Derry powerhouse Conor Glass has hailed the Ulster championship and feels there is space for it within the new championship structure.
With the emergence of the round-robin system for both Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cup competitions, more pressure has been heaped on the provincial series – with Leinster continuing to be dominated by Dublin, and Munster largely ruled by Kerry.
But Glass, who joined AFL club Hawthorn in 2015 as an international B category rookie having captained his county to the Ulster minor title that year, and played 21 AFL games before returning home in 2020, says that his provincial competition remains a red-letter one.
"I honestly think there is space for it, 100%," he says. "And this year will hopefully show it.
"Ulster football and Munster hurling are massive selling points.
"Leinster has obviously been ruled by Dublin for a long time, but Connacht has been interesting with Mayo, Roscommon and Galway battling hard in the last few years.
"I loved growing up going to the Ulster championship games and I always wanted to be a part of it.
"Thankfully, I experienced it last year," he said, referring to his county's provincial success.
But the Glen man has warned that it won’t be easy to fit everything in – pre-season, league, provincial, round-robin, All-Ireland series – and the club campaigns – going forward.
"The new structures will definitely make it tougher for players to play year in and year out. Especially for those who are playing for successful counties and clubs.
"I had no break at all last year and it was not ideal.
"That’s just part of it. I’m not going to say I didn’t enjoy it. I love the sport and I wouldn’t be playing it if I didn’t.
"But if this is going to be in play year on year it will definitely be tough on the body."
Glass was speaking at the launch of the FRS Recruitment 2023 GAA World Games, which were officially launched at Croke Park today and will bring some 1,300 players from 10 regions around the globe back home to play in Derry this summer.
This will mark the fourth staging of the competition since 2015, with the initial stages of the event being played out at Derry’s Owenbeg, Centre of Excellence from 24-27 July.
There are now more than 500 GAA clubs in existence outside of Ireland and this is reflected in the presence of 105 teams that are confirmed for the competition.
Having been a GAA man abroad for so long, Glass is aware of the unity of the association across the globe.
"With the GAA anywhere you go in the world there is a relationship between you and another Irish fella.
"You see that when you travel especially.
"A lot go to Australia or somewhere to get away from Ireland and end up chatting about the GAA and getting involved with the GAA in these places."
And he has paid tribute to the ongoing influence of manager Rory Gallagher on the county.
"It’s not for me to say what changes he has made but he has said previously that it was about getting everything in order.
"We always had footballers in Derry. Rory felt it was to get everyone behind us, get the commitment levels and get the county board and everyone behind us and that’s the biggest change, others would say. He has brought a professionalism to the county."
After successful campaigns with both Derry and Glen – where he landed provincial medals with both before losing the All-Ireland semi-final to Galway and losing the club final to Kilmacud Crokes, Glass says that football is as enjoyable as ever for him.
The weekend will see him and his Derry team trying to make another Ulster final.
A hardened and resilient Monaghan stand in their way.
"They went under the covers against Tyrone," he says. "Everyone fancied Tyrone. That suited Monaghan who have been underdogs so many times and again they came out on top.
"We have played them a number of times and they are similar to Mayo in that they love chaos.
"So the more we keep the game on our terms, the better we will be."
Watch Kilkenny v Galway and Cork v Waterford in the Leinster and Munster Hurling Championships on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on the RTÉ News app or RTÉ.ie/Sport and listen to live commentary on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
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