While Sunday’s drawn All Ireland Football final will be a massive boost to the coffers of the GAA, the Dublin and Mayo county boards have been left with a massive headache as their club championship fixtures have once again been thrown into chaos.
Both counties are still in the early stages of their senior club football championships and with provincial campaigns looming on the horizon, club players are in for a busy few weeks in October.
The Dublin SFC is a straight knock-out competition but just one round has been played - back in April. Now they will have to squeeze in last sixteen, quarter-final, semi final and final all before the first round of the Leinster Senior Football championship on November 13th.
All-Ireland #GAA SFC final FT: Dublin 2-9 Mayo 0-15. Neither county will get their club championships finished in time for provinces surely.
— John Fogarty (@JohnFogartyIrl) September 18, 2016
Add into the mix that the Dublin Hurling Championship is likely to be held up as well if St Vincents object to their next group game going ahead without Diarmuid Connolly. The Vins are due to play reigning champions Cuala next weekend in a potential make or break game for both clubs. The senior hurling championship is still at the group stage in the Capital with quarter-finals, semis and final to be played before the road to potential Leinster glory commences on November 6th against the Laois standard bearers.
Were St Vincents to progress all the way to both finals then Connolly would have to squeeze in EIGHT club matches after the All Ireland Final replay. With most of the football squad still involved in the club championship, win or lose against Mayo in two weeks, there are going to be several players with a packed schedule in October.
Chaotic
Over in the West things are even more chaotic. Club players were already feeling aggrieved over the county boards decision to renege on a promise to play the final group game of the Senior and Intermediate championships the weekend after Mayo’s All Ireland semi-final.
When the games were eventually postponed they were refixed for this coming weekend, September 24th & 25th. Now, thanks to Cillian O’Connor’s late heroics, those plans are out the window once again.
Imagine being a club player in Dublin or Mayo that started training last January. Looking forward to the club championship blitz.
— Kieran Cunningham (@KCsixtyseven) September 18, 2016
Considering that the winners of the Mayo SFC are due to play the Sligo champions in the Connacht quarter-final on October 30th, that gives the Westerners just three weekends to finish the group stages and play off the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
An extremely busy few weeks lie in store.
