The GAA has rejected comments by Laois hurling manager Séamus Plunkett that were critical of efforts to develop hurling. Plunkett was speaking at the weekend after the defeat of his team by Dublin in the All-Ireland qualifiers.

"Work has gone into this on a number of different frontiers," said GAA director of games Pat Daly. "Laois are one of the designated five counties for instance (a scheme that targets improvement at senior level for Laois, Offaly, Carlow, Antrim and Westmeath), and with the help of that and thanks to the work done by Cheddar Plunkett there has been an improvement."

Plunkett had said the difficulties facing the game were more than about resources “It’s more that that,” he said. “Daly denied that the GAA was content to allow a limited number of counties compete.

More contenders

“Of course we don’t want a scenario where only three teams can win the All-Ireland, but competitive levels oscillate through the years and there are more contenders some years than others. At the start of this season it was seen as quite an open championship and we’ll see how it unfolds.

“What we are trying to do is to build sustainable systems providing games opportunities for as many as possible and up to as high a standard as possible . . . We’re happy that we’re making good progress but we know that it’s not perfect and that not everyone is happy with the rate of that progress but we’re also constantly reviewing what we do.

“We’ll be sitting down with Laois and discussing the best way forward.”