Motion to extend inter-county season withdrawn
If passed, the All-Ireland football final - which last year was contested by Kerry and Donegal - would have moved to August
- Published
A motion to extend the GAA's inter-county season from 2027 was withdrawn before going to a vote at the association's Annual Congress at Croke Park on Saturday.
Motion 14 recommended that the All-Ireland finals should be concluded by the 32nd Sunday of the calendar year, with the hurling final played on the final Sunday in July and the football decider shifting to the second week of August.
The All-Ireland finals, which were traditionally staged in September, have been played in July since 2022.
However, the motion - fronted by former GAA director general Paraic Duffy - was withdrawn by GAA president Jarlath Burns shortly before Congress was disrupted by protesters.
"We're two codes and two levels - club and county," said Burns.
"It is always going to be a series of compromises. The fact that so many people spoke against it was very definitive. We will withdraw it."
The motion was expected to be heavily defeated if it had reached a vote.
This year's hurling final is set to be played on 19 July with the football showpiece to follow on 26 July.
Another withdrawn motion centred on players only being eligible to represent their county if they had played eight league of championship games for their club in the previous year.
Elsewhere, a motion to drop the All-Ireland hurling preliminary quarter-finals was passed with 94.1% voting in favour, while a motion calling for the All-Ireland minor football and hurling finals to act as curtain-raisers to the senior deciders was defeated.
