Hurling folk in both Westmeath and Carlow have been left bitterly disappointed after their joint proposal for a new 14-county top-tier structure for the Allianz hurling league was defeated last Saturday at a meeting of the GAA’s Central Council by the narrowest of margins.
Great work has been done in both counties in recent years to improve the standard of hurling and it was felt that this change to the league structure would be a major step in consolidating these efforts.
What made the decision even harder to swallow was the fact that many other counties, including two Leinster ones, had indicated they would vote in favour but in the end changed their minds. The proposal was defeated by 19 votes to 17.
Hurling in Carlow did get a big boost last weekend when their champions Mount Leinster Rangers booked their place in the provincial decider for the first time ever when they shocked the star-studded Dublin champions Ballyboden St Enda’s. Westmeath too can take satisfaction from the fact that St Malachy’s ran the provincial finalists so close in their quarter-final meeting.
