A bit later than normal, but the Open Competitions Committee has tonight revealed the league structure for 2015. It makes fascinating reading, with the headline being that eight new teams are entered in the league, with three new clubs - Ashbourne, Carlow and AIB.
Those eight new teams have meant a radical restructuring of the leagues, with all divisions now having eight teams. This will reduce the substantial pressure on many grounds around the province. The downside is that many teams who thought they would be moving up a division, have in fact stayed in the same place, or may even have moved down.
There will be a complete preview of all 16 divisions before the season starts. All fixture makers around the province will now start the onerous process of contacting all the other clubs in their division to start making fixtures.
A full FAQ on the promotion and relegation procedure was prepared by Michael Sharp in 2012, and can be read here
Division 1. YMCA 1, Merrion 1, Clontarf 1, Pembroke 1, North County 1, Railway Union 1, Malahide 1, Cork County 1
Promoted from Division 2 - Malahide 1 and Cork County 1
Other ins and outs - none
Division 2. The Hills 1, Terenure 1, Leinster 1, Balbriggan 1, Phoenix 1, Rush 1, Dublin University 1, YMCA 2
Relegated from Division 1 - The Hills 1 & Terenure 1
Promoted from Division 3 - YMCA 2
Other ins and outs - Division 2 reduced from nine to eight teams
Division 3. Merrion 2, Pembroke 2, Clontarf 2, North Kildare 1, Leinster 2, The Hills 2, Laois 1, Phoenix 2
Relegated from Division 2 - Merrion 2 & Pembroke 2
Promoted from Division 4 - Phoenix 2
Other ins and outs - none
Division 4. North County 2, Civil Service 1, Merrion 3, YMCA 3, Malahide 2, Railway Union 2, Dundrum 1, Greystones 1
Relegated from Division 3 - North County 2 & Civil Service 1
Promoted from Division 5 - Greystones 1 (Malahide 3 finished as Division 5 champions but could not be promoted due to Malahide 2 being in Division 4)
Other ins and outs - none
Division 5. Pembroke 3, Mullingar 1, Malahide 3, Terenure 2, Leinster 3, Merrion 4, Railway Union 3, Phoenix 3
Relegated from Division 4 - Pembroke 3 & Mullingar 1
Promoted from Division 6 - Phoenix 3
Other ins and outs - none
Division 6. Knockharley 1, North County 3, Clontarf 3, Rush 2, Railway Union 4, Sandyford 1, Longford 1, Adamstown 1
Relegated from Division 5 - North County 3 & Clontarf 3
Promoted from Division 7 - Adamstown 1
Other ins and outs - none
Division 7. Laois 2, North Kildare 2, Castleknock 1, Merrion 5, Clontarf 4, Dundrum 2, Wexford Wanderers 1, Pembroke 4
Relegated from Division 6 - North Kildare 2 & Castleknock 1
Promoted from Division 8 - No team promoted due to Division 7 being reduced from nine to eight teams
Other ins and outs - None
Division 8. Leinster 4, Civil Service 2, Dublin University 2, Balbriggan 2, Knockharley 2, YMCA 4, Bagenalstown 1, Wicklow County 1
Relegated from Division 7 - Dublin University 2 & Balbriggan 2
Promoted from Division 9 - None
Other ins and outs - Three teams were relegated from Division 8 to allow reorganisation
Division 9. Malahide 4, Phoenix 4, North County 4, The Hills 3, Greystones 2, Mullingar 2, Sandyford 2, Adamstown 2
Relegated from Division 8 - Malahide 4 & The Hills 3
Promoted from Division 10 - None
Other ins and outs - Dundalk 1 finished 9th in Division 8, and have been moved to Division 10. Adamstown 2 are moved from Division 11 to Division 9
Division 10. Dundalk 1, Swords 1, Slieve Bloom 1, Railway Union 5, Longford 2, Terenure 3, Leinster 5, Ringcommons 1
Relegated from Division 9 - Terenure 3, Swords 1, Leinster 5, Ringcommons 1
Promoted from Division 11 - None
Others ins and outs - At this stage things are getting complicated. Division 10 is made up of Dundalk 1 from last year's Division 8, the bottom 4 of Division 9, 2014 Division 10 winners and runners up - Slieve Bloom 1 and Railway Union 5 and Division 11 champions Longford 2
Division 11. Merrion 6, Castleknock 2, YMCA 5, Civil Service 3, Rush 3, Lucan 1, Clontarf 5, Pembroke 5
Relegated from Division 10 - This league contains the bottom seven teams from Division 10 in 2014.....
Promoted from Division 12 - ....along with Lucan 1 who finished runners up in Division 12 in 2014
Other ins and outs - No others
Division 12. Cabinteely 1, Malahide 5, The Hills 4, North County 5, Leinster 6, Adamstown 3, Merrion 7, Halverstown 1
Relegated from Division 11 - The bottom five from Division 11
Promoted from Division 13 - None
Other ins and outs - This league contains the bottom five from Division 11 and the top three from Division 12
Division 13. Dublin University 3, Swords 2, Phoenix 5, Railway Union 6, Pembroke 6, Dundrum 3, Laois 3, North Kildare 3
Relegated from Division 12 - The five teams who finished in 4th to 8th place in Division 12. Bagenalstown 2 finished bottom of Division 12, and have been moved to Division 14
Promoted from Division 14 - None
Other ins and outs - The five teams that were in Division 12 are joined by the top three from Division 13 in 2014 - Dundrum 3, Laois 3 and North Kildare 3
Division 14. Leinster 7, Bagenalstown 2, Knockharley 3, Castleknock 3, Adamstown 4, Sandyford 3, Wicklow County 2, Mullingar 3
Relegated from Division 13 - Knockharley 3, Castleknock 3, Adamstown 4 and Sandyford 3 have come down from Division 13
Other ins and outs - Wicklow County 2, Mullingar 3 and Leinster 7 were the top three teams in Division 14 last year. Bagenalstown 2 have come down from Division 12
**NEW** Division 15. Greystones 3, Merrion 8, Dundalk 2, Rush 4, Civil Service 4, Balbriggan 3, Clontarf 6, Phoenix 6
Other ins and outs - Dundalk 2 and Rush 4 have moved down from Division 13. Greystones 3, Merrion 8, Balbriggan 3, Clontarf 6, Civil Service 4 and Phoenix 6 were all in Division 14 last year.
**NEW** Division 16. Ashbourne 1, Civil Service 5, Adamstown 5, AIB 1, Greystones 4, Bagenalstown 3, North Kildare 4, Carlow 1
Other ins and outs - The health of the game is revealed with a new Division 16, composed entirely of teams that are new for the 2015 season. Ashbourne, Carlow and AIB all make their first appearance in recent times.