Championship success as Connacht final a crowd-puller

The Connacht Council joined every other provincial bodies in recording an overall attendance increase for their championship games this year following Sunday’s minor and senior finals.

In the weeks leading up to the game, Connacht Council secretary John Prenty had expected a crowd of 16,000, given the expectation of a one-sided game, but a combination of a reduction in ticket prices, good weather and a huge marketing drive ensured the 21,274 attendance surpassed that target with ease.

“We put a huge amount of work into it, and overall for the championship we were up about 6,000 to 7,000 on last year’s numbers,” he said.