Railway Cup revival on track with Rules fixture

THE resuscitation of the Railway Cup continued apace yesterday. It was announced that one M Donnelly inter-provincial hurling semi-final will be played as an opener to the second International Rules test in Croke Park next month.

GAA president Sean Kelly is also hopeful that an inter-provincial hurling fixture can be played in Australia next year before one of the International Rules tests. Finance is the only stumbling block as the Australians are extremely keen on the idea.

This year's football final will be played at the Stade Colombes in Paris, on November 13, with over 3,000 expected to attend.

A committee consisting of Kelly, Director General Liam Mulvihill and Clare's Noel Walsh has been busy revamping the competition since the Kerryman's tenure at HQ began.

"There's no point trying to return the competition to its glory days of the '50s or '60s," said Walsh - also a leading figure in the campaign for an open draw in Munster in the 1990s.

"That will never happen again. The inter-provincials have been superseded by the club championships, but the inter-provincials still have their place.

"What we're trying to do now is project the competition in a better light than it has been in recent years, when it was played over the one weekend in front of tiny crowds. The players are still very enthusiastic about it, although the public isn't getting behind it so much.

"Marketing can achieve anything though. Taking the finals to a continental setting has been fantastic for the competition. Rome last year was a great success for the two teams and we're hoping that, by taking it to a more convenient location in Paris, we can facilitate more people travelling."

Sean Kelly yesterday confirmed that the attendance for the All-Ireland SFC final should exceed the 80,000 mark with extra capacity available at the Hill 16 end. Plans for a giant screen to be placed there for the hurling final were ruined when the company behind the project misjudged the measurements. But that has been rectified for the meeting of Kerry and Mayo.

Kelly has also commissioned a full, independent report on the Croke Park pitch. Comparisons will be made with similar surfaces throughout the world, like Anfield and Huddersfield's McAlpine Stadium.