It has been another busy weekend of GAA action with the All-Ireland hurling and football championships - as well as the Tailteann Cup - providing entertainment across the country.
Cork did enough to keep Dublin at arm's length in advancing to the semi-final of the All-Ireland SHC on Saturday, that clash preceding Clare's defeat of Wexford.
Both games carried great significance but there was considerably more football on offer, with a number of preliminary quarter-finals taking place on the same day.
Galway got the better of Monaghan, while Roscommon had too much for Tyrone and Derry broke Mayo hearts ina thrilling penalty shootout.
The Tailteann Cup semi-final meetings of Antrim vs Laois and Down vs Sligo took the prime Sunday Game slots on RTE, while Cork's premilinary All-Ireland football quarter-final against Louth was also staged on Sunday.
The Tailteann Cup last-four ties had long been set for Sunday in Croke Park, as part of an agreement on how best to promote the second-tier football competition.
However, the failure of Leinster to reach the URC rugby final meant that Croke Park was now available for both Saturday and Sunday, leading to a motion to swap the hurling quarter-finals to Sunday and hold the Tailteann Cup semi-finals on Saturday.
The motion was ultimately defeated, and we have since heard lines from the likes of Dónal Óg Cusack suggesting that the GAA's scheduling is starving hurling of "oxygen."
Michael Duignan Hits Out At Hurling QFs Schedule
Offaly GAA chairman and veteran pundit Michael Duignan was far from impressed with the scheduling of the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals, claiming they lacked their Championship feel.
He is one of many who feel Saturday's hurling action was somewhat lost in the plethora of Gaelic football fixtures this weekend.
1 June 2024; Michael Duignan, the Offaly County Board Chairman, centre, celebrates after the oneills.com GAA Hurling All-Ireland U20 Championship final match between Offaly and Tipperary at UPMC Nowlan Park in Kilkenny. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
Writing in his column for Extra.ie, Duignan has called for a rethink after what he deemed to be 'meaningless' football matches took precedence over hurling this weekend.
Maybe over the season, it’s fair to say the four best teams are in the semi-finals," he wrote.
"Still, it’s unbelievable really that the hurling quarters didn’t take centre-stage this weekend.
"Now, I felt six days out there was no way you could change it, but they should have been given precedence.
"There are too many meaningless matches in the All-Ireland football series that are taking up too much time in the schedule. A rethink is needed for next year."
Duignan is not the only person to take aim at the All-Ireland schedule this season, with Clare legend Anthony Daly sharing similar sentiments to Duignan.
