Replay will guarantee GAA near €2.8m windfall

Cork and Clare will do it all again in the first ever Saturday All-Ireland hurling final replay on September 28, guaranteeing at least a €2.8m windfall for the GAA.

In what is the first Saturday decider replay since the 2000 football clash between Kerry and Galway, the fixture at Croke Park will take place a day before the All-Ireland Ladies football finals at the same venue.

The Ladies games were moved to October last year to accommodate the replay between Kilkenny and Galway. However, in keeping with GAA president Liam O’Neill’s ambitions to strengthen the Association’s links with one of its sister organisations, it was decided their final would be set in stone. But there are concerns coverage of the Cork-Monaghan game will be dwarfed by the replay.

Yesterday’s draw means an already bumper Championship attendance season is going to get even better for the GAA. Their accounts for last year showed the second Kilkenny-Galway final match brought in just shy of €3m.

Last year’s final replay was the first since 1959 and just like 2012 there will be reduced admission prices. The GAA were quick yesterday to confirm stand tickets will be €50, down from €80, while entry to Hill 16 will be €25, a reduction of €15. The GAA will also make juvenile tickets available for €10, for supporters from Clare and Cork only.

“We did it last year and we knew that we were setting a precedent – a template to use if this happened again. We’re quite happy to do it,” GAA president Liam O’Neill told RTÉ Radio.

“This isn’t about money; this is about an extra three weeks to promote hurling. We have an extra three weeks of promotion and we’re delighted to have it.

“We will make the same gesture on the tickets as last year and there will be 5,000 tickets for children in the competing counties available for €10.”

The time of the replay will be confirmed by the Central Competitions Control Committee today. Similar to Kilkenny and Galway’s squads last year, both counties can expect to receive additional grants towards their team holiday funds.

Meanwhile, Croke Park weren’t too concerned yesterday’s final was several hundred short of full capacity and below 82,000. An attendance of 81,651 was recorded.

DID YOU KNOW?

History will be created in the All-Ireland hurling final replay, as it will be the first time the decider will be played on a Saturday. Going all the way to the very beginning, the 1887 championship, with the final taking place on April 1, 1888, the season has culminated on a Sunday. The only time that a football final has been on any other day was when Kerry beat Galway in a replay in 2000.