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Peter Sweeney

Peter Sweeney's Blog

Peter Sweeney is the Gaelic Games Correspondent with the Irish Daily Star Newspaper. He is a regular on television and radio and even though he isn't any good he still tries to play Gaelic football.

  • 26 Jul 2010

    The Qualifiers undermine the Provincials

    THE GAA staunchly refuse to do away with their provincial championships, yet they continue to undermine them thanks to their All-Ireland qualifier structures. The simple fact of the matter is this – the further a team goes in their province before being beaten, the worse the chances of them progressing through the backdoor. read more

    THE GAA staunchly refuse to do away with their provincial championships, yet they continue to undermine them thanks to their All-Ireland qualifier structures.

    The simple fact of the matter is this – the further a team goes in their province before being beaten, the worse the chances of them progressing through the backdoor.

    Teams that exit Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster early generally have a few weeks to lick their wounds and get their heads around the All-Ireland qualifiers.

    If they get the kind of draw they all hope for it gives them the chance to build up a head of steam and by the time the fourth round comes along they are being propelled by serious momentum.

    The qualifiers were first introduced in 2001 and in the ten seasons since then only 14 out of 40 beaten provincial finalists, just over one in three, have managed to bounce back and take advantage of their second chance.

    Last year only Kildare of the beaten provincial finalists made it to the All-Ireland quarter-final and this year none of the big-game losers managed to rebound. Limerick got the closest when they forced Cork to extra-time.

    Perhaps the cruellest twist of all saw Sligo and Monaghan pushed back into action just six days after morale crushing final defeats.

    Both counties had put everything into winning domestic silverware but lost in depressing circumstances.

    And then less than a week later they were asked to go out and perform against teams that had put together qualifier runs.

    Sligo fell to Down, who had two games behind them, while Kildare were in action for the fifth weekend in-a-row when they dispatched Monaghan.

    A clearly frustrated Yeats County manager Kevin Walsh called the system ‘total crap’ on Saturday night and Down boss James McCartan admitted that they had’ taken advantage of the situation’.

    Certainly, it’s hard to work out how Connacht, with the second smallest number of competing counties started their provincial schedule before anyone else but were still the last to complete their competition.

    It’s inescapable that the teams who are given their second chances earlier make a better fist of the qualifiers.

    For some years the GAA had a rule allowing beaten provincial finalists a minimum 13 days to recover before entering the qualifiers but that was done away with as the fixture calendar became ever-more crowded.

    The provincial competitions aren’t going anywhere so the sooner Croke Park restore some degree of protection to teams that go further in their home championships the better.

Home Away Date Time Venue
Louth Westmeath 05.02.2012 2:30  
Armagh Cork 05.02.2012 2:30  
Derry Galway 05.02.2012 2:30  
Roscommon Tipperary 05.02.2012 2:30  

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Home Score Away Score Date Venue
Kerry 1-11 Dublin 1-12 18.09 Croke Park
Dublin 0-08 Donegal 0-06 28.08 Croke Park
Mayo 1-11 Kerry 1-20 21.08 Croke Park
Dublin 0-22 Tyrone 0-15 06.08 Croke Park

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