Galway officials intend to push on with a submission to Croke Park regarding the inclusion of their minor and under-21 hurling teams in future Leinster championships.
Leinster Council chairman John Horan revealed earlier this week that there remains little appetite in the province to rock the status quo by introducing underage Galway teams.
Horan also discussed the fact that Galway haven’t played a single home game in the Leinster senior championship since being accommodated in the province in 2009, noting that a €20,000 annual grant has been awarded to Galway to offset lost revenue.
The Dubliner suggested that Leinster counties may not fancy trekking as far as Pearse Stadium for games and said Ballinasloe could be a possibility for matches if the ground was “in shape”.
Declined to respond
John Hynes, chief executive of Galway GAA, declined to respond directly to any of the comments yesterday though noted briefly that figures previously published by Galway included the €20,000 payment.
Galway County Board delegates were recently told that of €3.47m apparently generated in gate receipts from Leinster SHC and Walsh Cup games involving Galway between 2009 and 2015, the county received less than €130,000.
Hynes stated earlier this month that Galway felt compelled to take their grievances to Croke Park authorities.
“We are not going to be in dialogue with Leinster anymore because, quite frankly, it is going nowhere,” said Hynes at the time. “The time has come for us to front up and get this on the national agenda.”
The Galway official confirmed on Thursday that it remains their plan to make a formal submission on the various issues affecting them to the GAA “some time in the next month”.
Meanwhile, Galway hurling manager Micheál Donoghue is turning to youth in a bid to end the county’s All-Ireland famine with five long-serving players not included in a 40-man squad for winter training.
Former captains David Collins, Fergal Moore and Andy Smith, along with other experienced performers such as Cyril Donnellan and Iarla Tannian, have not been included in the squad which has commenced conditioning training.
Players have been told that it is an open-ended squad and that changes could be made before the national league begins.
Elsewhere, All-Ireland medallist Davey Byrne has responded to his black card in Wednesday night’s county semi-final defeat to St Vincent’s by criticising officials and stating he will direct his son to play other sports.
Byrne, a Dublin panel member last year, was dismissed for a black-card offence in the 19th minute of Ballymun Kickhams’ one-point defeat.
In a series of Tweets the powerful midfielder hit out at the referee, linesmen as well as the black-card rule itself.
“I know what sport I’ll be pushing my son to play and it won’t be GAA,” Byrne Tweeted, adding that several Vincent’s players “know what went on was a joke as told to me by their players”.
The Dublin county hurling final takes place on Saturday at Parnell Park (3pm) between Cuala, the holders, and Kilmacud Crokes.
“Getting back to another final is great because there’s always going to be a target on your back as champions and we’ve understood that ever since we came out in the first round,” said Cuala and Dublin forward Mark Schutte.
