By John Harrington

In 2018, hurling/camogie was added to UNESCO’s list of protected cultural activities around the world.

This was an acknowledgement of a sporting culture so unique and of such a storied lineage it is immortalised in Irish mythology.

UNESCO’s decision also felt like a fitting one for a more uncomfortable reason, though.

We know from the animal kingdom than when a species becomes protected it is because it is endangered.

And for all of hurling’s brilliance as a sport and cultural significance to this country, it too is an endangered species across large swathes of Ireland.

13 counties have eight senior hurling clubs or less. Six counties have four senior hurling clubs or less.

The harsh truth is that hurling is being kept alive in these counties by a small group of zealots who must overcome many challenges to keep that flame flickering.

Some encouragement can be sourced, though, from the GAA’s success since 2018 in tackling the biggest challenge of all facing clubs in these counties – a lack of meaningful competition – through the introduction of the Táin Óg Leagues.

The brainchild of GAA Games Development staff Padraig Dowdall, Ryan Gaffney, and Aidan Morgan, their idea was to wipe away county and provincial boundaries and bring together the scattered hurling strongholds in the developing counties under the one umbrella.

As a noted county hurler with Armagh, Middletown club-man Gaffney was especially qualified to develop a blueprint to advance hurling in the developing counties.

You won’t find a bigger champion for the Táin Óg League than the GAA’s National Hurling Development Manager, Martin Fogarty, who has driven highways and byways growing the competition over the course of the last three years.

“I’ve been working very closely with the Connacht Hurling Development manager, Damien Coleman, and the Ulster Hurling Development Manager, Kevin Kelly,” says Fogarty.

“The hurling games development staff are the life and soul of these competitions. They work tirelessly with the dedicated hurling clubs to ensure the competitions take place and that means regularly juggling fixtures, venues, and referees to make sure that the games can go ahead.”

In 2018, 29 clubs from 11 counties played 68 Táin Óg matches in the U-13 grade.

In 2019, an U-15 grade was also introduced and 68 teams from 46 clubs and 15 counties played 216 matches.

2020 was due to be the biggest year yet for the Táin Óg by some margin. 60 teams were entered to compete at U-13 and 48 teams at U-15 level.

Even more significantly, the Táin Óg model was going to be introduced at senior club level in the guise of the inaugural Cúchulainn Cup which would have seen 44 clubs from 15 counties competing in three different divisions reflective of their standard.

Provision was also made for teams struggling with numbers. Division 1 was planned to be a 15-a-side competition, Division 2 was to be 13-a-side, and Division 3 was to be 11-a-side with the provision that Divisions 2 and 3 could be played as 15-a-side matches where numbers allowed.

This was to be the flagship project for the National Hurling Development Committee but unfortunately did not come to pass due to Covid-19 which was a bitter pill to swallow for everyone involved.

2021 hopes to see the introduction of an U-17 grade in the Táin Óg League which would complete the pathway. U-20 is not a viable prospect at this point in time, but the hope is that in time it will be.

Fogarty has already seen enough though to convince him that regionalisation is the way forward for hurling in the developing counties as he strives to implement a three-pronged approach – Consolidate, Nurture, and Grow.

‘Consolidate’ refers to supporting existing clubs with meaningful competition, and he believes the next step in doing this, in addition to the Táin Óg & Cúchulainn competition, should be to establish possibly five regions with further graded competitions at U-13, U-15, U-17, and adult in the Táin Óg area counties.

At this point in time Down or Antrim clubs have not been included in this blueprint as they did not fall under the ‘Counties in Crisis’ category with both counties having in excess of 10 Adult hurling clubs.

However, should such a project get up and running, Fogarty believes it is likely that some clubs from those counties would also be interested in participating as could a number of fledgling clubs in North Meath that have been finding their feet in the Táin Óg.

“The challenge for these clubs is that they can't get enough games because they don't have enough other clubs they can play within their own counties,” says Fogarty.

“So that was the first box we were trying to tick with the Táin Óg League and Cúchulainn League. We were basically creating a bigger county for them and giving them meaningful games.

“Now, you're still left with challenges, most obviously the geographic one.

“The Táin Óg is a semi-national tournament where, for example, you could have Westport from Mayo playing Sean Treacy’s from Lurgan or Carndonagh from Donegal playing St. Fechin’s from Louth in a Final.

“That gives teams the opportunity to play teams from other counties they would never have played before, but it also means travelling some significant distances.

“So, the second box we're trying to tick then is to have a slightly more regional competition. For example, a group could comprise of teams from neighbouring counties like Derry and Donegal or Roscommon, Longford and parts of Cavan with another group taking in Louth and parts of Cavan, Monaghan, Armagh and maybe Down.

“I believe that's the only way forward at the moment until every county can become independent with enough teams in their own county. It won’t be in my time, but we have to start somewhere. We cannot stand back and watch the rich become richer and the poor disappear altogether.”

The ‘Nurture’ element of Fogarty’s three-pronged approach to developing hurling in the Táin area counties refers to bringing through juvenile only clubs to the adult grade.

Ultimately, he also wants to ‘Grow’ new club and school teams so that in time every county can be independent and self-sustainable, surely the dream for all.

First must come the Consolidate phase, though, because hurling is in such a precarious position in so many counties. This consolidation can be achieved by ensuring existing clubs have plenty of meaningful matches at all age-grades.

“Having worked with the full-time GDAs and volunteer coaches in clubs, this is my take on what hurling needs to do,” says Fogarty.

“I've met the hurling people in every single club and this is what they're crying out for. They're crying out for games. I believe that if we can raise the level of competition, make leagues and maybe in time even championships more difficult to win, that more players will want to play the game and standards will rise.

“To be fair, without wishing to offend anyone, a four-team championship that could be played off in a weekend or indeed a three team round robin with two of the three teams ending up in the final, would hardly inspire an athlete to commit to the game for a year.

“We must change that. Look at what Slaughtneil and other clubs like Lougheil, Cushendall, Ballycastle and Dunloy have done for themselves and for the game by getting up and seeking out high level games all over the country.

“It's important that clubs know every year where they're going for a meaningful competition. Currently you have a situation where clubs from one county are applying on an annual basis to take part in another county’s league so they can have those meaningful matches without even being sure if they’ll be accepted.

“We want to take that uncertainty away so that every year players at U-13, U-15, U-17 and senior level in these developing counties know exactly what competitions they’ll be playing in and how many matches they’ll have.”

Getting some sort of certainty around a playing calendar has already proven to be transformative for juvenile hurling teams in the developing counties.

Something as simple as ring-fencing Monday evenings as a hurling only day of the week has made the world of difference to running a comprehensive games programme.

“It's been massive because lot of these hurling teams are drawing lads from three, four, or five football teams,” explains Fogarty.

“So, if one football team decides to have training, that really disrupts the team and the knock-on effect is that fixtures for the entire group they are playing in is disrupted.

“And because you're crossing the counties and the provinces and because you're drawing on players from so many different clubs for a competition like the Táin Óg League, you need a fixed night.

“The Táin Óg League gives a child six or seven games spanned over 14 weeks. So, with the games you have at least another fourteen, maybe 20 training sessions during and coming into it. That's real hurling development where you are providing the opportunity for the dedicated club coaches and players to actually have something to train for.

“If we're able to play an U-17 Tain Óg League this year then you'll have lads playing in that who have come right through playing U-13, U-15, and now U-17 Táin Óg League which is a great pathway for them.

“For all of this to fall into place it will require a concerted effort by many people, hard work from those at the coalface but more importantly a willingness and desire to let, if not make, it happen by county boards.

“These clubs are all in predominantly football counties and while most county boards already have their hands full running their day-to-day business and may not have the time or energy to promote hurling, their blessing and support towards those who are trying to do so is immeasurable and appreciated.

“Most of what needs to be done is structural and organizational but there will also be a great need going forward for a financial injection when we get back to some form of financial normality.

“I would like to see clubs getting an annual support package that would help sustain them and be conditional upon engaging in various projects such as participation in the various games programmes, recruiting new coaches and referees and having a good club/schools link.

“It would also be crucial to provide really meaningful support to new club or school teams.”

Hurling has been played for an estimated 3,000 years on this island, but yet has struggled to flourish outside of the traditionally powerful counties since the GAA was founded in 1884.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome is said to be the definition of insanity, so perhaps a different approach is now required.

County borders have always been a big part of the identity of the GAA but they’re arguably constricting the growth of hurling in much of the country.

Perhaps, then, it’s time then to think bigger, time to think regionally.