GAA delight as crowds flock to see cup clashes

LAST Sunday Tyrone and Donegal drew almost 11,000 people to their McKenna Cup clash in Ballybofey.

The same day Dublin hosted Meath in the O'Byrne Cup and had a crowd of 8,000 watching, while O'Moore Park, Portlaoise had 7,000 for the Laois-

Offaly encounter in the same competition. Even Mayo and Roscommon had 3,000 spectators at their FBD League game over in Ballinlough.

The competitions are the McKenna Cup, O'Byrne Cup and FBD League respectively, not even the national football league. So why are the crowds so big? Doesn't anyone have shopping to do in-laws to pester?

Martin McAviney, PRO of the Ulster Council, has some ideas on the population explosion.

"We dropped the McKenna Cup as a competition for a couple of years, so there was probably a hunger there among the public for a top-class football competition early in the year.

"Also, the county team managers are taking it very seriously. This is the time of the year when normally they'd be arranging challenge games and so on, and by taking this competition seriously they can still try out new lads but they don't have all that hassle of ringing around to get grounds for challenge games, and linesmen and referees and all that."

As McAlviney points out, that introduces a knock-on effect.

"Because the managers are taking it seriously, the players are taking it seriously. They know the managers are using the games to see different players, so they know there are places up for grabs, that they've a chance to make their mark, and that brings up the standard in the games. I was at Monaghan versus Queens and that game was played at championship pace.

"That's another part of it. We have the colleges involved now because we had a look at the format and revamped it. We went out and consulted the counties and changed the dates around to suit them, and they've responded. We also decided to keep the policy of letting kids under 16 into the games for free, so that makes a McKenna Cup game a strong family occasion and reasonably cheap to attend.

"I suppose we're surprised that the attendances are good, but we're not shocked. Ulster football is on a high at the moment, obviously, so we have big attendances all through the championship. When you think about it, there's no real reason to suppose that that's going to fall off that much. You're still talking about the same counties, the same local rivalries, so the crowds aren't going to disappear particularly when the teams are playing locally. Next Sunday you have Armagh playing Tyrone in Casement Park we'd expect a big crowd at that anyway."

John Prenty, Connacht council secretary, has another take on the matter, invoking a famous manager's return to his old stomping ground.

"There were over 3,000 spectators at the Mayo/Roscommon game, which was huge for this time of year, and that crowd generated over €22,500 in receipts.

"It's difficult to know why but I would agree that John Maughan's involvement with Roscommon against his own county was a factor. People have been cooped up at home watching television since Christmas and are mad keen to get out. The weather has been unbelievably dry, which is also a contributory factor. Hopefully it will continue that way."

In the east, Michael Reynolds of the Leinster Council identifies three reasons for the increase: "Local derbies, good weather, and people who are mad to get out of the house.

"The pairings mean an awful lot. Take Dublin-Meath, you've got a new Meath manager and the Meath people are interested in how they're shaping up, while Dublin always get a crowd. Then Laois-Offaly is a game that will always bring out a good crowd, no more than Laois-Kildare the previous week.

"The good weather is a big help as well, added to the fact that the counties take it seriously with the league around the corner, any game with a bit of a competitive element is better than a friendly. The fact that the colleges are in it is another factor, particularly the fact that they have first call on the county players. That means a lot of the team selections are a bit unusual, which also helps to draw out the crowds.

"We have the O'Byrne Cup final this weekend and it mightn't draw the same crowds as we got last week, but people from Meath are still going to want to see what their team will have to offer come the summer, while Offaly will want to see their lads win a trophy. We'd be hoping for a crowd of 5,000 to 6,000."