Tipperary football chairman Fergal McDonnell has strongly criticized the Munster Council’s recent decision to seed the senior football semi-finals based on the top two 2025 league finishers. He described the move as “a shotgun solution”.
The new format, implemented as a three-year trial, will ensure that Cork and Kerry are kept apart in the semi-final stage of next year’s championship. Tipperary, along with Clare, Limerick, and Waterford, will compete in the quarter-finals.
Prior to this, since 2015, the previous year’s finalists received semi-final byes but without any guarantee of avoiding each other.
“I’m very disappointed with the way it has been done has by the Munster Council,” McDonnell stated. “They’ve been very unfair. It’s kind of a shotgun solution, or I wouldn’t say a solution, the way they’ve put it through.”
McDonnell referenced a historical example, stating: “One of our own delegates said it to me that back in the day, Tipperary drew Kerry four times in four consecutive years (2010-13 Munster quarter-finals). That was kind of demoralising for Tipperary because they knew their fate straight away.”
He elaborated on the potential benefit of a different system: “Whereas if they had a pass without meeting Cork or Kerry in a Munster semi-final, they had something to build on, or something to work on to get to the final.”
McDonnell confirmed that Tipperary’s delegates were instructed to vote against the changes. He also expressed understanding for the discontent in Limerick, despite their officers backing the restructuring. While acknowledging Kerry’s strength, he highlighted past successes against Cork by Tipperary and Clare.
“Kerry are going to be the first seeds and rightly so – they are in the league of their own. Nearly all the counties have been very close to Cork in recent years – we have beaten them twice in the last 10 years (2016 and ’20).”
“Clare have beaten them (2023) and Limerick have come close. By having the open draw, that kind of said we had closed the gap in that respect.”
McDonnell predicts strong opposition to the seeding format, suggesting it will likely be overturned after the initial three-year trial period.
“There will be opposition at the end of the three years, and some are already saying at this stage it shouldn’t be allowed to get that far.”
In related news, Limerick senior football manager Jimmy Lee is scheduled to meet with county board officials to discuss the county’s decision to support the new seeding format.
Limerick football chairman Wayne Fitzgerald will consult with Lee before the next county board meeting, following the county’s Munster Council delegates’ vote in favour of the management committee proposal.
Reportedly, the Limerick officials were mandated to support the seeding contingent upon its introduction at a later date, allowing the team the opportunity to improve their league position.
However, this proposed amendment was rejected at the provincial gathering last Thursday, leading Limerick delegates to ultimately support the motion.
Speaking over the weekend, Lee expressed his desire for clarification from the board on the matter, stating: “It raises doubts in terms of, are we on the same page? And if we’re not on the same page, Jaysus we have problems.”
