May start for senior hurling

In the proposed master fixtures schedule for 2011, the first round of the senior hurling championship will be played over the weekends of May 7 and 8 and May 14 and 15, with round two set for the last weekend of the same month. Round one in the senior football championship is proposed for the first weekend in June; that is if the county senior footballers are beaten in their opening game in the Munster championship, which is against All-Ireland champions Cork on May 22.
There are three possible dates for the opening round of the football championship. Should Clare lose to Cork, the first round will be on the weekend of June 4 and 5. Should Clare beat Cork and lose to Waterford in the semi-final, the first round will be on June 25 and 26 while if Clare manage to beat both Cork and Waterford and get through to the Munster final, then the first round will be on July 9 and 10.
Irrespective of when the first round will be played, round two isn’t due until August 13 and 14.
Under the proposal, the opening games in the football leagues are set for the weekend of February 19 and 20, with the first rounds of the hurling league planned for March 26 and 27.
Opening the debate, board chairman Michael O’Neill said, “We have applied the sentiment of the Cratloe motion passed at convention as much as possible and I would hope that the Cratloe club would accept that.” Cratloe chairman Jack Chaplin agreed.
Mike Deegan from Cratloe, a member of the special committee that put the plan together, said it was important for clubs to read the accompanying notes before making a decision. “When you get a list with just the inter-county fixtures, it is very difficult to see where the clubs games can be played. We have gone through this a number of times,” he said.
Asking for dates for the concluding stages of The Clare Champion Cup, Sixmilebridge chairman PJ Fitzpatrick said, “It is a very good competition at the moment and it would be important to have dates and are not too late in the season.”
Miltown’s Noel Walsh complimented the committee, saying, “This is a major undertaking. Since the introduction of the masters fixtures schedule our competitions have been run off as good if not better that any county.”
Kilmaley’s Michael Maher, a member of the fixtures committee, said, “It is important that this goes back to the clubs. There is a perception there that the fixtures committee can do this and that. The blueprint is there and the clubs make the decision. The clubs must be fully informed and the managers must be fully versed.”
Supporting this, chairman Michael O’Neill said, “We will only implement what the clubs decide. There are no hidden agendas. We want to get all games played within the calendar year but running fixtures is a minefield.”
According to Tubber’s Michael Lee, “This is an enormous task.” He went on to ask if, in the event of Clare exiting the championship at an earlier stage, could the timeframe for the championship be looked at again.
In reply, secretary Pat Fitzgerald indicated that the committee that drew up the plan had indicated that they wanted to do that.
Clubs were asked to discuss the proposals in the coming week and a final decision will be made at the next board meeting, which will take place on Tuesday, February 1.