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Hurling is treated as a ‘nuisance’ by some county boards, says Neil McManus
Published 11:28 24 Aug 2026 BST
Updated 11:08 24 Aug 2026 BST
Homesport
Two problems McManus says hurling has to fix
Former Antrim hurler Neil McManus believes some county boards regard hurling as a “nuisance”, and that counties which ignore the game should be penalised when it comes to grants from Croke Park.
Speaking on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1, McManus said the sport’s problems run far deeper than one flat championship.
The 2026 championship was widely viewed as an unsatisfying affair, with an unusually high number of lop-sided games in Munster and a drab All-Ireland final.
That was thrown into sharper relief by a newly invigorated football championship, where changes to the playing rules and the competition format produced one of the most exciting seasons in living memory.
Some observers argue the commentariat are over-reacting to a single campaign. McManus does not agree.
McManus said the game keeps “looking to the same teams to produce the big moments on the big days”, and warned that without a deeper top tier “we are going to see what we saw this year again and again."
It is a long way from the highest-scoring hurling match ever, and the fix, in his view, starts with how county boards are funded.
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