‘Because football is more important?’
Donal Óg Cusack has bizarrely used the Tailteann Cup to highlight the lack of interest in hurling compared to football – by his standards.
GAAGO have come under fire in recent days after it emerged that Saturday’s Munster Senior Hurling Championship game between Cork and All-Ireland champions Limerick will only be available to watch on the streaming platform.
RTÉ are contracted to show the two provincial football finals on Sunday, meaning the only way to watch any hurling is via the way of GAAGO.
There’s been plenty of criticism around the lack of hurling available to view on TV, including calls from the Taoiseach for the GAA to reconsider it’s approach.
Another one of those who has been vocally critical of GAAGO is Óg Cusack.
The Cork man believes that hurling has lacked the love and attention from the hierarchy and deserves far more coverage among broadcasters.
‘The All-Ireland hurling final has to be done and dusted before the football showpiece. Why?…’
In his appearance on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he once again slammed the organisation’s coverage of hurling before taking a bizarre twist and calling out the Tailteann Cup, which begins this weekend.
He said: “[None of] the Joe McDonagh or Christy Ring Cup matches are amongst the 38 championship games being shown on GAAGO this summer.
“No less than seven Tailteann Cup games will be featured. Why? Because football is more important? Who knows.
“The senior hurling championship involves 34 matches, the football championship is 64 matches. For some reason, those 34 hurling games have to be squeezed into the cracks between the football schedule.
“The All-Ireland hurling final has to be done and dusted before the football showpiece. Why?…
“It is commonly acknowledged that hurling needs oxygen. This weekend the people charged with promoting the game have given up that opportunity in order to sell subscriptions for a commercial entity. A commercial entity that does hurling in Ireland very little service.
“With this evidence of a glaring leadership vacuum and the sport’s visibility at stake, Hurling Nation asks where does the government of Ireland stand when it comes to supporting not just the sport but a cultural cornerstone?”
It’s not the first time he’s called out the Tailteann Cup either.
Last year he questioned it’s important to the GAA calendar and described it as “a sort of Gaelic football Grand National for disappointed also-rans”.
Related links:
- Taoiseach urges GAA to reconsider GAAGO move
- GAA launch new ticket scheme that will save fans plenty of cash
- University launches first ever GAA history class
