Provincials a 'halfway house' that doesn't feel right

Ahead of a special congress in October 2021, GAA president Larry McCarthy expressed a preference for Proposal B - a league-based football championship format, where the provincial series would be retained, but as spring competitions.

Director General Tom Ryan, as well as a number of past and present players, also thought the proposal had merit. There were, however, dissenting voices, most notably from Ulster CEO Brian McAvoy.

Ultimately, Proposal B received over 50% of the votes of the delegates but still fell short of the 60% required for it to be implemented. That said, enough voted for change; another sign that the provincial championships should not be the main gateway towards All-Ireland glory.

Speaking on the latest RTÉ GAA Podcast, Tyrone All-Ireland winner Enda McGinley pointed back to the introduction of the back-door as the point when "the provincials haven't been the same".

And while he did look back with much fondness on the "ruthless" straight, knockout championship, he does feel they have been watered down. He went on to quote a former GAA director general: "Páraic Duffy, in one particular interview, essentially said 'I think we'll end up where we need to go; it's just we have to go through this in a GAA way'".

"There is a lot of natural reticence to killing them off but there are a lot of votes in the provincial councils, so they are not going to vote them off in a hurry"

On the weekend where the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement is being marked, those who pushed for it described it as 'Sunningdale for slow learners' While not wanting to be as damning towards the GAA decision makers, maybe Proposal B, or a tweaking thereof, will be the ultimate catalyst for a competition pathway that all can find