Beara GAA secretary Joseph Blake suggests change to allow clubs host home county championship ties 

BEARA GAA Secretary Joseph Blake wants to see the group stage format of the county championships tweaked to allow clubs host home games.

At the division’s AGM on Friday night the Adrigole clubman put forward this suggestion in his wide-ranging secretary’s report, as he highlighted that no county championship games were held in Beara in 2023.

The division has five clubs – Castletownbere, Adrigole, Urhan, Garnish and Glengarriff – competing in the various championships, from premier intermediate down to junior B. Despite those five Beara clubs playing 22 championship matches combined this year, not one of those matches was held on Beara soil.

Blake feels there is a golden opportunity to change this and has put forward a suggestion to tweak the group stages of the county championships. This, he feels, would benefit clubs all across the county, not just in Beara. Imagine, for example, Castlehaven hosting a derby with Carbery Rangers. Or Nemo Rangers having to travel to West Cork to play Clonakilty.

‘Due to geographical location, no adult county championship games were played in Beara,’ Blake explained.

‘For an adult county championship game to be played in Beara, it is down to a halfway venue for two teams. With adult county grades now being staged on a group-stage format, has the time not come to look at the possibility of playing the group games on a home/away/neutral basis?

‘This would guarantee that each club would have a home championship game in their first two games, while the third game would be played at a neutral location. It would allow club players to play a championship game in their own club field. From Garnish to Youghal and from Goleen to Mitchelstown, it would bring championship games to all the corners of the county and would take the county championship group stages to a higher level.’

Blake also feels this suggestion would boost the county championships even more, inject further excitement, while also allowing clubs the chance to host their own team in an important game.

‘It would also allow great publicity within each club, knowing many months in advance that a home game would be held later in the year,’ Blake pointed out. 

‘Would it not be of great benefit to the GAA here in Beara to be guaranteed five championship games in the division and allow us showcase county championship games here in the division?

‘While there would probably be a long journey to an away championship game in either round one or two, I think the benefits of home and away games would be more beneficial than travelling to a neutral venue twice. 

‘If teams are allowed to play in their home grounds in the Munster club championships, then I feel clubs should be allowed to play a home game in the county championship.’

Beara secretary Blake wants the county CCC to consider the idea and also consult the clubs and discuss it at a county committee meeting in 2024.