Leinster may be long-term home for Galway and Antrim

TWO-THIRDS OF the way through the experimental expansion of the Leinster hurling championship, provincial chief executive Michael Delaney has called for the trial structure to be made permanent and for Antrim and Galway also to be allowed compete at under-age in the province.

"Next year is the third year of the experiment," Delaney told The Irish Times, "but I'd be expecting that we'll carry on. In fact, I'd be hoping that it will be broadened out and that they'll now come in at minor and under-21. I think if the thing is to be logical at all they should be with us at under-age."

Asked how that would sit with counties such as Dublin and Offaly, who opposed the move when it was debated two years ago, and expressed specific reservations about the possibility of a successful under-age county like Galway sharing domination of the provincial silverware with Kilkenny, Delaney said he believed those views had eased.

“They had those reservations about the senior as well and voted against it, but I’ve a feeling those reservations are gone now and that there is a recognition that both counties have added to the senior championship and I don’t see why they wouldn’t add to the minor and under-21 as well.”

The arrival of Galway in particular was intended to improve the competitiveness of the provincial championship that has been monopolised by Kilkenny and tidy up the situation where the two counties were orbiting the championship with no top-level provincial championship to contest.

Ironically, Sunday’s final was as one-sided as any in the past six years, as Kilkenny dismissed Galway to claim a sixth successive title.

“It was, I suppose, a disappointment, but what can you do with any championship that Kilkenny enter?” said Delaney. “Overall, though, it was a very good championship with an exciting game between Antrim and Offaly and two great games between Galway and Offaly.”

The provincial championship also expanded this year with the addition of last year’s Ring Cup winners Carlow, who opted to compete in the MacCarthy Cup and Leinster championship and had the satisfaction of recording a qualifier win over Laois before going down to Antrim at the weekend.

Their successors Westmeath, who defeated Kerry in Saturday's final, will have the same option to step up a grade in 2011. Yesterday's edition of The Irish Timesmistakenly awarded the Christy Ring Cup title to Meath.

The Leinster chief executive was philosophical about the impact of Dublin’s elimination from the provincial football championship, which the county has won for the past five years, attracting big crowds in the process.

“There’s no question that we’ll be down about 25,000 or 30,000, as we’d be expecting 40,000 or 45,000 at Louth-Meath next Sunday, but these things are cyclical,” he said.

“We had a good run and the province benefited substantially but you can’t expect that sort of a run to last forever. Dublin will be back. This happened a few years ago when Laois and Westmeath won the province and Dublin’s presence in the qualifiers raised the crowds there so there’s some compensation even if not for us.”