Tommy Murphy Cup Final: Gavin Cummiskeyon how it's more Murphy's Law than Murphy Cup when it comes down to the scheduling of the tournament.
Tommy Murphy was named at midfield on the Team of the Millennium. The teenage prodigy was considered the best player of his generation and he did guide Laois to three Leinster titles between 1937 and 1946.
Some say his good name is being tarnished by the competition named in his honour. That argument gained further momentum with the fourth annual final, between Wicklow and Antrim, being scheduled for 12.15pm on Saturday, August 4th - bottom of a bill that includes two All-Ireland football quarter-finals.
Last year's final, when Louth beat Leitrim, was televised live on RTÉ, while the inaugural tournament gave Clare a rare outing at Croke Park, and the following year, Tipperary's Declan Browne an extended opportunity to showcase his brilliance on the national stage.
"Only seagulls and pigeons will see this game," says Wicklow selector Kevin O'Brien. "The scheduling is incredible and very disappointing from our point of view - Antrim will also feel the pinch as they'll probably have to come down the night before."
O'Brien, who played against Antrim in the 1992 All-Ireland B final, sat on the committee that set up the second-tier competition, designed to give weaker counties an opportunity to improve.
Last year's Special Congress decided to funnel the newly demoted division-four counties into the Tommy Murphy Cup when they were knocked out of provincial championships.
Since losing to Louth in a second replay, Wicklow have largely kept their panel together, aiming to replicate Louth's progress since they won the competition in 2006.
"I feel sorry for the players who have maintained focus for so long - and to get this reward. Also the supporters can hardly be blamed for not travelling to such an early throw-in.
"Does anyone really care about the plight of the weaker counties? We're not asking for help in Wicklow. We have made progress since Mick O'Dwyer came in and we are very grateful for his presence. We know it requires sheer hard work to improve but having spoken to people around the county since we beat Waterford in the semi-finals - a game that had a decent crowd present because we encouraged the summer camps to attend - the feeling is one of disappointment.
"I can't understand how the Nicky Rackard Cup final gets the undercard of the Dublin quarter-final. How does that look?"
The chairman of the fixtures committee (CCC) is also a Wicklowman, but while Jimmy Dunne sympathises with the frustration in his own county and in Antrim he insisted there was no other slot in Croke Park's crowded fixture list.
He did, however, proffer a potential solution: "A link into the qualifiers would give it the required lift," said Dunne.
"And I'm sure there'll be motions coming (at next year's congress) on the current qualifier system and the Tommy Murphy Cup.
"Counties could play two or three teams of equal strength so whoever does come out will be ready for the higher standard of the qualifiers."
As things stand, the winner of the Tommy Murphy Cup receives a €15,000 contribution toward a team holiday.
