Since the inaugural final in 2018 the Joe McDonagh cup has provided some exciting moments between the unfancied hurling counties. It has given counties the opportunity to compete with top teams that they wouldn't have been afforded to before.
However one issue that has arisen from it is that these teams still struggle to compete with the top teams, with the winners rarely making the impact many hope for. A vast majority of the teams which get promoted to their provincial championship get relegated straight back down.
Speaking prior to the Offaly's Joe McDonagh Cup Final win against Laois, 2-time Joe McDonagh Cup winner with Antrim Neil McManus proposed an interesting plan to tackle the issue of the McDonagh Cup winners going straight back down.
Yeah I think we should be staying in the top tier for a minimum of two seasons.
If we have to add extra fixtures to do that I think it's something we should do.
I think that it's something that the GAA has to take a hold of and take accountability for because we hear so much about the progression of teams and the progression of the sport and the development that hurling wishes for.
"They should stay in the top tier for two seasons" - @Neilmcmanus88 on what should happen to teams who get promoted to the Liam MacCarthy #rtegaa pic.twitter.com/lvn6kjKJXN
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 8, 2024
It is an idea that makes sense when you look at the record of the Joe McDonagh Cup winners in the league as Laois and Antrim are the only teams that have stayed up the following year and in Laois' case they only stayed up on a technicality.
Neil McManus makes a great point
Record of JMcD winners
2018: Carlow (relegated back down)
2019: Laois (stayed up) *
2020: Antrim (relegated)
2021: Westmeath (stayed up but relegated in the next year)
2022: Antrim (stayed up)
2023: Carlow (relegated)
pic.twitter.com/w8AwC2L3bA— Gaelic Statsman (@gaelicstatsman) June 8, 2024
After today's result Offaly will now get a chance to join both Laois and Antrim in staying up in the Leinster Championship but history dictates that it is unlikely.
The plan that would likely be a bit of a problem logistically but giving the winners of the McDonagh Cup more opportunities to compete with the top tier teams will only benefit them and make hurling more competitive in the future.
