No change for Wexford GAA club championship as Board rule out return to split season

The current Wexford GAA season is here to stay for the foreseeable future…

A meeting of Wexford GAA County Board meeting was held in the Riverside Park Hotel (Enniscorthy) on Thursday January 23rd.

The main purpose of which was to consider motions submitted for the running of this year’s County Leagues and Championships.

In the most significant news of the evening, there will be no change to the structure of this year’s County Hurling Championships from Senior to Junior ‘A’ level.

The structure first put forward by the Hurling Advisory Committee for the 2024 Championships will remain in place.

This means that all six teams will go through following the conclusion of the group stage, with the top two progressing directly to quarter-finals, and the remaining teams playing in preliminary quarter-finals.

Former Wexford hurler, Adrian Fenlon of the Hurling Advisory Committee, was one of those outspoken for the change last year. Other members elected to the same sub-committee back in 2022 included Liam Griffin, David O’Connor, Anthony Neville, Johnny Dempsey and Niall Williams in a non-voting capacity.

Fenlon chairs the the Hurling Advisory Committee and he once again spoke in favour of retaining the status quo, while new Wexford GAA chairman John Kenny said that the Wexford GAA management committee were also in favour of retaining it, as per a bulletin released via Wexford GAA.

A number of club motions to change the structure were nevertheless debated and considered, but all were defeated.

Wexford GAA club Taghmon-Camross put forward a motion to return to the ‘split season’ of hurling championships first, followed by football championships, however, this motion was defeated.

It means that the Wexford GAA club championship will remain in its current format, whereby the hurling and football championship games are played on alternating weeks.

One of the major criticisms of the previous structure included that it didn’t allow the Wexford club championship winners the best preparation for the Leinster Club championship.

Another positive of the current format is that non-dual players will have more recovery time, as the player may not play hurling for their club – or vice-versa.

All in all, it seems to be quite a positive move for Wexford GAA – with not many in club circles opposing the current ‘alternating’ format as it stands.