At the end of each August there is, traditionally, a major fall-off in the number of people going abroad on holidays.
For most of the country, it’s due to the end of the school summer break. However, in at least one county, there’s another reason – though perhaps not for much longer.
No self-respecting hurling supporter – but particularly one from Kilkenny – would go to the Costa del Sol during the first weeks of September.
There’s always far too much on the agenda – decorating the house (and children) in county colours, securing an All-Ireland hurling final ticket (never mind the children); enjoying an annual trip to the capital; and, perhaps, celebrating.
That’s been the routine in Kilkenny for 15 of the past 18 seasons (with the expected “celebrating”, turning to “mourning” on just four of those occasions.
In fact, some Kilkenny folk haven’t worked on the Monday after a September hurling final in so long their union rep could argue it’s now part of their contract.
(The traditional date for the hurling final is not strictly the first Sunday in September – it’s always set for the fourth last Sunday of the month – which is why, when September has five Sundays, it’s held on the second weekend).
Earlier this week, a report neatly entitled “Player Overtraining and Burnout and the GAA Fixtures Calendar” recommended, among other things, that the All-Ireland hurling finals be taken from September’s grasp and brought back two weeks to August.
While, in living memory, September has always been the preferred date, the All-Ireland senior hurling finals have actually been played in every single month of the year – even January (twice).
And, in good news for outsiders, the only hurling final so far played during August was in 1901, when London claimed their only crown to date, defeating Cork at Jones’ Road.
Strangely, die-hard hurling fans (is there another kind?) could well be delighted with the move back from September.
For example, each season, Tipperary is home to the biggest club senior hurling championship – in quantity at least. It took more than one hundred matches to complete this summer’s championship – though “summer” is used loosely.
Of the 103 Tipperary senior hurling championship ties played in 2015, only 15 were staged between the end of June and the middle of September – a week after the 2015 intercounty hurling decider (which Kilkenny won again of course).
Autumn push
GAA fans in every county are used to watching their beloved local parishes toiling in the spring, then enduring a long lull when the weather is actually suited to the game, before joining a frantic autumn push to complete the county championship before the provincial championships and snow arrives.
It’s unlikely, of course, the GAA will tinker with the date of the All-Ireland hurling decider. It has been a discussion topic for decades, without ever coming anywhere close to policy.
However, the move back two weeks, should it happen, will throw up many serious questions and dilemmas, and result in profound and unintended consequences.
What will the winning counties’ players do before school term begins and they can embark on the traditional “Liam MacCarthy World Tour of local National Schools”?
With the September weekend freed up, will Kilkenny people finally find out what an “Electric Picnic” is?
Is this all just a conspiracy to provide the perfect climax to the annual Kilkenny Arts Festival, which takes place each August?
Will the “Roses” of the counties competing in the All-Ireland hurling finals agree to go to Tralee instead of Dublin? In which direction will their families head?
And has no one thought about the poor unfortunates that have booked their weddings and honeymoons years in advance, carefully avoiding a clash between the biggest days of the year (theirs and sports)?
Surely the most obvious result of the GAA plans will be to prompt frantic requests for refunds by newly-engaged and blindly optimistic couples from counties such as Waterford and Limerick (about their counties' chances of reaching the final, not their futures together)?
