennis. Everyone knows we have a poor record in Ennis though and are hoping we can get something out of it to take the pressure off.

From the Clare people I have spoken to, they are quietly confident about their chances they feel Shane O'Donnell, Peter Duggan and Mark Rodgers "easily have the beating of the Limerick Backs" and their only worry is about "not giving away soft goals at the back" which they believe is helped by the fact that Lynch and Gillane are out for Limerick.

Form and Logic go out the window every time Limerick play Clare so I just can't even predict what the result might be"
Hego named in FF line, and Morrisey starting. Limerick will be going for goals galore! Can the Banner keep them out? this is the big question.

I think Clare will have done a huge amount of defensive work since the Waterford game, and I expect them to be better back there. Limerick were unbelievable right up until Barrett scored that goal, then they were scrambling for a time. Lots of people have pointed to Lynch being sent off as a massive turning point, and to some extent it was, but Cork had already taken the lead at that time and were looking dangerous up front.

The worry I would have for Limerick is their recent tendency to drift out of games and allow the opposition back in, and this, coupled with the loss of Gillane and Lynch means it's Clare for me..

bloodandbandage (Cork) - Posts: 517 - 01/05/2026 14:21:16    2670197

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I dont think you can underestimate the week rest factor. All the advantages are with Clare. They are at home after a win and a two week break against a limerick team down 2 of its leaders, playing its 2nd game in 8 days coming off the back of a loss and playing most of the second half of that loss with 14. Its all in Clares favour tbh so its hope more than expectation for me.

Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 296 - 01/05/2026 14:46:55    2670203

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Replying To Tadhg2020:  "I dont think you can underestimate the week rest factor. All the advantages are with Clare. They are at home after a win and a two week break against a limerick team down 2 of its leaders, playing its 2nd game in 8 days coming off the back of a loss and playing most of the second half of that loss with 14. Its all in Clares favour tbh so its hope more than expectation for me."
Yet, all the bookies have Limerick as odds-on favourites.

Cockney_Cat (UK) - Posts: 2877 - 01/05/2026 16:04:08    2670231

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Replying To Cockney_Cat:  ""The Munster championship is part of the All Ireland series, same as the Leinster Championship."

And therein lies the problem. All this arguing, back and forth, on here about the make-up of the Munster and Leinster Championships misses the point; they are intrinsically different and not fit for purpose, nor fair nowadays, for deciding the make-up of the All-Ireland Championship.

The provisional Championships should be separated from, and played before the All-Ireland series. Probably instead of the National League.

The All-Ireland series should have equal number seeded groups, followed by a knock-out phase. You can debate about how many counties qualify, and from where, and how they are seeded, but that's a minor and easily sorted issue."
+1, either play them as the league or knock-out and then seed for a group championship. Every matchup that happens now, will most likely happen in a better format where teams aren't out of the championship by the 1st weekend of May.

StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 2018 - 01/05/2026 18:59:41    2670255

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Replying To Cockney_Cat:  "Yet, all the bookies have Limerick as odds-on favourites."
Probably because we won the league comfortably. That was a month ago though. A lot has happened since.

Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 296 - 02/05/2026 00:07:22    2670311

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Replying To StoreysTash:  "+1, either play them as the league or knock-out and then seed for a group championship. Every matchup that happens now, will most likely happen in a better format where teams aren't out of the championship by the 1st weekend of May."
Its always the Leinster lads that want to downgrade the provincial championships. Its not going to happen lads...

Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 296 - 02/05/2026 00:09:38    2670312

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Replying To Tadhg2020:  "Its always the Leinster lads that want to downgrade the provincial championships. Its not going to happen lads..."
In what way does it downgrade the provincial Championships?

Cockney_Cat (UK) - Posts: 2877 - 02/05/2026 12:10:58    2670334

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Replying To Tadhg2020:  "Probably because we won the league comfortably. That was a month ago though. A lot has happened since."
You think the bookies don't know about that?

Cockney_Cat (UK) - Posts: 2877 - 02/05/2026 12:13:00    2670335

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Replying To Tadhg2020:  "Its always the Leinster lads that want to downgrade the provincial championships. Its not going to happen lads..."
Nobody is trying to downgrade anything. But maybe hurling promotion is about expanding the game, not just looking after ourselves.
By the way Tadgh I'm still waiting for you to explain your Leinster format, you have ignored my question about your proposed reduction to 5 time and again.
Should Kildare, Laois, etc just hang up the hurls?

StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 2018 - 02/05/2026 12:28:24    2670339

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