Evening throw-ins bid to lure fans to Fitzgibbon Cup clashes

HIGHER Education GAA chiefs are set to stage some of this year’s Fitzgibbon Cup group ties at night in an effort to attract more supporters and to alleviate the difficulties in securing inter-county referees to officiate the games.

The round-robin stages of the third-level hurling competition have been traditionally played on midweek afternoon slots. While eight of this year’s matches will take place at those times, four games will be held under floodlights with 7pm throw-in times. The nighttime matches will be the opening Group D clash between UCC and DCU on February 1 and each of the three games in Group A involving Cork IT, Waterford IT and UCD.

The trial will be introduced with colleges who have floodlit facilities which meet required standards. It has also been done in an attempt to avoid clashes between two matches in the same city as that scenario has arisen frequently in recent years in both Cork and Limerick. The chairman of the Higher Education GAA authority, Ray O’Brien, is hopeful the changes will be a success.