Offaly under-20 boss Leo O’Connor has slammed the “absolutely crazy” player eligibility rules as the All-Ireland final at that grade looks set to be postponed.
O’Connor’s side qualified for the final against Cork with a stirring Leinster final victory over Wexford last night but it threw up a clash with the Joe McDonagh Cup final, in which Offaly will play Carlow at Croke Park on May 27.
Previously, the McDonagh Cup final was played as a double header with the Leinster senior final though it was decided, from this year, that it would share the bill with the All-Ireland under-20 final instead.
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Offaly under-20 captain Charlie Mitchell is a regular starter for the senior team, while Joe Hoctor and Sam Bourke are also part of Johnny Kelly’s panel and so the county board has officially requested that the under-20 final now be staged on the weekend of June 3/4.
It is likely that it will be granted and that the under-20 final will form part of a double header with another fixture, though there are many moving parts that weekend as Offaly and Cork footballers are also in action, while Cork minor hurlers have an All-Ireland semi-final this weekend and may have to be factored in too.
As a tier two county, Offaly are entitled to use all of their players freely in both grades but that doesn’t apply to Cork, who won the Munster final against Clare on Monday night without full-back Eoin Downey as a seven-day rule applies and he was held for this Sunday’s senior game against Clare. Under-20 players Ben Cunningham and Colin Walsh are also part of the extended Cork senior panel.
It’s a ruling that has drawn the ire of Cork under-20 boss Ben O’Connor, Galway senior manager Henry Shefflin and Down’s Conor Laverty, who manages his county’s under-20 and senior football teams, among others.
There’s a double standard too as, in theory, if Offaly were prepared to allow the McDonagh-under-20 double header to proceed on May 27 they could play Mitchell in both games, yet Downey would be prevented from doubling up with the under-20 and senior teams on consecutive days.
“Listen, I’ll be honest with you, I think the rule has been absolutely crazy,” said O’Connor. “The further you go on in these competitions, the more it’s been exposed and that’s the truth of it, but look, these are things that happen, no one’s perfect. It’s something that the GAA have got to go back and revisit and look at in the future.”
Some in Offaly feel that, despite the Mitchell overlap, they would be better served to press ahead with a double header while riding though while O’Connor favours a postponement, it also opens up difficulties with players sitting exams.
“You have fellas doing their Leaving Cert as well and college exams. Mark Troy did an exam [on Wednesday] from three o’clock to five.
“Cathal King did an exam in Waterford and Cormac Egan got an exam postponed above in Dublin so there’s a lot of factors.”
Meanwhile, the Limerick native outlined how he has close links with the Cork set-up.
“My daughter in school is doing her Junior Cert, Ben O’Connor’s wife is teaching her maths.
“I’d be very good friends with [Cork under-20 selector] Ronan Curran, I know Ronan a long, long time.
“I had a chat with Ronan after Monday night and he went, ‘Hey!’ but this is sport, this is what the GAA is about and this is what we’re all brought up on. They’re small things and they’re so important.”
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