August All-Ireland senior finals could make a return in 2027

The Journal

2 days ago

The 42
Reports from Kilcormac, Offaly
GAA PRESIDENT JARLATH Burns has revealed August All-Ireland finals could be back in place for the 2027 season.
The timing of the showpiece games in the inter-county championship has sparked heated debate with successive weekends in July currently used.
Burns, speaking today at Offaly's GAA training centre 'The Faithful Fields' in Kilcormac, outlined how August All-Ireland finals may return in two years time.
'We have an amateur organisation that is also working alongside Croke Park, which is a commercial organisation. Croke Park operates with regard to its priorities and how it does its business, a year in advance. So, already, August 2026 is taken up.
'That puts August 2027 into the mix. I'm around the country all the time, in clubs and counties every single day of the week, and the thing that I get most debate on are the timings of the All-Ireland finals.
'And there is a school of thought that is saying that first and third weeks in August, leave everything as it is and just have a bigger space between the semi-finals and the finals, three weeks instead of two weeks.
GAA President Jarlath Burns.
Leah Scholes / INPHO
Leah Scholes / INPHO / INPHO
'That means then that there's only the two teams that are being affected. The disadvantage of that is that you're into the bank holiday weekend, and that can create difficulty as well.
'You might have heard me saying that this isn't going to happen during my presidency. The decision might be made during my presidency, but it might not actually occur during my presidency. But I am certainly open to first and third weeks in August from 2027 on.
'At the end of the day, we are a games organisation. We also have to factor in replays. We have to factor in camogie and LGFA, and replays for those as well. So Croke Park could be very, very busy in that month of August. But that's great. The more games we can have in it, the better.'
Armagh's Aidan Forker and John Maher of Galway in action in last year's All-Ireland senior football final.
Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
Clare's Diarmuid Ryan and Seamus Harnedy of Cork in action in last year's All-Ireland senior hurling final.
Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
With concerts already likely to be booked in for August 2026, a shift in timing of the All-Ireland finals in 2027 would create a window earlier in the summer for the stadium to be used for such events.
'One of the jobs you get when you're President of the GAA, you're chair of the Croke Park board so you get to understand the cycle of touring acts and it would have been perfect for them to finish their tour in Ireland and then go on maybe to Australia or wherever for it going into the summer.
'Now it might be to start the tour in Ireland and that's doable. You know, everybody wants to play in Croke Park. That's one thing. All of the biggest acts in the world, they do want to play in Croke Park.'
In the wake of last Saturday's dramatic Munster final, the debate has surfaced as to whether a replay would have been a fairer solution.
Burns would be in favour of replays if there was sufficient room in the calendar.
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'You don't have to talk to me above anybody else about replays and provincial finals. We've lost three now (and) two quarter-finals, on penalties. I would be very much in favour of replays where at all possible.'
'At the end of this championship, because it's a three-year phase, we're going to review all aspects of it. I agree with the split-season for all of the reasons that I've given before, but I definitely think that any review should consider the possibility of replays, particularly in provincial finals.
Limerick's Cian Lynch and William O'Donoghue dejected after the game last Saturday.
James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
'I just think that was such a game of drama, it was just a pity the way it ended. The Armagh-Donegal game could have gone the same way for the third year in a row, so I'm totally in favour of replays.'
The GAA President admitted the preliminary hurling quarter-finals are a barrier to faciltating replays in the current schedule.
'We did bring a motion to Congress this year. Ironically, it was Munster GAA who stymied it. For good reason as well, because they know that they have it very tight with the preliminary quarter-finals.
'Those mean a lot to the counties that are in them. Every time CCCC have gone to Ard Chomhairle to try and end the preliminary quarter-finals, the counties themselves who would be in that position have always come back and said, 'No, this preliminary quarter-final means an awful lot to our team and our county, and we want to keep it.'
'If you do away with the preliminary quarter-finals, there are advantages to that because you could stretch out the Joe McDonagh Cup and you could make that a longer competition.
'But because they have to be ready for the preliminary quarter-finals, you end up then with all of those Joe McDonagh counties ending at the same date as the Leinster final. There are lots of considerations there but certainly I'd be open to doing whatever has to be done to get replays in for provincial finals.'
Burns was also asked for his views on penalty shootouts being employed to deliver a winner in championship ties.
Cork goalkeeper Patrick Collins saves a penalty during last Saturday's shootout.
James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
'That's what's in rule and that's what we have at the moment. It's not too often that you have penalties in a hurling match for obvious reasons. There are many people who say it adds to the drama as well, and that it can assist in the narrative of the game, that there was a winner on the day, there was a cup presented.
'Whenever we used to have replays, people gave off to the GAA that we were just doing it for the financial gain. And remember, the 83 per cent goes back. We need every penny we can get for all those good reasons. And now we have stopped replays to allow for the club season. We're getting, not criticism, but debate over it.
'So there are all of these points that you have to consider. The GAA do not take these decisions lightly. They are all voted on. We're a very democratic organisation and if people want to change it, we'll be in favour of that.'
No decision has yet been made on the International Rules returning laser this year with suggestions of games in Croke Park and SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
'We haven't really made any decision on that,' stated Burns.
'We have a Management meeting on Friday night and that's on the agenda. We have to be mindful of lots of things because that's coming in the middle of a closed season, which we are very protective about and that's why we did away with the pre-season competitions last year because we wanted our county players to have a genuine closed season. If we are going to start now with International Rules at that time, we know that that would compromise that principle that we have brought in, giving our players that rest period. So it's something that we have to do a little bit deeper thinking on, to be honest, before we make an actual decision on it. Personally, I would love to see the International Rules back, the players would love to see it back, but we have to be very careful about the consequences of bringing it back.
Written by Fintan O'Toole and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won't find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women's sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe
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