Action needed as hurling has been overtaken by Gaelic football reformation

Writing a weekly column like this can be a curious experience because usually there’s little feedback. It can be a solitary pastime between you and the keyboard, apart from a handful of regular - and valued - contacts who take the trouble to correspond. But then there are occasions when you are taken by surprise.

Such was the case recently following my piece on hurling rules and how the game has been outstripped by the football reformation.

I’m certainly not alone, it appears, in my views on hurling’s problem areas and the apparent unwillingness of Croke Park to tackle these. The genuine followers know the issues while those who should be directing hurling, shelter under the “no tinkering” umbrella.

Interestingly, I sought the views of a number of referees, who after all are the ones at the coalface, and they appear to be at one in their view that action is needed. For example, there seems to be widespread acceptance among referees that the present handpass rule is unworkable. As one referee put it, “you blow for the most blatant ones and you ignore the rest even though you know that most of them are probably illegal”. Probably is the operative word in that sentence. You can’t know for sure and there’s the problem.

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Willie Barrett, a two-time All-Ireland senior hurling final referee, knows the score. During a long career with the whistle, he was regarded as one of the best in the business. Off the field he served as chairman of the National Referees Development Association. On a personal level he’s often been my go-to man for rules clarification; always obliging.

Willie feels that a high-powered Hurling Review Committee, similar to the FRC, is needed to address hurling’s issues. Of course, he’s right. It’s not that hurling faces an existential crisis like football did, but there are enough areas of concern in the game, with the handpass being the most pressing.

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The ruck too has become another unsightly aspect, which has crept into the game. As the word implies it’s an import from another sport. Rucks are a central part of rugby’s arm-wrestle but are alien to hurling. Rucking is not hurling.

It’s a problem area for referees because the throw-in is another major issue in the sport. By rule, players are supposed to be thirteen metres away from the throw-in but in practice the officials have found it impossible to enforce this. Often when a referee blows to stop a ruck, he ends up throwing the ball back into yet another cluster of players.

The solution? Firstly, follow football’s lead and have all throw-ins between two players only. Secondly, have a strict rule about everyone else moving away, maybe 20 metres, with a free immediately awarded against anyone who encroaches. After all, football has solved the issue of players being slow to move away when a free is awarded, so why can’t hurling do likewise?

A Hurling Review Committee (HRC) would also have to tackle the cynical foul rule. In football there’s clarity in this area but hurling remains mired in uncertainty. The hurling version involves a trip, a pull down or a strike which prevents a goal-scoring opportunity. So, for example, if you just grab a player to prevent a goalscoring chance, it’s not a penalty and black card in hurling whereas it is in football.

Then there’s the issue of interpreting what constitutes a goalscoring opportunity. It’s too vague and as a result referees have chosen to opt out of awarding penalties. Why not simplify it to include any personal foul within a certain zone of the goal area.

But the biggest absurdity of them all is the absence of the cynical foul rule in club hurling. Whoever thought this was a good idea was operating from a strange logic. And guess what? Football is once more ahead of the curve in introducing the cynical foul to club action in 2026 while hurling remains in the dark ages yet again.

The quick puckout/kickout is yet another area of contention, where the disparity between the two codes has yet again surfaced. According to the hurling rule the puckout is taken when all players are outside the 20-metre line and the referee blows his whistle. That might surprise people because it’s not what happens in practice.

Once more it’s left to the personal whim of the referee. Some will allow it, others won’t. Some will allow it sometimes and then disallow one at a critical juncture in the game. It’s a mess. Teams now often ask the referee in advance of the match if he’s going to allow quick puckouts or not and sometimes even the answers they get are vague.

Playing rules always need to be clear and precise. Once again football is legislating for the quick kickout, which won’t require the players to be outside the twenty-metre line. It won’t even require the referee’s whistle. Instead, any nod from the official and the goalie can proceed. Maybe it’s not a perfect solution but at least it’s addressing the issue while hurling once more remains in the dark.

Referee Paddy Russell is still actively officiating. It’s what he has been doing for 50 years now, which is incredible service to the games. He began in the mid-1970s when still playing with Emly and got an early baptism of fire with the 1983 West football decider. It began as an all-out brawl between Galtee Rovers and Solohead, with the young referee courageously dismissing five players instantly.

I guess when he survived that day, nothing else was going to faze the West division’s newest football prodigy. Paddy went on to enjoy a stellar career with the whistle, taking charge of two All-Ireland football deciders in the 1990s.

The 1995 one is remembered for the Charlie Redmond episode when the player was sent off but somehow stayed playing before finally being removed. It was the incident that led to the introduction of the yellow and red cards to Gaelic games.

Interestingly, Paddy now sees football as being easier to handle than hurling, especially in the area of dissent. There’s been a culture shift. Any questioning of decisions results in the free being advanced by 50 metres and that penalty is now going to apply to sideline personnel also. Only the team captain or a nominated player can speak to the referee and ask for an explanation of a decision. It’s effectively a rugby code applied to Gaelic football.

Meanwhile, hurling continues on its merry way, lagging hopelessly behind the football innovations.

The problem lies within, with groups like the Hurling Development Committee living in denial and chanting cliches like “no tinkering”. The game deserves much better.

Anyway, our last surviving club, Upperchurch/Drombane, go in search of Munster glory this Saturday with a final date against O’Callaghan Mills of Clare in the provincial intermediate decider. It’s new territory for the Mid Tipperary side and one that hopefully will deliver.

The Clare side is new to this scene as well. Their 2025 Clare win bridged a gap that stretched back to 1977. They had narrow wins over Abbeydorney (Kerry) and Tallow (Waterford) on their way to this decider. At least one betting shop has them listed as narrow favourites.

Their most remembered player from a Tipperary perspective is PJ O’Connell from the 1990s team that won those two All-Irelands. Long-haired and nicknamed “Fingers”, he was quite a useful, tearaway forward. Of more recent vintage, the club supplied the 2013 winning Clare captain Patrick Donnellan, who won an All-Star that year. Conor Cooney was also a Clare panellist that season and plays full back for the present side.

The Upperchurch win over Ballinhassig has the parish in giddy mood ahead of this final. The county too is excited for them. We wish them well.