GAA director general Ryan feels Cork-Clare All-Ireland final concluded abruptly

GAA director general Tom Ryan felt last year’s All-Ireland senior hurling final between Clare and Cork concluded abruptly.

As he claimed moving the end of the inter-county championships to August “would be no bad thing” in his annual report, Ryan referenced a motion from Central Council later this month to do away with extra-time if the teams are level at the end of the normal time in All-Ireland deciders.

If successful, it will come into force for this year. In the event the July 20 All-Ireland hurling final is tied at the end of normal time, it will be replayed on Saturday August 2 and the July 27 football final will have a second date on August 9. The facility for provincial final replays could be built in from 2026.

Recalling Clare’s extra-time All-Ireland SHC final win, Ryan said: “There was a general sense around the place last July time that it was just a missed opportunity in terms of the promotion of the game, in terms of the profile that we would have afforded. It just seemed like a very abrupt end to the hurling season.”

As the certainty of championship fixtures provided by the split season has benefitted club players. Ryan doesn’t see the finals returning to September, believing the GAA leadership’s “job is to forge a summer All-Ireland tradition now”, but August is a strong possibility.

In his report, Ryan spoke about the growing school of thought for later All-Ireland finals.

“There is a gathering mood to shuffle the finals back by a week or two, and that may well transpire in the future. Stretching the season out a little would be no bad thing – but I don’t foresee a return to September.”

Ryan referenced GAA director of finance Ger Mulryan’s claim that the intensity of the inter-county had impacted attendances negatively. “Where we see it is kind of at the quarter-final stage, the latter stage before you get into the quarter-final. There's a pinch on people going to matches.

“It's difficult for everybody to get to every match that they want to go to, quite apart from affordability and so on. So, we have to make room for a little bit more space within the footprint that we have. I don't think what we will be doing is extending that footprint significantly back into autumn.”

Ryan also suggested in his report the idea of the All-Ireland senior championships being run in succession rather than concurrently before the GAA celebrates its 150th birthday in 2034.

Asked about the idea, he replied: “Look, there's 101 reasons and probably more why that either doesn't work or isn't desirable. But it's in there just as an example of stuff that it's no harm to challenge our thinking now and again and see.”

There are no plans to do away with “winners on the day” facility outside of All-Ireland finals this year and provincial deciders in 2026.

“The winner on the day stuff from February up until July time is really important because (otherwise) it can derail other fixtures and so on,” said Ryan.

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