Anthony Daly: Ticket chaos and Cork-Limerick rivalry expose GAA fixture issues
MEETING THEIR MATCH: Limerick’s Cian Lynch is tackled by Rob Downey of Cork in last year’s Munster SHC final at TUS Gaelic Grounds. The two players meet again tomorrow as the sides clash in the league final at the same venue.Â
TJ Ryan and myself went along to the launch of the Munster Championships last week, in all four codes, male and female.
It was brilliant just to be there, full stop, and to be surrounded by so much elite talent. It was very satisfying to see camogie and ladies football players included in the event.
It was a reminder of how the GAA are moving closer towards full integration in the entire association.
We often tend to forget that the camogie and ladies players put in as much effort as the men and it was great for those players to feel as valued as they should be heading into their own championships.
All the discussion was about the summer banquet but when we spoke to Cian Lynch and Rob Downey, there was no way of avoiding the appetiser of Sunday’s league final.
From both players, it was more or less a shrug of the shoulders and an admission that neither side wanted to lose.
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Of course they don’t, especially when a national title is at stake. This is another big game but you still wouldn’t be human if that burning thought wasn’t rapping inside your skull – do we really need to go at it with this crowd again now? And again three weeks later. And then possibly in a Munster final. And maybe in an All-Ireland final.
I don’t think you’d be human if that stuff didn’t cross your mind but it is what it is now and the players just have to get on with it when over 44,000 will turn up to see the latest instalment of this epic rivalry. I can’t wait for it anyway.
Will both teams hold something back? They will have to. I think we got a great example of that on Sunday in the Division 1 football final. Donegal certainly showed their hand. Kerry didn’t even show up. Donegal were delighted to win just a second national league title but you’d wonder who really learned more – Jim McGuinness or Jack O’Connor? I’d definitely say Jack. He has the players exactly where he wants them now. I’d almost fear for the Clare footballers, who meet Kerry in the Munster semi-final.
On the other hand, we all have a tendency to play this stuff up. After such a disappointing performance in last year’s All-Ireland final, why wouldn’t Donegal go all out to win last Sunday? For all the talk about Donegal and Kerry meeting again in the championship, there are no guarantees that will happen, whereas Cork and Limerick are certain to meet again in three weeks. And they could also meet twice more before the summer is over.
That is kind of nuts when you think about it but it’s just the reality now of where Cork and Limerick find themselves. And none of those teams will want to take a backward step now.
There are still some issues to be ironed out for both sides, especially at number 3. Ciarán Joyce gets his opportunity to nail down that jersey now – which has been problematic - but I also think it’s a small headache for Limerick. Dan Morrissey is the best option for me but he has been carrying an injury. If Dan isn’t fit, do Limerick have the right match-up for Brian Hayes?
Both teams have huge panels but I’m not sure if they are as deep as everyone thinks either – especially Cork’s. Diarmuid Healy is gone for the early games in Munster. Seamie Harnedy has huge mileage on the clock and Ben O’Connor seems to have made his mind up that some of the more experienced Cork forwards are not really in his plans, certainly as starters or early subs to come in. That has opened up opportunities for Barry Walsh and William Buckley. They are still hugely inexperienced at championship level, but I really like the look of Walsh.
Who will win? The team which wants it the most. Who will that be? I honestly don’t know. I just expect the home venue, along with the fact that Limerick don’t play in the opening week of the championship, that their cause will be that bit greater. That should give Limerick a slight edge.
The curtain-raiser between Clare-Dublin is a great game for both teams to get two weeks out from championship. It’s perfect in trying to fine-tune the last little details around team selection and systems of play. Both sides have already achieved what they set out to do – secure promotion – but they’ll still be going all out to win some silverware here.
I know from my own experience of how much a title is valued in Dublin. I was lucky enough to win a Division One while I was up there but winning that 1B title in 2013 was a huge launchpad for us in finally getting over the line in Leinster that summer.
There is also a void there now too for Dublin to try and fill in trying to capture young hearts and minds when the footballers are no longer rampaging through Leinster and winning all around them. The footballers will always be the main attraction but there is still an opportunity now for the hurlers to cash in. Leinster is definitely within their grasp and a 1B title would be a nice little taster for the players.
Dublin have been very consistent in selection. Niall Ó Ceallacháin certainly hasn’t experimented as much as Brian Lohan but I expect Clare to be far more settled here with Waterford coming to town in two weeks.
Dublin are playing well but it’s definitely advantage Clare. Having the match in the Gaelic Grounds is another plus because the Clare players know the venue so well. I fancy Lohan’s side by about 3/4 points.
How many people will actually be in the ground when the cup is lifted at the end of the game? That’s a good question. Anyone who has been reading this column for as long as I have been writing for the Irish Examiner knows that I don’t like double-headers. Sunday’s finals make even less sense when you hear the stories about the mad scramble for tickets. It’s been so bad this week that people have given up even trying to look for tickets. I know that a lot of tickets became available towards the end of the week but people had made their plans at that stage, especially when it is Easter weekend.
People are almost annoyed at Clare and Dublin for being on the same bill, not out of arrogance from Cork and Limerick people, but from pure frustration that the curtain-raiser is taking up seats that are just not there to accommodate anywhere near the amount of Cork and Limerick supporters that want – or originally hoped - to attend this match.
This has nothing to do with Clare and Dublin, who I’m sure would have been just as happy to toss for either Cusack Park or Parnell Park, and play in front of a full-house in a stand-alone fixture rather than feeling now like they’re intruding in someone’s else’s party. Even though Clare and Dublin are part of the party now, the vast majority coming to the gig, firstly, don’t want them there and, secondly, won’t even bother to watch them while they’re there.
The Gaelic Grounds is fierce handy for Clare supporters but for all the talk about Cork and Limerick supporters being denied the chance to watch their teams, it’s the same for Clare and Dublin fans. Clare would have no issue going to Parnell Park, if they’d lost a toss. It would be just as easy for Dublin to come out the road to Ennis than to play in the Gaelic Grounds. Just keep going for another 20 minutes. The best option for everybody would have been Portlaoise, or Thurles, this evening.
I don’t want to be overly critical of the people who make fixtures but I don’t understand either why they keep conceding these own goals. A lot of work goes into logistical planning and crowd control, and also with Ticketmaster, but the GAA can still never seem to admit two or three days later that they may have got a call wrong.
They might not think they have made the wrong call but a lot of people in Cork, Limerick, Clare and Dublin don’t seem to think that they made the correct call here.
