Anger from fans as New York clinch historic Lory Meaghar trophy

Hurling folk are not happy.

Last weekend's semi-final in the fifth-tier of the All-Ireland was the first time New York had played championship hurling since 2006.

Nicely for them, they were propelled straight into the single semi-final of the competition, where they faced Monaghan.

The Farney, however, had to play an entire group stage, where they finished second behind Cavan, who qualified for the final.

Naturally, supporters and hurling folk alike were not at all pleased with the outcome.

Before their semi-final clash, Monaghan boss, Arthur Hughes, criticised the GAA.

He said: "I think it’s an absolute disgrace. It’s not that long ago the GAA were trying to get rid of five counties in Ireland from playing in the National League, and now the next thing they’ve done is bringing in New York.

“It’s an absolute joke in my opinion – you don’t know what you’re coming up against, what level they’re at, and it’s completely unfair to just fly a team into the semi-finals. If you’re going to participate in a competition, you should be there from the start.”

Fermanagh boss, Joe Baldwin, expressed sympathy for his rivals.

He added: “From a Monaghan point of view, it, it gets them another game, and maybe the game could be good for them, maybe the rest could be good for them. Only time will tell.

“But if New York are as strong as people are saying, it’s going to be really disappointing for Monaghan.”