Here they are, the league champions.
The most in-form team in Ireland.
The men who tore strips off a Tipperary machine that was looking indestructible.
The county who’ve awoken the west with their first senior title in seven years.
The lads who are being talked up as future All-Ireland champions.
Cyril Farrell fancies Galway for the Liam MacCarthy Cup in September. #AllianzLeagues #AllianzLeagueSunday #RTEGAA pic.twitter.com/tVwze4Fvcp
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) April 23, 2017
Here they are, Galway. The Tribesmen. Division 1B’s finest.
That’s right, the national league champions, the 1A conquerers, the best side in Ireland on current form will start next season in the second tier – after winning the whole thing.
Galway return to Division 1B in 2018 as Division 1A Champions. Yep, that makes sense 🤔 #TIPPvGAL #GAA
— Lauren Guilfoyle (@LaurenGuilfoyle) April 23, 2017
This is the sort of logic that’s currently in place in the hurling league.
It’s the same structure that saw Offaly qualify for the Division One quarter finals after finishing fourth in the second tier having won just one match all season – against a team, incidentally, are now in Division 2A.
On the flip side, Micheál Donoghue loses just one time in eight outings during the league and the westerners can’t get promoted.
One goes up and only Dublin come down from the division above. And yet, despite these two tiers having a clear and deliberate difference in ranking, the privileges are the same for both.
Topping 1A is equivalent to winning one game in 1B.
For the last three seasons, the league has had champions from the second tier in Waterford, Clare and now Galway. The only thing that spared the raised eyebrows were that the first two gained promotion along with their titles. Not this time.
Galway are league champions for the whole of Ireland. They finished second in their division, they beat Waterford, they beat Limerick and they beat Tipperary to lift the cup and reign supreme.
But, next year, nothing changes. Galway start again in Division 1B.
Just another example of this league structure not making much sense at all.
2018 Division 1A
Tipperary
Cork
Waterford
Kilkenny
Clare
Wexford
2018 Division 1B
Dublin
Galway
Limerick
Offaly
Laois
Carlow
