Munster Council votes to reinstate open draw in football championship

The Munster Council last night voted to reinstate the open draw in the province's football championship. A year ago Munster had reverted to a seeded draw, which kept Cork and Kerry apart on either side of the draw but the reaction among the football communities in the other counties was extremely critical.

In protest Limerick and other counties withdrew from the McGrath Cup and their players didn’t make themselves available for selection on the province’s inter-provincial team.

Last night’s meeting of Munster Council unanimously voted that the format for the 2015 championship would see Cork and Kerry, as last year’s finalists, receive a bye into the semi-finals but the last four counties would go into an open draw, leaving open the possibility that the big two might be drawn together at that stage.

The quarter-finals will be decided by open draw amongst the four counties, who haven’t reached the previous year’s provincial final.

Whereas the new format doesn't restore the precise status quo ante – in which all six counties went into the hat regardless of where they had placed the previous season – it prevents Cork and Kerry from having a lock on the two places in the final.