Madam, - The farcical "back-door" system for the All-Ireland Championships has led to Waterford's best hurling team in 40 years being denied its right to play Kilkenny in the final.
Unheard of in any other sport, this is neither a league nor a tournament but a hybrid put in place to shore up a failed knock-out system, based on the winners of provincial championships.
Because of the imbalance in the standards of the various provincial championships, they never provided an equitable starting point to determine All-Ireland winners. Out of the eight provincial championships (hurling and football) only three have any real value: the Munster hurling championship and the football championships of Ulster and Leinster.
The remainder are effectively a series of local derbies involving two teams in each province - eg, Kerry v Cork in football and Kilkenny v Wexford in hurling. This enabled Kerry to win more than 30 All-Irelands on the back of "handy" Munster titles.
The "back door" system does not properly address this problem. If we are truly to find the best teams in Ireland then we must switch to an open draw. The early rounds could employ a "round robin" league system to give teams more than one chance.
The GAA should grasp the nettle, stop worrying only about money (the Dubs will still be involved!) and local power bases and put a fair system in place. - Yours, etc,
LIAM MURPHY, Glasdrumman Road, Annalong, Co Down.