Westmeath star Ray Connellan reckons the Leinster SFC is a ‘write off’ for the next decade as things stand.
The former AFL player was part of the Westmeath side that lost to Dublin by 11 points in last November’s provincial opener.
He says the reality now is that ‘if you get Dublin in the first round of Leinster you can pretty much write off your inter-county season’.
The talented Athlone man is the younger brother of ex-Westmeath player John Connellan who is leading the drive to reduce Dublin’s coaching funding.
Their father played for Dublin, and Ray stressed it’s not ‘an anti-Dublin thing’ or ‘Dublin bashing’ but rather about the good of the game.
Speaking about Tipperary and Cavan’s shock provincial wins, Connellan told The Sideline View podcast: “What happened in Ulster and down in Munster, that will not happen in Leinster for the next 10 years. You can write off the Leinster Championship as a competition for the next, at least five years definitely, 10 years perhaps. We’re starting to see that happen with the All-Ireland as well.
“This is not a Dublin bashing commentary or narrative, this is a problem that Dublin had where Gaelic football was dying in the capital and, like they should, they reinvested and remodelled the structures in Dublin so that Gaelic football could grow where it needed to.”
Connellan said the work in Dublin is a ‘perfect example of what happens when you invest properly in something’ – but wants a similar emphasis placed ‘on every other county around Leinster and countrywide’.
The versatile midfielder is also keen for the GAA to restructure the Championship and go with a fresh, league-based model.
Connellan said: “If you get Dublin in the first round of Leinster you can pretty much write off your inter-county season. I would prefer to see a rejig of the structure.”
