And so it has come to pass that we are once again at that most glorious part of the GAA calendar, that beautiful time where winter turns into summer, league into championship. There are just a few more rounds of shadow boxing to endure before the real action begins, and we can feast at the table that is the championship.

Ahh yes, the league - that child that the GAA has always had a troubled relationship with, never quite sure how best to treat it. In recent days we have witnessed the conundrum that the GAA has found itself in, having to push back the times of the Division One and Two hurling finals due to the clash with Munster’s Heineken Cup semi-final in Spain. There has been criticism for the later starts, but for two different reasons. There are those who are apoplectic at the thought of the GAA moving its fixtures to accommodate another sport, and then there are those who think that the matches should be on the following day, which is a bank holiday.

The former, those who suggest that the GAA should just ignore the Munster match, are displaying an ostrich-like capacity to dismiss the realities of the situation. It is a fact that rugby in this country now has a fan base that crosses various sports, with GAA being one of them. Thomond Park will regularly be packed with doyens who are also at home in the Gaelic Grounds, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cusack Park or Thurles.

In the summer time it is the GAA that receives these people’s full attention, as they follow their various counties on the road to championship glory.

True, the higher profile that rugby has received since it turned professional has caused some ripples of apprehension within the GAA, but rather than fearing the new competition, the GAA should instead be inspired to fight back, work harder and focus on how it can improve its own fantastic organisation.

Changing the times of the league finals is not a sign of weakness on the part of the GAA, rather it is a common sense approach to the issue. It’s all a far cry from 1990 when the Leinster Council played the Kilkenny/Offaly match in direct competition with Ireland’s Word Cup game with Egypt (a paltry crowd attended Croke Park that day, but in hindsight they may have made the wise choice as the Boys in Green failed to get past a resolute Pharaoh defence, forcing us to endure 90 minutes of utter frustration).

What the GAA should have announced was a Bank Holiday Monday date for the matches in Thurles. They could have undertaken a bit of marketing, extolling it as a bank holiday hurling extravaganza, a great way to round off your weekend etc. That would have provided the game of hurling with a whole day to itself, devoid of any competition – plus it would have avoided the late night journey that many fans will have to make back from Thurles with the current start times.

The GAA has shown itself to have the ability to be progressive, casting off the mothballs of conservatism that many had chosen to label the organisation with. We have witnessed the intelligent debate that preceded the opening up of Croke Park to other sports, the abolition of Rule 21 and the acceptance of an increase in television coverage.

This is an organisation that has proven itself to be one of the most astute in this country, affecting almost every nook and cranny of our land, providing a positive influence on the life of this country.

Having said all that, there is always more that can be done - starting with moving the hurling league finals to the Bank Holiday Monday – great initiative was shown with the decision to pay all four football finals in Croke Park next weekend – a similar initiative must be shown when it comes to the hurling finals.

Of course all is not perfect with the GAA - nobody, no thing is perfect. But it is heading in the right track, manoeuvring through various obstacles and potholes with adroitness that belies the fact that this is still in essence an amateur organisation.

Which brings us back to the league, and what the GAA must do with it. This is still a competition that is treated with contempt by many, an irritant that has to be endured. Why should supporters take it seriously when the phrase “it’s only the league” is repeated ad nauseum by managers and players alike? This weekend Galway and Cork go head to head in perhaps the greatest case of shadow boxing we are likely to witness for many a long day, as they play their closing group match before the league final. Galway have made 15 changes to their side, while the Rebels has followed suit, changing 12.

Yet nobody seems able to resolve the dichotomy that is at the heart of this – the GAA is built on the drama of the 70 minutes, the do-or-die scenario that ensures every ball is fought for, it means something. In the league there is usually the sense of holding back for the high days of summer (even then, many feel that the qualifiers have diluted something from the championship, the second chance scenario eroding much of what was special about the competition).

When I was a child, and enjoying those halcyon days of championship action, there was always a hint of regret that there weren’t more matches. The joy of pure knockout was matched by the disappointment that it was all over too soon – that is the conundrum that the GAA has to try and resolve.

Will it ever be possible to find a satisfactory conclusion?