At last night’s county board meeting in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, delegates debated a Central Council discussion document, with a suggestion that the U20 finals would take the place occupied by the minor finals.

While there was some appetite from the floor for U18 to return instead of U17, Cork’s Central Council delegate Bob Ryan said he feared the ship had sailed: “There is a broad feeling nationally that U17 will also be forced on counties and U18 will disappear. As for going back, you’re against the tide on that one.”

Murphy made plain his disappointment with that development: “We’re against the tide, but a wrong decision was made. The minor grade now is not the same in terms of intensity, physicality or interest, as it was when it was U18. We were told that the age changed because of the pressures of doing the Leaving Cert, but the Dr Harty Cup is now U19. Why? Because that’s the age at which the majority of students are doing the Leaving.

Even looking at our own U18 minor county championships, you’d be astounded at the physicality that you don’t see at U17.

Responding to a question from Passage delegate Matt Aherne as to the potential for reversing the minor age-change, Murphy said it would need a 60% majority in a Congress vote.

However, he also made a cogent argument against the U20 finals replacing minor on All-Ireland final day in Croke Park: “We were in the All-Ireland U21 hurling final this year, a game involving two counties who weren’t in the senior final, and there was a crowd of 17,000 there.

“Would the same allocation be given to counties in the U20 finals? Absolutely not, it would be the same as for the minor now, which is in the hundreds. They would be moved out again in a few years and you wouldn’t know what curtain-raiser would be there instead.”

There was broad support for another suggestion in the document: Removing the National Hurling League quarter-finals to allow a later start to the year. County board administrator Diarmuid O’Donovan expressed a lack of appetite for the 2019 season to start on December 29 this year with pre-season competitions, as is proposed.

Starting the league in February, rather than late January, “would also avoid a situation where games would clash on the weekend of the Fitzgibbon”, said O’Donovan.

Regarding the All-Ireland SFC Super 8, Bob Ryan said Cork “shouldn’t be a bit afraid to make the suggestion that Croke Park wouldn’t be a venue”.

Meanwhile, the Cork SFC semi-final replay between Castlehaven and Duhallow will now take place on Sunday in Páirc Uí Rinn at 7.30pm. It had originally been scheduled for 8pm on Saturday at the Boreenmanna Road venue.

Also on Sunday is the county SHC decider between Imokilly and Midleton in Páirc Uí Chaoimh at 4pm. That game will be shown in full on TG4’s deferred coverage, after the Roscommon football final between Clann na nGael and St Brigid’s.