A drastic GAA rule change suggested by Meath club Rathkenny could see the likes of David Clifford and Paudie Clifford banned from playing in provincial club championships a intermediate and junior level, with the motion set to be debated at the GAA Congress next month.
Kerry clubs have dominated the provincial and All-Ireland club scene in both the intermediate and junior ranks over the last couple of decades, something that other counties are now starting push back against.
Fossa would win the All-Ireland club junior title in 2023 with the Clifford brothers in tow, with Listowel Emmets hoping to replicate that success this afternoon. In all, Kerry clubs have won 11 of the last 20 All-Ireland titles at that level.
However, this proposed new rule would likely reverse that trend moving forward.
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Suggested GAA rule could see Clifford brothers banned from some club competitions
Kerry club football has a rather unique format.
Their senior championship features only eight genuine senior clubs. However, every other footballer in the county is given the opportunity to play at the highest level through divisional sides, which are made up of all the club below senior level.
Some feel this is giving their clubs in the lower ranks an advantage over side from the rest of the country.
Meath club Rathkenny are proposing a rule that would stop players who have featured in the county senior championship for divisional teams from lining out with their clubs in the junior or intermediate provincial and All-Ireland championships in the same season.
For example, as David Clifford and Paudie Clifford starred for East Kerry in the 2022 senior championship, they would have been banned from competing for Fossa in the Munster and All-Ireland junior championships that year if this rule had been in place.
Former Meath GAA chairman Barney Allen said that the rule should be considered as Kerry currently have an 'advantage' on other counties (h/t Irish Independent).
Castletown won the Meath and Leinster junior titles last year. But then in the All-Ireland semi-final they came up against Fossa who had at least six players who had played in the Kerry senior football championship.
Castletown were very annoyed that senior players were allowed play in the competition and contacted me about it...
It is not fair on the other counties that Kerry have this advantage.
The records support this. Kerry clubs have won 11 All-Ireland junior titles and seven All-Ireland intermediate titles in the last 20 years. No other county has come close to matching them.
This would certainly be a controversial rule, one that would not go down well in Kerry. It would see the most talented players in the intermediate and junior ranks be unable to go on memorable provincial and All-Ireland runs with their clubs, simply because they were the best players on those teams.
You can't imagine that it will be given any real consideration.
One of the main driving factors in Kerry's success at intermediate and junior level is the amount of senior clubs in the county. The fact that there are only eight senior clubs mean that there are still some very strong sides in the lower ranks. For example, the ninth ranked club in Kerry could end up facing the 33rd ranked club in Dublin in an All-Ireland intermediate final.
With suggestions to shake up the format of the senior championship in Kerry, it will be interesting to see if this dynamic shifts in the years ahead.
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