Sligo boss McEntee hits out at Tailteann/hurling switch

The GAA's Central Council will meet today to consider switching next weekend’s All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals and the Tailteann Cup semi-finals.

As it stands the Tailteann Cup semi-finals are due to be played on Sunday, while on Saturday the All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals are scheduled to be contested.

Croke Park (Tailteann Cup) and Thurles (hurling) are the two venues most likely to host those fixtures.

However, it’s possible that those games could be flipped. The promotional challenges of having two All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals on a Saturday, down for a lunchtime throw-in, had already been raised.

And Wexford are also keen for a Sunday switch for their clash with Clare as they are hosting the extremely popular All-Ireland Féile na nGael national hurling series on Saturday.

Their meeting with Clare was part of a quarter-final double-bill, with Cork and Dublin also due to meet in FBD Semple Stadium.

It’s understood that Central Council will today discuss switching those two games to Sunday.

This would mean the Tailteann Cup semi-finals would go ahead in Croke Park on Saturday.

In those semi-finals, Down will face Sligo and Antrim will meet the winners of today’s quarter-final between Kildare and Laois.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport, Sligo boss Tony McEntee voiced his displeasure at the impending decision.

"For three years now we've been trying to give some status to the Tailteann Cup, trying to tell lower ranked teams that this is an important competition and we respect it, it has a position in the calendar and it has its own rights," McEntee said.

"Sunday the 23rd was the date set that teams who had done well and got to the Tailteann Cup semi-final would get a Sunday afternoon slot and get the high-profile