TEN Kilkenny hurling clubs have been threatened with being thrown out of the game if they do not come up with a levy of approximately £3,000 each by the end of February.

The levy was imposed by the county board in order to raise the funds which were needed for the £1.1 million development of Nowlan Park, which has been completed.

Although a list of the clubs has not been made public the Kilkenny County Board chairman John Healy indicated at a recent meeting that strong action would be taken. However, he said that if clubs were having difficulties they should bring their problems to him and their situation would be considered.

When the fund raising for Nowlan Park started, all clubs were invited to buy five year tickets and, in addition, make a cash contribution of about £3,000 in total.

It is believed that a number of the clubs now under threat have senior status and that some members of the senior hurling panel might be affected if the board were to expel their clubs.

Meanwhile, D J Carey has been chosen at midfield for Kilkenny's Waterford Crystal South East Hurling League final against Tipperary at Walsh Park on Sunday.

Kilkenny are fielding an experimental side, but Carey's new position may be an indication of how the team will line out for the National League campaign, which starts in the spring.

The former Cork football manager, Billy Morgan, has spoken frankly of the controversies which surrounded meetings between Cork and Meath in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the latest edition of The Hurling and Football Annual which has just been published.

Morgan says that the Cork players vowed that they would never again be dominated physically by Meath after their defeat in the 1990 National League final. Cork beat Meath in the All Ireland final later that year.

He also describes how he became involved in a sideline fracas involving Kevin Foley, Robbie O'Malley and Gerry McEntee (all of Meath) in the 1987 All Ireland final. He was suspended for months following that "dust up".

Morgan blames the Cork County Board for Cork's loss in that final because of their refusal to allow Dave Barry to combine his GAA activities with playing soccer for Cork City. He points but that Barry was unemployed and saving up to get married at the time.

Morgan's biggest mistake, he says, was to tell the Cork players to "concentrate on playing football" after Meath's Gerry McEntee was sent off.

The annual, which covers all aspects of the GAA during the year, also includes features on Liam Griffin, Jimmy Barry Murphy, John Maughan, Mickey Whelan, Cyril Farrell and many others.