THE recent comments made by Jarlath Burns on why the season can’t be extended in 2026 prove that the GAA has allowed the tail to wag the dog.
Burns is open to pushing the All-Ireland finals out to August, which is encouraging.
But the fact that it won’t happen next year due to concerts that’ve already been scheduled is an insult to the people who put Croke Park there in the first place.
Hurling in particular will continue to suffer as long as this outrageously condensed season is allowed to exist.
The madness of a Munster SHC final being decided by a shootout was the latest example of an astonishing lack of vision.
Imagine both John Kiely and Pat Ryan put the foot down and refused to go through with penalties?
It was the same when Cork and Clare were forced to play extra-time in last year’s final.
It all comes back to enabling the GAA to convince themselves that the current structure of the season is working.
Replaying these games would generate plenty of revenue too.
And there are many areas of the country where hurling desperately needs investment.
After this weekend, only three more inter-county hurling matches will be played in 2025.
That is a startling statement to be able to make when we’re still only in June.
The build-up to today’s All-Ireland quarter-finals has been incredibly muted.
A massive deal should be made of games of this magnitude but you’d need your ear to the ground to know that they were even being played.
GAA bosses will get an awful fright on July 20 if Shane Lowry or Rory McIlroy are in contention in the final round of The Open at Portrush.
Fingers must ultimately be pointed at county boards and delegates who have allowed us to end up at this point.
What is happening at the moment is disgraceful. And while people are growing more disgruntled, I fear nothing will change.
The dogs bark but the caravan moves on.
