Galway have been in the Leinster hurling championship for the last eight years, but there may be some doubts as to whether they will remain. Galway CEO John Hynes will be speaking to Galway Bay FM's Sean Walsh on Monday evening at 6pm to talk about Galway's future in the Leinster championship, and the list of things they want to fix about his county's involvement.
Galway have recently had an application for their U-21 and minor teams to join the Leinster championships, instead of going straight into the All-Ireland championships at the quarter-final stage. This has lead to some heavy defeats for the tribesmen at this stage, but Leinster have refused their entry.
Amongst other demands that Galway are seeking is some funding from the Leinster council - they have generated approximately €3.47 million by participating in Leinster's championship, but have only received €130,ooo in return. This could be due to the fact that they don't get any home games in the championship, and are 'hosting' teams in Tullamore.
Hynes has said that he intends to bring this up at a national level, direct to Croke Park, after Leinster have refused to afford him any leeway in Galway's quest.
You can listen to a preview of Hynes' interview on Galway Bay FM's website.
We first came into Leinster in 2009, and since then we've played a total of 48 games. We've played 26 in the championship, and 22 in the Walsh Cup. Over that period of time, it's our senior teams only that have been in. Two years ago, our intermediate team was allowed into Leinster.
We've had a very detailed review of where we're at in terms of the benefits to Galway. Whereas there are definite benefits to our senior an intermediate teams, we also want those benefits to be shared by our underage teams. That's our new initiative to bring this to a national level, rather than to a provincial level in Leinster only.
What our underage teams need, that's our U-21's and minors, they need structured competitive games to help them develop because at under-age level it's all about player development.
Unfortunately, with the current situation Leinster have confirmed to us that they are not going to accommodate us at U-21 or at minor level in their championships.
So as a result of that, we have an onus as the custodians of GAA in the county, and the development of the games to ensure that our underage teams do get meaningful competitive games, and that's why we're bringing this issue to a national level.
[Galway Bay FM]
See Also: Galway Hurling: Forever At War With Itself
Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
