Laois GAA bring motion to congress seeking changes to All-Ireland SHC and Joe McDonagh Cup format

The Laois GAA County Board is set to bring a significant motion to this year’s GAA Annual Congress in Croke Park this weekend, proposing changes to the Joe McDonagh Cup and the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

The motion, officially Motion 6, has two key elements. Firstly, it seeks to eliminate the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals, which currently see the Joe McDonagh Cup finalists face the third-placed teams from the Leinster or Munster Championships. Instead, the third-placed team in Leinster would play the Munster runner-up, and vice versa, meaning a county’s season would end once the Joe McDonagh Cup final is completed.

Since the Joe McDonagh Cup was introduced in 2018, only Laois in 2019 have won a preliminary quarter-final, beating Dublin in Portlaoise a week after defeating Westmeath in the Joe McDonagh Cup final. No other team, winners or finalists, has progressed beyond this stage. In recent years, the preliminary quarter-finals have often produced heavy defeats, highlighting the mismatch between Joe McDonagh Cup sides and tier-one teams.

The second part of the motion proposes a new semi-final round in the Joe McDonagh Cup. Under the suggested format, the top team after the round-robin stage would go straight to the final, while the second and third-placed teams would contest a home semi-final. This change aims to increase fairness and competitiveness, preventing scenarios like 2023, when Offaly fielded 11 new players in a final group game against Carlow after already securing their place in the final, ultimately knocking Laois out despite their own strong performance against Kerry in Tralee.

Laois are competing in the Joe McDonagh Cup for the fourth successive year since their relegation from the Leinster Championship in 2022. Laois have reached the final in the last two seasons, losing to Offaly in 2024 and Kildare in 2025. 

READ NEXT: Draws made for 2026 Laois GAA Hurling Championships

The motion from Laois is expected to render Motion 18, submitted by the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) to also eliminate preliminary quarter-finals, unnecessary if passed. Delegates at Congress will vote on a total of 25 motions, which have been submitted from various committees, including Central Council, the Hurling Development Committee, and the Rules Advisory Committee.

Laois GAA's motion, as it will appear before delegates, reads:

Part 1 – All-Ireland Quarter-Finals: The third-placed team in the Munster Championship shall play the Leinster runner-up, and the third-placed team in the Leinster Championship shall play the Munster runner-up in All-Ireland quarter-finals at venues determined by the CCCC.

Part 2 – Joe McDonagh Cup Format: Tier 2 shall have six teams in its championship, played on a round-robin basis. Each county shall have three home games and two away games. The second and third-placed teams shall qualify for a semi-final, hosted by the second-placed county, with the winner meeting the first-placed county in the final.

In addition to motions, Friday evening will see the election of a new GAA president, with Derek Kent (Wexford), Ger Ryan (Tipperary), and John Murphy (Sligo) vying to succeed current president Jarlath Burns from February 2027.