2013 senior hurling championship is to consist of 22 teams

STEPHEN GLENNON

THE Galway Hurling Committee has set up a sub group to look into restructuring the senior championship for 2013 after finally accepting the Hearings Committee’s findings which upheld a Liam Mellows appeal calling for no senior hurling team to be relegated in 2012.

Delegates were informed on Monday night that the Hearings Committee had upheld the Liam Mellows appeal and after a great deal of frank discussion, the Hurling Committee decided it would not be pursuing the matter any further.

“There is no team going down,” confirmed Hurling Committee Chairman Joe Byrne. “On foot of a previous Hurling Board meeting, we had appealed the Liam Mellows appeal to a meeting of the Hearings Committee. However, they made the decision to uphold the appeal and on Monday night we met to discuss this with the delegates.

“As you would expect, there was a tough, lengthy discussion on it with a number of options put forward. In the end, it was decided to accept the findings of the Hearings Committee, which means we will have 22 senior teams next year.”

He said the Committee had put a sub group together to look at proposals for the structure of the 2013 championship, adding that it was the delegates view – along with his own personal view – that the championship should be kept as near as possible in format to this year’s competition.

“So, we would again be looking to protect the promoted intermediate team by seeing they get a minimum of two years in senior. The mood among the delegates was that they didn’t really want to see two teams relegated next year. So, we have to ensure there are no relegation loopholes and ensure that one team will be relegated in 2013.”

Meanwhile, at a Special County Convention in Claregalway Hotel on Tuesday evening, delegates voted to regularise the county’s bye-laws to comply with GAA rules. It was also adopted to have one jersey, one crest and one main sponsor for Galway’s hurlers and footballers going forward.

“There will be one jersey, one crest and one sponsor next year,” confirmed Byrne. “From a hurling point of view, we certainly hope it will be Supermac’s but there has been no decision made on it yet.

For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.