What is it?
On becoming GAA president earlier this year, one of Jarlath Burns’s first acts was the establishment of the Football Review Committee (FRC), with six-time All-Ireland winning Dublin manager Jim Gavin as its chair.
Gavin was joined on the committee by footballing minds from across the country, among them Éamonn Fitzmaurice (Kerry), James Horan (Mayo), Michael Murphy (Donegal) and Colm Collins (Clare). Their remit is to effectively stop the rot in Gaelic football, or, as the FRC’s interim report puts it, “establish a new blueprint for Gaelic football by identifying potential rules enhancements that respect and balance both the tradition of the game with modern innovations, to create a more exciting and dynamic playing and spectator experience”.
After the committee nailed their thesis to the door in an interim report, published last Thursday, now it’s time to show the public their workings by way of an interprovincial series.
Four provincial teams – made up of intercounty players from each province and trained by Pádraic Joyce (Connacht), John Cleary (Munster), Dessie Dolan (Leinster) and Kieran Donnelly (Ulster) – will compete in a Railway Cup revival to showcase the FRC’s proposed rule changes, including the ‘7 Core Enhancements’ on which the committee has focused its case.
When and where are the games taking place?
The interprovincial series will be held at Croke Park on Friday and Saturday.
Leinster and Connacht will get proceedings under way on Friday evening (throw-in at 6pm), followed by Munster v Ulster at 8pm. The winners of those games will compete for the Railway Cup on Saturday evening (throw-in at 7.30pm) and the two losing provinces will meet in the day’s curtain-raiser (throw-in at 5.30pm).
The two games on Friday will be televised live on TG4. On Saturday, the early game will be shown on the RTÉ news channel, and the final will be live on RTÉ 2.
Tickets are €15, giving entry to all four games, and are still available on Ticketmaster.
What are the ‘7 Core Enhancements’
1v1 throw-in
Only one player from each team will contest throw-ins at the start of each half. The other two midfielders will wait on opposing sidelines, standing on their defensive side of the halfway line.
Kick-out distance
Kick-outs will all be taken from the 20-metre line and must go beyond a new 40-metre arc. Players can remain within the 40-metre arc to facilitate quicker kick-outs but they must be at least 13 metres away from the ball. A player on the side of the goalkeeper kicking out the ball cannot play the ball within the 40-metre arc, under penalty of a free at the point of the foul for the opposing team, but an opposition player can intercept the kick-out within the 40-metre arc. If the opposition interfere with the kick-out, the ball is moved up 50 metres for a free against them.
Back pass to the goalkeeper
Players can pass back to the goalkeeper if they are both inside the larger (13-metre) rectangle in front of the goal, or if goalkeeper has come up field to beyond the halfway line.
40m scoring
Points scored from outside the new 40-metre arc (and where it intersects the 20-metre line) will be worth two points, as will a 45. Points scored inside the 40-metre arc/20-metre line will continue to be worth one point, but goals will now be worth four points. Points scores from frees awarded outside the 40-metre arc but which have been brought forward under new rules covering dissent/tactical fouls will also be worth two points. A new red flag will signify two-point scores, with the referee raising one arm for a one-point score and two arms for a two-point score.
Three-player rule
Each team must keep at least three outfield players in either half at all times, meaning a team can have a maximum of 11 outfield players in their attacking or defending half at any one time. The goalkeeper is exempt from this rule. The penalty for breaking the rule will depend on the situation by which the player(s) crossed the halfway line, ranging from a hop-ball, a free on the halfway line or a 20-metre free.
Solo-and-go
Instead of pausing to take the free, a fouled player can solo the ball and carry on with the play without waiting for the referee’s direction, but they must do the solo-and-go immediately when the free is called. If the fouled player takes the solo-and-go option, they are allowed four metres (forward or sideways) of advantage in which they cannot be tackled. The solo-and-go option is not available for frees called within the opposition’s 20-metre line.
Advanced mark
A kick-pass from outside the 45-metre line caught cleanly inside the 20-metre line will draw a mark, which the catcher can still call by raising their hand. Alternatively, they can now opt to continue play with the benefit of advantage. If no advantage accrues, it goes back to a free where the ball was caught.
The Squads
CONNACHT
Connor Gleeson (Galway), Johnny McGrath (Galway), Brian Stack (Roscommon), Seán Mulkerrin (Galway), Cillian McDaid (Galway), John Daly (Galway), Eoghan McLoughlin (Mayo), Jack Carney (Mayo), John Maher (Galway), Matthew Tierney (Galway), Bob Touhy (Mayo), Enda Smith (Roscommon), Diarmuid Murtagh (Roscommon), Aidan O’Shea (Mayo), Daire Cregg (Roscommon), Conor Carroll (Roscommon), Ruaidhrí Fallon (Roscommon), Mark Diffley (Leitrim), Johnny Heaney (Galway), Shane Brosnan (New York), Ultan Harney (Roscommon), Barry McNulty (Leitrim), Conor Cox (Roscommon), Donie Smith (Roscommon), Ciarán Murtagh (Roscommon), Diarmuid Duffy (Mayo), Fergal Boland (Mayo), Pat Spillane (Sligo), Aidan McLoughlin (London), Liam Gallagher (London).
Standby Players: Paul Towey (Mayo), Keith Byrne (Leitrim), Shay Rafter (London), Eddie McGinness (Sligo), Cian Lally (Sligo), Joey Grace (New York), Daire Rooney (London).
LEINSTER
Stephen Cluxton (Dublin), Michael Bambrick (Carlow), Mark Barry (Laois), Seán Bugler (Dublin), Ciarán Byrne (Louth), Ray Connellan (Westmeath), Peter Cunningham (Offaly), Ciarán Downey (Louth), Ross Dunphy (Carlow), Kevin Feely (Kildare), Daniel Flynn (Kildare), Darren Gallagher (Longford), Dean Healy (Wicklow), Ryan Houlihan (Kildare), Brian Howard (Dublin), Killian Roche (Laois), Ronan Jones (Meath), Donal Keoghan (Meath), Ciarán Kilkenny (Dublin), Paul Kingston (Laois), Craig Lennon (Louth), James McCarthy (Dublin), Eoin Murchan (Dublin), Evan O’Carroll (Laois), Lee Pearson (Offaly), Eoin Porter (Wexford), Kevin Quinn (Wicklow), John Small (Dublin), Paddy Small (Dublin), Ronan Wallace (Westmeath).
MUNSTER
Josh Ryan (Limerick), Darragh Brennan (Tipperary), Damien Bourke (Kerry), Darragh Cashman (Cork), Eoin Cleary (Clare), Jimmy Feehan (Tipperary), Aran Griffin (Clare), Emmet McMahon (Clare), Brian McNamara (Clare), Seán Meehan (Cork), Tadhg Morley (Kerry), James Naughton (Limerick), Danny Neville (Limerick), Colm O’Callaghan (Cork), Diarmuid O’Connor (Kerry), Chris Kelly (Cork), Conor O’Currin (Waterford), Seán O’Dea (Limerick), Donal O’Sullivan (Kerry), Chris Óg Jones (Cork), Dermot Ryan (Waterford), Maurice Shanley (Cork), Killian Spillane (Kerry), Mark Stokes (Tipperary), Alan Sweeney (Clare), Matty Taylor (Cork), Caoimhín Walsh (Waterford), Tommy Walsh (Cork), Seán Walsh (Waterford), Paul Walsh (Cork).
ULSTER
Niall Morgan (Tyrone), Diarmuid Baker (Derry), Mark Bradley (Tyrone), Paddy Burns (Armagh), Aidan Clarke (Tyrone), Oisín Conaty (Armagh), Pádraig Faulkner (Cavan), Aidan Forker (Armagh), Niall Grimley (Armagh), Daniel Guinness (Down), Pat Havern (Down), Marc Jordan (Antrim), Conn Kilpatrick (Tyrone), Barry McBennett (Monaghan), Ronan McCaffrey (Fermanagh), Seán McNally (Fermanagh), Darren McCurry (Tyrone), Eoin McElholm (Tyrone), Joe McElroy (Armagh), Eoin McEvoy (Derry), Kieran McGeary (Tyrone), Peter McGrane (Armagh), Ross McQuillan (Armagh), Odhrán Murdock (Down), Daire Ó Baoill (Donegal), Rían O’Neill (Armagh), Oisín O Neill (Armagh), Gerry Smith, (Cavan), Ciarán Thompson (Donegal), Niall Toner (Derry).
Standby players: Frank Burns (Tyrone), Mick Byrne, (Antrim), Joe Finnegan (Antrim), Jason Irwin (Monaghan), Jason McLoughlin (Cavan), Fionan O’Brien (Fermanagh).
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
