Tipperary secretary fearful at fans fall-off

THE GAA has to be careful to retain the interest of the public for their major games, according to outgoing Tipperary County Board Secretary Michael O’Brien in his report to this weekend’s annual convention in Thurles.

Bowing out after seven years in the position, he asks a number of relevant questions in relation to a fall-off in attendances, wondering if the admission charges are too high or if people are becoming selective because of the increased number of matches in the championships.

In an analysis of the 2005 figures, he points out that the crowd for the drawn Tipperary/Limerick game was 28,552 and it was down to 20,812 for the replay. The attendance for the Tipperary/Clare semi-final was “way down on previous year”, he notes, adding: “These are games which would have tested the capacity of any ground in Munster just a couple of years ago.”