Dubs’ delight at Croker league final venue

DUBLIN’S qualification for the Allianz Hurling League final has persuaded GAA officials to hold this year’s showdown in Croke Park, for what will be only the second time in 20 years that the spring hurling showpiece is played at headquarters.

Anthony Daly’s side will face Kilkenny at the Jones Road venue on Sunday week at 4pm in the first hurling league decider to be held there since Kilkenny defeated Tipperary in the 2003 final. Semple Stadium has been the venue of choice in recent times for the league hurling finals yet the Thurles venue has not been selected on this occasion.

The curtain-raiser in Croke Park will be the All-Ireland U21 football final meeting of Galway and Cavan (2pm).

The Division two hurling league decider between Clare and Limerick is to take place in Cusack Park in Ennis on Saturday week, April 30 at 7pm. Clare earned the right to home advantage after both counties agreed to toss for the choice of venue. Dublin county board chairman Andy Kettle has praised the decision to hold the Division one tie in Croke Park.

“I think it’s a great decision,” he said. “We were hoping that sense would prevail and that Croke Park would be chosen. It’s no disadvantage to Kilkenny as they’re well used to playing at the venue. We would like to think from a spectator point of view as well that this is a very good decision. There is momentum starting to build up about the Dublin hurlers and people are starting to fall in behind them in support. This now will be a fair measurement of what the levels of interest are like with the game being held in Croke Park.”

Meanwhile, Clare manager Ger O’Loughlin has called for GAA authorities to revamp the current structures of the league and revert back to a Division 1A and 1B format. O’Loughlin believes his sides development is being stalled by operating in Division two as evidenced by the 32-point hammering they dished out to Carlow on Sunday afternoon.

“The structures are wrong. We know that at the moment we’re a bit off Division one hurling. But for the benefit of developing guys for the future, we’d be better off playing Division one hurling. We could at least get to a situation where we’re trying to get to the pace of the game and we’d have the bodies to build for that.

“Playing Division two you think you’re making strides and then you come out in the first round of the Munster championship, and get an awful culture shock.

“We’re going playing against the winners of Cork and Tipperary this year, both who are battling out in Division one every week. . I don’t think there’s any benefit to the likes of Carlow, Kerry or Down coming here to play us and getting a heavy beating.

“You’re going to lose hurling counties like Wexford, Clare and Limerick if they’re kept away from the big teams. There are only 12 teams that realistically should be playing in a Division one A and B setup and the sooner they realise that the better.”