If there are tweaks to be made to football’s format don’t touch the quarter-final weekend

It’s not known what shape the 2024 inter-county football championship will take, but in the light of how well this year’s new-look renewal played out, it may be there’ll only be a tweak or two – fewer games, perhaps, in the post-provincial series being a possibility.

Only one of the provincial championships – Ulster’s, as always – was really competitive, while Connacht’s was just interesting, this because one of the minnows, Sligo, made it to the final. The other two, however, ran the expected course.

Louth qualified for the Leinster final and brought more colour to Croke Park than is normal on this day; but the result was the same as it’s been for the past dozen years, Dublin taking hold of the Delaney Cup.

Any chance of the Munster title-race having an ending that was once traditional – the draw was framed for years to have Kerry meeting Cork – was scuppered with Clare beating the Rebels in the opening round, and doing enough after that to make the last match. The Banners, however, were no match for Kerry.

Taking league performances into consideration and giving the provincial finalists, along with last year’s Tailteann Cup winners, Westmeath, a place, 16 teams lined up for the new-style All-Ireland series.

Four groups of four played in mini leagues, and while these produced 24 games, at the end of the day only four teams were eliminated.

Scaling down this part of the competition could come in for consideration, but no matter what’s decided, here’s one who hopes quarter-finals continue to be part of the programme.

It’s been said here before, this is the best weekend on the championship calendar, four teams battling it out on a Saturday for a semi-final slot, and the same the following day. It helps when Croke Park is the setting on both days. If there’s been a change from other years, it’s the style of football that’s being played.

Last year Armagh met Galway in one of the quarter-finals, and what a game it was. The first 70 minutes had both teams giving the very best, and it pleased neutrals that extra-time was needed. Armagh came from a long way back in the second period, but still needed Rian O’Neill’s magnificent point from a free to level it once again.

And then? A complete anti-climax – a penalty shoot-out, which Galway won. If there’s to be a change next year, let this be one of them, a binning of this practice as a means of deciding a match.

And while they’re at it, the authorities might also give serious consideration to doing away with the ‘mark’, a ridiculous innovation of a few years ago, which rewards a player for executing one of the game’s basics – making a clean catch.     

Before dealing with last weekend’s quarter-finals, let’s make another observation on the championship season. While the top 16 counties were battling for All-Ireland honours, the rest were involved in the quest for Tailteann Cup glory.

The poor relations perhaps, but no less keen to try to extend their championship season and win a worthwhile prize. There was once an All-Ireland ‘B’ Championship and after that the Tommy Murphy Cup, both designed for early championship casualties. Louth were successful in both but neither stood the test of time.

Don’t bet on the same happening to the Tailteann. This is a competition that’s here to stay. Westmeath were the first winners last year; and you only had to see the euphoria there was when the trophy was taken back to Mullingar to know how much it meant to midlanders.

Meath play Down in this year’s final a week from next Saturday, and if last Sunday week’s semi-finals are anything to go by, this should be in for a cracker. Croke Park housed almost 18,000, and after Meath had beaten Antrim, Down gave us just a hint of what it was like in previous years with an eight-goal rout of Laois.

The Mournemen had Eugene Branagan in the No 13 jersey. Here was the only player with his socks rolled up to just below his knees, playing to the hymn sheet that might have been scripted by Greg Blaney, and before that, the great Seán O’Neill.

This wasn’t only because of the way he was togged out, but how he skipped about the field, linking with the others and subscribing to a crowded scoresheet.

It’s only greybeards who’ll remember in 1953 All-Ireland final. Kerry played Armagh, and though the Kingdom were ahead at the finish, the result might have been different had Bill McCorry converted a penalty.

Fast forward to the 2002 final. The same counties are in opposition, and in a keenly contested first half, Oisin McConville misses a penalty. Armagh won’t, however, have a price to pay. They come thundering back in the second half. McConville plays a star part, grabbing a crucial goal in his county’s first Sam Maguire Cup win.

It’s now back to the bad old ways for the Applemen. A new rule was introduced last year (see above), which decrees that championship games have to be decided on the day, by penalties, if the sides are still locked together at the end of extra time.

Armagh and Galway couldn’t be divided in their All-Ireland qualifier, and it was then on to spot-kicks. The Connacht men scored most, sending them through to a semi-final meeting with Derry, which they won.

It hasn’t got any better for Armagh. In fact, much worse. They lost this year’s Ulster final to Derry in the same manner, and in the second of last Saturday’s quarter-finals, taking on neighbours, Monaghan, a shoot-out, this one going to sudden-death, went against them.

There’ll be an Armagh man in the GAA’s highest office after next year’s annual gathering of Gaels. Jarlath Burns won’t only be doing his own county a favour by getting rid of this sickener, but the game in general. Everyone your writer has spoken to wants it rid of.

Monaghan won’t mind that it was by this means that earned them a place in the last four. The Farneymen had an indifferent season prior to the All-Ireland qualifiers, once again having to wait on the last game to retain their Division One league status, and going out of the Ulster title-race at an early stage.

But they are now just one game away from reaching the final for the first time in 93 years. They’ll surely want to emulate the under-17s, whose appearance in the minor final will see them bridge a gap almost as wide as the county’s premier side. It was in 1939 when Monaghan went down to Roscommon in what was then an under-18 grade.

To get a place on football’s biggest stage, Vinny Corry’s men will have to overcome arguably the biggest hurdle in football today – scoring more than Dublin. The eight-times champions in the past 12 years were sluggish in the opening half of their quarter-final with Mayo, but were awesome after that.

 Anyone who’s been good – some of them great – in recent years are now available to Dessie Farrell, and whichever team the manager picks will ask Monaghan the severest of questions.

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We said ‘arguably’ above – Kerry could be a bigger hurdle had Monaghan drawn them. The title-holders made short work of Tyrone in the first of the quarter-finals, and remember, it was the Red Hands who won the Sam Maguire just two years ago.

Kerry are out against Derry, and while the Ulster team were decisive enough winners against Cork, their plan to put the skids under the Clifford brothers, Seán O’Shea, Jack Barry et al will have to involve more than just blanket defending.

A thought to bring this piece to an end: Five of the eight teams in action at Croke Park over the weekend provided the opposition to Louth this year in either league or championship.

Although just one of these meetings ended in a win for Mickey Harte’s team, it’s not putting the wildest of interpretations on it to say that this was Wee County progress.