Shane Ryan is well-placed to understand the merits and pitfalls of the Kerry club championships.
Ryan was part of the East Kerry team which won county championship titles in 2020 and 2022. He was able to play on that East Kerry divisional side because his club Rathmore had been relegated from senior level in 2019.
There being just eight senior clubs in the Kingdom means the perilous fall to intermediate level is always looming. Austin Stacks, Kerins O'Rahillys and Killarney Legion, three of the county's biggest clubs, have dropped through the trapdoor in recent times and will all play in the second tier this year.
Kerry's Shane Ryan and Ciara Murphy at Dingle Bay announcing details of the Lidl Comórtas Peile Páidí Ó Sé 2024, the famed adult men's and ladies GAA club tournament which takes place from 23-25 February. Details on www.paidiose.com
Relegation wasn't all bad for Rathmore. They won the Kerry Intermediate Championship in 2022 and then the All-Ireland title, beating Galbally Pearses from Tyrone in the final.
Kerry clubs have dominated the All-Ireland junior and intermediate championships since their introduction 20 years ago, winning 11 titles on the third rung and seven on the second. There being so few senior clubs in Kerry compared to other counties has played a part in that success. It pushes strong teams down to the lower levels.
15 January 2023; Shane Ryan of Rathmore in action against Conor Quinn of Galbally Pearses during the AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Intermediate Championship Final match between Galbally Pearses of Tyrone and Rathmore of Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
"Look, I understand other counties' grievances," said Kerry goalkeeper Ryan, speaking at the launch of the Lidl Comórtas Peile Páidí Ó Sé 2024.
"When we played Kanturk last year [in the Munster intermediate semi-final], we were the so-called ninth best team in Kerry, they were the 25th in Cork. I know the tables flipped this year with Cill na Martra [beating Milltown/Castlemaine].
"I'm not sure how you rectify that because we're not going to have 16 senior teams in Kerry just because of our divisional championships and it's worked well for us so far.
"I think it's right to give every player in the county a chance to play senior football. I think it's served us well down through the years.
"I think there's a tweak but I'm not sure what the tweak is but I do understand other counties' grievances about our structure."
Ryan "probably would" like to see the number of senior clubs increased. That is likely to happen in the coming years.
"In our county's Division 1, we've got 12 teams," he said.
"Any team in that league is capable of beating each other and I would classify a lot of intermediate teams as senior clubs.
"If you play them in the championship, I think we could be beaten by the bones of six if not more than of the intermediate clubs.
30 October 2022; Shane Ryan of East Kerry during the pre-match parade before the Kerry County Senior Football Championship Final match between East Kerry and Mid Kerry at Austin Stack Park in Tralee, Kerry. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
"It showed there last year when there are 16 intermediate teams in Kerry there's probably 10 to 12 of them who really feel they can win it in any given year.
"The finalists last year, Milltown and Fossa, they wouldn't have been everyone's pick but it shows just how competitive the championship is, which shows there is more room for senior clubs."
The Irish Independent reported over the weekend that a motion from Meath club Rathkenny, which attempts to curb the success of Kerry clubs in the Munster and All-Ireland junior and intermediate championships, will be debated at GAA congress next month.
The motion proposes players who have lined out with divisional teams in a county's senior championship would be barred from representing their clubs in provincial and All-Ireland junior and intermediate championships.
"Speaking from a Kerry point of view, almost every Kerry club at junior or intermediate would be represented at some level in senior county championship. So, is that taking all the best players from junior and intermediate teams?" said Ryan.
"I'm not sure how [the motion] would work as not every county has divisional sides. I know in our own county it would be a small bit tough on the so-called lower clubs, the junior and intermediate clubs, who would have one of their best players playing on their divisional side.
"For them not to be available for their own club, that wouldn't seem right to me. I don't know how that would apply across the other 31 counties if they don't have divisional sides."
See Also: Kerry Side Annoyed By Two 'Harsh' Calls In All-Ireland Junior Final
