I’M all for equality, and the GAA as an association can always do more (even if the ladies and camogs come under the umbrella of separate associations), but can you blame me for thinking that those other associations sometimes shoot themselves in the foot? Last year there was the whole mess where the venue for the All-Ireland ladies final between Galway and Tipperary was changed twice, causing no end of problems, while there was uproar this week from camogs after their association proposed that the traditional format be retained rather than going for a split-season. The GPA then said players overwhelmingly voted (84% of 752 players who responded in last 24 hours) that they will not participate in the Littlewoods Ireland Camogie Leagues should the current season structure be retained. The Camogie Association say they’ll think about it – but they need to actually listen.

NIALL GARTLAND

CHALLENGE matches will be allowed from May 10, and you have to wonder what the point is. Kevin Cassidy alludes to it in his column, but the NHL will have already started and the NFL will be less than a week away. Official challenge matches probably won’t happen but, as we all know, they have been taking place unofficially anyway. Once intercounty teams were allowed back to group training, they should have been allowed to play challenge games. Given that most teams were back training long before they were allowed to, there was never going to be a chance that they would wait for the green light.

NIALL MCCOY

THE GL team have been writing National League previews for the past week, and as I go through results of the past few years, I notice that the teams that play in the lower leagues tend to be like escalators. They go up and down regularly. Down, Antrim and Donegal were all promoted last year. But when they go up a division, they are more likely to go straight back down again. The leagues are great and all, but I wonder how much help is it if the same teams are going up and down, and not getting time to test themselves against the top teams. I ask myself, is a six-team division really the best format? Should promotion be allowed but relegation banned, so that over time the top tiers get bigger? Then I realise that I am the guy that says county teams will only improve if their club teams get stronger.

RONAN SCOTT

A FEW weeks ago, the former Antrim star hurler Eddie Donnelly told me a story that made me realise that the GAA could be saved. Donnelly says that he got his first big break in Ballcastle while playing carnival matches. These events were one-day affairs, played in towns across Ulster, they were social events, where fans would enjoy a day out, and watch some hurling. Donnelly remembers how the winners of the event would each get a watch, but the real prize was getting to play for his club. The carnival should be brought back because it solves a number of issues that exist within the GAA. The carnival provided competitive action while county players were away. They are a chance for clubs to play teams outside their county. And they are games that test young players without the pressure of relegation or promotion, or championship defeat. The GAA is saved.

RONAN SCOTT

CLARE visit Belfast this weekend, and it’s been a long time since one of the country’s top dogs pitched up. Usually this would bring a lot of fanfare, but the current restrictions means that supporters must make-do with TV coverage. I had the pleasure at being at Croke Park for Antrim’s Joe McDonagh success last year, and there is no doubting that they are a team on the up. They were excellent in 2020, and Darren Gleeson seems to be getting a panel together that has put club rivalries aside. This weekend we will see just how far they have progressed. They are big underdogs, of course, but a hammering would be so disheartening. I fancy them to do well at Corrigan Park.

NIALL MCCOY

MATCHES start up again this week in Tyrone as outstanding fixtures from last year are to be fulfilled over the coming fortnight. Thank God for that, but I think it’s a shame that spectators have been shown the door, so to speak, following a recent directive from Ulster GAA. I really hope that changes over the course of the next few months – the crowds at the World Snooker Championship made a real difference (even if they have to be quiet half the time), and I think allowing a few hundred spectators into club matches wouldn’t do any harm, particularly in the Wee Six. I suppose it can’t be one rule for Tyrone and another rule for say, Donegal, but the risk of outdoor transmission is low, vaccination uptake has been good, and I’d like to think by the time the club championship rolls around there’ll be a place for fans in the stand.

NIALL GARTLAND