Relegated Kerins O'Rahilly's lash out at Kerry county championship status quo

Reigning Munster champions Kerins O'Rahilly's have lashed out at the Kerry county championship structure, arguing that divisional entities should not be exempt from relegation.

The Tralee club were relegated to the intermediate grade for the first time in their history after losing Saturday's relegation play-off to neighbours Na Gaeil in a game which went to extra-time.

O'Rahilly's began this year by running eventual All-Ireland champions Kilmacud Crokes close in the All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park but will finish it having been demoted from the senior ranks.

The Kerry county championship format - often vaunted - is famously cut-throat from the perspective of senior clubs, with the 16-team senior championship consisting of just eight senior clubs alongside eight divisional/district entities. The latter are an amalgamation of the junior and intermediate clubs within the district.

The senior championship has increasingly been dominated by divisional entities in recent years, with an extraordinarily strong East Kerry side - boasting the Clifford brothers (Fossa) and James O'Donoghue (Legion) - meeting Mid Kerry in the decider for the second year running.

The divisional entities are not eligible to compete beyond Kerry, meaning that Dingle, winners of the separate club championship - restricted to the eight senior clubs and concluded last September - will represent the county in Munster.

In the wake of their relegation, however, Kerins O'Rahilly's have criticised the status quo, with club PRO Pat Flavin proposing changes to the structure, saying: "As the dust settled following our defeat to Na Gaeil on Saturday night last, consigning us to the intermediate ranks for the first time in our history, the sense of disappointment