Former Cork hurling boss Kieran Kingston would like to see the fourth-placed team in both the Munster and Leinster senior hurling championships granted a spot in the All-Ireland series.
Special Congress recently voted to retain the Liam MacCarthy Cup format which permits each of the Joe McDonagh Cup finalists access to a preliminary All-Ireland quarter-final against one of the third-placed teams from the provincial championships.
Carlow and Offaly were the McDonagh Cup finalists in 2023, progressing to preliminary quarter-finals against Dublin and Tipperary respectively. The Dubs beat Carlow 2-25 to 0-21, while Tipp annihilated Offaly, 7-38 to 3-18
Still, a motion tabled by Central Council seeking to break that link failed to garner the support of delegates at last month’s Special Congress.
Currently, the top three teams at the end of the provincial round-robin advance to the knock-out stages of the Liam MacCarthy.
However, Kingston believes it would make more sense to allocate preliminary quarter-final spots to the fourth-placed teams in the provincial championships – in 2023 that would have been Cork and Wexford.
“I think it would, and I’m being biased on that by what happened in Cork, obviously,” said the Rebels former manager.
“Looking back, if Cork got out of Munster and went on to win the All-Ireland, I’d be saying, ‘no it’s great’, but given the way the year mapped out, yes, absolutely you would think that would be a better solution.
“With no disrespect to some teams, you had teams like Cork out of the championship after four weeks of a season, when they would have possibly lit up the championship if they were involved in it for the next six or eight weeks.
“Not just the team, but the following Cork bring as well, the interest in hurling, it’s second to none. To have Cork involved would have been a huge benefit.
“They [Cork] had a brilliant year. The character the team showed was really strong. They were within a puck of a ball of putting Limerick out. Who knows what would have happened after that?
“Then your reward for playing so well and being so competitive in all of the games is not getting out of Munster. That’s really hard to take.”
Despite the outcome of the vote at Special Congress, Kingston would not be surprised if the GAA eventually revisit the matter, especially if the preliminary quarter-finals continue to be one-sided affairs.
“The next year, what will happen in championship, will probably tell a lot,” added Kingston. “If that becomes a recurring theme, for whatever team it happens to be, I think you could see a change.”
There was a change of scenery for Kingston this season, switching from the sideline to the stand. From manager to fan again, not to mention proud parent.
Kingston had two spells as Cork manager, 2016-17 and 2020-22, while he was also involved as a selector and coach between 2012-14. His son, Shane, made his Cork senior debut in 2016 and continues to be a key player for the Rebels.
“When you’re involved as a manager and you’ve a son playing – and I could never say this publicly before – it is difficult on him, to be fair,” acknowledged Kingston.
“Firstly, it’s difficult on him because he knew when I was going in as manager the first time – even though he made his debut quite young with Mark Coleman – he always knew the rules of engagement, so to speak, were, ‘You have to be performing at the level above the rest. I’m not going to favour you and if it’s a 50-50 call, you’re not getting it’.
“It’s more pressure on him, no doubt about that, and it’s more pressure on you as well because obviously the team has to come first, Cork hurling has to come first. Everything else is second and he knows that.
“At the same time, part of you is taking it personally if it doesn’t go well for him. He’s your son, of course you want him to play. If it’s your kids and they’re playing a game you want them to go well.
“You have to keep that over here and compartmentalise that, and I’d like to think I did that well. Certainly one thing I was never accused of was nepotism!
“I think it’s better for him now. He has matured, he’s a man now, he is not a child any longer. He’s established himself at this stage now, so I think the freedom is better now for him with Pat [Ryan] and the lads.”
And right now the elder Kingston’s focus is on somewhat more global affairs – Kieran is part of the Ireland management team for Saturday’s hurling-shinty international against Scotland at Páirc Esler in Newry (2.45).
Galway’s Damien Coleman is the manager, while Kingston, Antrim’s Sambo McNaughton and Kilkenny’s Michael Kavanagh complete the backroom team.
“To be part of an Irish set-up, irrespective of the short window that it is, is still different,” said Kingston. “It is an honour to be asked to represent your country, at any level, in any sport.”
