Louth GAA are the latest of the five counties at the centre of a proposal to remove them from the 2025 National Hurling League to reject the plan.
It appears initial support for the proposal, which came from the GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) after consultation with the counties themselves, is waning amid a major public backlash from players and coaches.
The plan, which could be voted on at a Central Council meeting on December 2 now seems doomed to failure.
READ MORE: Fermanagh slam proposal: 'A travesty and detrimental to development of hurling'
Without the backing of the five counties concerned - Louth, Fermanagh, Longford, Cavan and Leitrim - it is unlikely other counties would vote for the proposal.
The rationale behind the proposal was that the estimated €1 million saved centrally over a period of six to seven years would instead be invested in hurling development in the five counties.
The move though could also save the five County Boards in the region of €2-3 million in that timeframe in player expenses and not having the cost of holding county training sessions.
It is unclear where these savings would be invested with no clear plan to pump them into hurling in the five counties.
The five counties concerned were selected on the basis that they had less than five clubs, with the proviso that once they hit five clubs again they would return to the National League.
Fermanagh GAA have blasted the move, while a Louth GAA statement said they disputed the CCCC's estimated spending figure (€219,000) for their senior inter-county team in 2023.
A meeting with club and county players, coaches and club administrators came to an consensus to oppose the plan.
“All in attendance were united in calling for the proposals to be rejected and urge all counties to support us, and the other effected counties in voting against this at the Ard Chomhairle meeting on December 2,” read the Louth Statement.
However, with their number of senior hurling clubs dropping from eight to three in two decades, Louth GAA called for “a serious discussion on hurling and its development within the smaller counties to take place in an open and transparent manner.”
The statement requested a discussion that “allows for proportionate representation of our hurling fraternity alongside county officials to ensure that all available avenues outside of the current proposals are examined to find a practical pathway for our young Gales to continue to represent Louth for years to come.”
Louth clubs are currently competing in Meath and Armagh at underage level with very little juvenile hurling taking place between clubs within the county.
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