GAA Director General Paraic Duffy says splitting Dublin in two would be senseless.
The Boys in Blue have dominated the football landscape in recent years, winning Sam Maguire for the last 3 years.
The outgoing Monaghan man feels that Dublin shouldn't be punished for their success, writing in his annual report Duffy said:
“There is no doubt that Dublin enjoys advantages over every other county. It has the largest population and can access greater financial resources through sponsorship.
“But resources in terms of finance or population are no guarantee of All-Ireland success, as Dublin discovered between 1983 and 2011 when it won just one All-Ireland senior football title.
“That was in 1995, with a one-point victory over Tyrone. In achieving their five All-Ireland titles in the past seven years, the margin of victory was a single point in four finals (one after a replay) and a three-point victory over Kerry in 2015.
“This hardly constitutes evidence of a county steamrolling over all opposition, or proof of the need to divide a county because it is vastly superior to the rest and must be broken up into two or three divisions for inter-county competition.
“The history of our games, and of sport in general, tells us that Dublin won’t win forever. Apart from that, there are a couple of observations to be made. First, the main reason for Dublin’s current success is that they have an outstanding group of players and an exceptional team management.
“One is led to wonder if the ‘divide Dublin’ proponents have given any thought to what the GAA would lose if Dublin were to be split.
“Have they given any thought to what Dubliners would lose? And is the sight of Dublin supporters on Hill 16 not one of the great spectacles in Irish sport?
“And are we not all looking forward to seeing Dublin supporters in their thousands heading out of the city to follow their team, which the championship format from 2018 will allow?
“So, neither on competitiveness grounds, nor on account of the unfairness of depriving Dubliners of the pleasure of expressing their local and historical identity through the GAA (as every other GAA supporter is allowed to do), should we countenance the splitting up of Dublin.
“There is all to lose in doing so, and nothing to gain.”
