Leitrim hurling manager Olcan Conway has warned the game will disappear from the county forever unless it receives greater help and financial support.
There has been some kickback to the GAA's proposal that - from 2025 onwards - any county with fewer than five adult hurling teams will be excluded from the Allianz League and consigned to the fifth-tier Lory Meagher Cup only.
If Central Council passes the recommendation, it would see Leitrim join Fermanagh, Cavan, Longford and Louth in league exile, with their inter-county seasons reduced from six to three months.
On Monday, Fermanagh GAA held a special meeting of the county committee to discuss the proposals from the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) on hurling development in weaker counties. The meeting was unanimous in calling for those proposals to be rejected. They've urged all counties to them in voting against the proposal at the Ard Chomhairle meeting on 2 December.
Louth GAA held a meeting on the same night to discuss the issue and said that "all in attendance were united in calling for the proposals to be rejected and urge all counties to support us".
Now Conway has aired his deep frustration at the situation, pleading for more help to safeguard the future of Leitrim hurling.
In a social media post, he wrote: "The GAA's motto is 'where we all belong'; it hasn’t felt like we all belong in the past couple of weeks if you’re a Leitrim hurler. We can be cut loose; cut adrift. We’re expendable. I’ve held my counsel for long enough.
"This is the third attempt to get rid of the Leitrim hurling team or remove us from the league in a year.
"This is just a cost cutting exercise dressed up as something else. There is no plan in place, no estimate on figures, no concrete evidence to show that anything will ever be done.
"There are real, practical solutions here that don't involve killing hurling in Leitrim for the sake of saving money. And make no mistake, that is what the CCCC proposal is all about," wrote Conway, as he disputed figures provided in a weekend interview by county treasurer Martin McCartin.
"We know we are a small county. We know we don’t have endless resources. We know that football takes precedence. We’re willing to find solutions but we also expect fair play and not to be made a mockery of.
"Travel expenses are a huge issue and there is no getting away from that fact. Both hurling and football have this challenge. There are a number of lads based in Galway and Dublin etc, but is that their fault? I know nearly all of them come home every weekend and spend as much time in Leitrim as they can.
"When it's gone, it will never come back."
"Leitrim is a fantastic place to live and most of the people from Leitrim who don’t live here do so through necessity rather than choice. Most of these young men have to leave because of employment opportunities or to go to college. I have seen first-hand the effort it takes to get to training and their dedication is now being held up as a problem. We should be commending these lads for their commitment not using it against them."
Conway has been in charge of Leitrim for four years. He previously led Carrick-on-Shannon to three senior hurling championship titles in a row as well as a first ever Connacht junior club title in 2018.
"Hurling has been under-funded in this county for years and now the people that have kept it alive are being asked to pay the price," he added.
"Rather than being encouraged in our efforts to keep alive a game recognised by UNESCO, we're being told it’s better to pull the plug. Take it off life support. Let it slip away. When it’s gone, it will never come back.
"As I said at the start of this [post], the GAA’s motto is 'Where we all belong’. If the Leitrim hurlers don’t belong in Leitrim GAA, then where do they belong?"
