Today was a good day for Galway GAA in particular Galway Hurling, with the Special Congress passing three Motions in relation to the structures of the Inter-County Hurling Championships, all of which were endorsed by Galway.
Motion 2 (Senior Championship) was passed with 62% of the vote in favour. This means that the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship will be restructured on a three-year trial basis. The Liam MacCarthy Cup will be reduced to 10 teams, and the five-team Munster and Leinster championships will play on a round-robin basis, with Galway participating in Leinster and guaranteed a minimum of two Home games each year. The top two teams in each provincial group would face-off in the provincial final, while the third placed teams advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals. The bottom two teams in either group play-off would reach the quarter-finals. The quarter-final winners play the provincial champions in the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Motion 9 (U21 Championship) was been passed by with 72 per cent of the vote. That means Galway will participate in the Leinster U21 Championship together with any suitable Ulster teams (as agreed by Ulster and Leinster Councils). The winners of the Leinster Championship will then play the runners up in Munster and vice versa in the All-Ireland U-21 Hurling semi-finals.
Motion 12 (Minor Championship) was passed with 90% of the votes in favour. This means that any suitable Ulster teams will participate in Leinster. The winners of Leinster and Munster qualify for the All-Ireland semi-finals, while the runners-up in both provinces and Galway compete in a round-robin All-Ireland series. The top two teams advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals.
