*Newly elected Clare GAA Chairman, Kieran Keating. Photograph: Natasha Barton
Tuesday’s evening special Clare GAA County Board meeting was dominated by one issue, the ongoing senior hurling championship relegation fiasco that new chairman Kieran Keating was determined to resolve. Here’s an insight into how the 70 minute debate unfolded:
Opening statement – setting the scene
“Once the relegation candidates Clarecastle, Clooney-Quin, Crusheen and O’Callaghan’s Mills were decided, we proceeded in accordance with what we understand was the round robin system that we had put in place. And when that series was completed, Crusheen had grounds to argue that there were errors in that and when they looked into that further, they found that we hadn’t actually properly adopted the regulations. So it was a ‘get out of jail card’ and they were entitled to use it.
“What it means is that the four teams that finished bottom of the four groups are back in the same position they were when the groups finished. The games that were played in that round-robin are null and void, forget about them, because they weren’t in accordance with regulations.
“Crusheen appealed their relegation from those games and Munster Council upheld their appeal. I can’t read out those findings but it’s not that complicated in terms of why Clare GAA lost the appeal by Crusheen to relegate them. Munster Council have basically put it back to Clare for us to process which we have interpreted to mean that we have to proceed with the competition as regulated. That regulation is that from the four team, we will draw two versus two and the losing two teams go down, that’s what we understand we have to do.”
Kieran Keating (Clare GAA Chairman)
Case for the Defence
‘Firstly, it is important to highlight that this issue has arisen because of a failure to follow GAA rules.
‘Crusheen GAA will appeal any future attempts by Clare GAA to introduce any type of play-off games to determine teams to be relegated. We will base our appeal that no regulations were ever published in 2021 in respect of this competition.
‘The Fixtures Plan in 2021 did not state that it was replacing the regulations adopted in 2020. The 2020 regulations have not been altered by Coiste Contae an Chláir or by the management committee using their emergency powers. It’s important to note that there was no relegation from senior to intermediate outlined in the 2020 regulations.
‘Therefore the 2020 regulations are still applicable in 2021 as they have not been rescinded. We are firmly of the view that if this matter is appealed again by any club, the Munster Council or the DRA will find in favour of the club, with the massive knock-on implications of same being no relegation from any adult competition in 2021.’
From the correspondence letter from Crusheen GAA Club
‘O’Callaghan’s Mills, in good faith and in the spirit of the competition set out, completed the senior relegation play-off games in 2021 and in doing so, retained our senior status for 2022. This is our position.’
O’Callaghan’s Mills GAA Club Letter
“We’ve outlined clearly that any effort to replay the relegation competition, either knock-out or round-robin, would be a clear breach of the rules. We have made it clear that we will not take part in any such competition at any time.”
Tony O’Donnell, (Crusheen)
‘This debacle has the possibility to be extremely divisive, not something Clare GAA ness as it seeks to appoint a new COO. Our governance structure have already taken up too many column inches in the national media and any attempt to re-run the relegation process would cause more deforestation as would the undoubted subsequent appeals.
‘The inability of the management committee to find a valid way to subtract two from four has brought many a good Clare man and woman to this meeting tonight.
‘Of the various suggested solutions to the impasse, it is the one that grants amnesty to the four relegation candidates of 2021 that can be most beneficial to the future of Clare GAA.
‘Last week’s convention has heralded change and optimism. And allied to the impending implementation of the Saffron & Blue report, we in Clare GAA have every reason to be optimistic for our collective future. We must look to the future, we must acknowledge mistakes of the past and the present and find a solution. A solution that may not suit everyone but a solution that unites more than it divides. We have had too much division in Clare of late.
“I doubt it is lost on anyone here present that today is the shortest day of the year. I urge you Mr Chairman to accept the solution offered and not to make tonight the longest night of Clare GAA.’
Niall Tuohy (Clarecastle)
‘It’s my opinion that we will not take part in any further play-off competition. We have already taken part in one so won’t be taking part in another.’
John Skehan, (Clooney-Quin)
“We are not taking part in any further relegation process either, I think the Clarecastle chairman summed up the whole mood of the GAA in the county over the past two years. We’ve had enough division and enough problems so I think it’s time to move on. And the only solution as far as I can see is to leave 18 teams in the senior hurling championship for 2022 and relegate two next year and two more the following year and move on because the four clubs involved are not going to take this lying down. We’ve been through the process before so it’s time now to move on, put this to bed and usher in a new beginning. So what if we have 18 teams in next year’s championship, we often had 24 and we survived.”
Robert Frost (O’Callaghan’s Mills)
Case for the Prosecution
‘While no cub ever wants to be in the position, we feel that it is now imperative that the County Board shows leadership and makes the correct decision based on fairness without favouritism or discrimination. Reverting back to the ratified Master Fixtures Plan is the only way to do this.’
From the correspondence letter from Clonlara GAA Club which is ‘almost word-for-word with letters from Scariff, Whitegate, Smith O’Brien’s and Broadford so obviously that the clubs consulted before preparing their letters’ according to Clare GAA Chairman Kieran Keating.
“I can stand up here and categorically say that if the Whitegate Hurling Club were in the same situation and they decided to go down the route that is been taken at the moment, I would disassociate myself with the Whitegate Hurling Club and I have spoken to different people within the club who would do the very same thing. We have to go back to the Masters Fixtures Plan and the relegation goes back to two versus two with the two losing teams relegated because the knock-on effect for every single club, both hurling and football for 2022, is astronomical.
David Solon (Whitegate)
“On behalf of Broadford, we don’t think that any one team should go down. We’ve the most intermediate championships in the county which means that we were relegated the most times and never once did we look for a loophole. I’m sure that we could all find loopholes. The bottom line is that it was passed at the April meeting that two teams have to be relegated so I second David [Solon’s] proposal.”
Danny Chaplin (Broadford)
Point of clarification
‘The four clubs involved have clearly stated tonight that they will not take any part in any further relegation process if it’s proposed. So if it’s decided tonight to revert to two play-offs with the losers being relegation and none of the four clubs take part in that, how do you resolve that issue?’
Anthony O’Halloran (St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield)
“That would give us a difficulty of course in that you’d have four teams that refuse to play a fixture but the rule for that is that the four teams would be excluded from the competition so the four teams would have to be relegated, as I would read it.”
Kieran Keating (Clare GAA Chairman)
The verdict
‘O’Callaghan’s Mills’ motion proposed by Robert Frost and seconded by John Skehan is that we will be varying the regulations that are in place and that there will be 18 teams in next year’s senior hurling championship. The 17 that played this year plus Smith O’Brien’s who have been promoted from intermediate.’
Kieran Keating (Clare GAA Chairman)
The motion was carried by 18 to 16.
