The Munster senior hurling championship gets under way on June 1st next year when the champions, Waterford, take on Clare. The 2008 final will be played on July 13th, which is the latest it's been scheduled in over 10 years. The football final takes place on June 29th.

Since the introduction of championship reform in 1997 until last summer the hurling final had always been first.

There were some complaints that the football champions, Kerry, had to wait six weeks between their provincial final and All-Ireland quarter-final.

The Munster secretary, Simon Moroney, said there was no real reason for persevering with this schedule: "We did decide to lengthen the gap between the finals, as playing them one week after each other like we did this year proved a logistical nightmare with tickets having to be printed and other arrangements put in place."

2008 Munster SHC - First Round: June 1st - Clare v Waterford (Limerick); Semi-finals: June 15th - Cork v Tipperary (Cork); June 22nd - Limerick v Clare/ Waterford (Thurles); Final- July 13th.

2008 Munster SFC- First Round: May 25th - Clare v Waterford (Ennis); May 25th - Limerick v Tipperary (Fermoy); Semi-finals: June 8th - Kerry v Clare/Waterford (Killarney); June 8th - Limerick/Tipperary v Cork (Limerick); Final- June 29th.

2008 Leinster SFC- First Round: May 11th - Longford v Westmeath (Longford); May 18th - Kildare v Wicklow (Croke Park); Meath v Carlow (Croke Park); Quarter-finals: June 1st - Kildare/Wicklow v Laois (Tullamore/ Carlow); Meath/Carlow v Wexford (Carlow/ Kilkeny); June 8th - Longford/Westmeath v Offaly (Longford/Tullamore); Louth v Dublin (Croke Park); Semi-finals: June 22nd - Kildare/Wicklow/Laois v Meath/Carlow/ Wexford (Croke Park); June 29th - Longford/ Westmeath/Offaly v Dublin/Louth (Croke Park); Final: July 20th - Croke Park.

2008 Leinster SHC - First Round: May 25th - Dublin v Westmeath (Portlaoise); Offaly v Laois (Portlaoise); Semi-finals: June 14th - Wexford v Dublin/Westmeath (Kilkenny/Mullingar); June 15th - Kilkenny v Offaly/Laois (Portlaoise); Final: July 7th - Croke Park.

2008 Connacht SFC - First Round: May 11th - New York v Leitrim (Gaelic Park); May 18th - Galway v Roscommon (Galway); May 25th - London v Sligo (Ruislip); Semi-finals: June 15th - Galway/Roscommon v Leitrim/ New York (Carrick-on-Shannon/Hyde Park); June 22nd - Mayo v Sligo/London (McHale Park); Final- July 13th.