Former Dublin GAA player Paddy Christie says he would be in favour of a tiered All-Ireland Championship structure.
Speculation is rife that GAA brass future plans include implementing a tiered set up for the Championship despite resistance from the smaller counties.
Eoin Sheahan was joined in studio by former Dublin Paddy Christie, ex-Laois player Chris Conway and former Westmeath forward Denis Glennon on this afternoon's Paper Review.
“Part of me does very strongly feel there should be a tiered Championship. The likes of Chris here sitting beside me; I have come across lads with the very same argument, and very strongly in that camp, said Christie.
Christie says he previously engaged in a heated argument with a former inert-county player about the possibility of the GAA using a tiered structure.
“I had an argument with an ex-player from a so called weaker county. It got very heated at one stage, a couple of years ago. We spoke about this for an hour. It was one of those things where we were doing a show, and we ere there sitting and talking about this, we were a little bit early. He got very angry about it. He said exactly what Chris said: ‘I wouldn’t be bothered playing in it. We’ve our rights and we should be able to have a shot at it.’
The former full back says the argument got heated. The Dubliner believes the tiered Championship would greatly hinder smaller counties player’s chances of having many big days out throughout the duration of their career. He says there are no guarantees that would even come to fruition.
“It sounded cruel at the time but I said that you’ll have one day in a ten or twelve year career, if you’re very lucky, you might have one day. Is it worth it? – I know that one day would be fantastic but would it be worth it if you are lucky to have a ten, or twelve-year career. One day would be fantastic but would it come to fruition, maybe it won’t even."
You can listen to the full discussion above on our Youtube channel.
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