Frost relieved as Páirc Uí Chaoimh final goes off smoothly

Munster chairman Robert Frost admitted Sunday’s hurling final was one of the most challenging organisational feats faced by the provincial council.

Considerable preparations had to go into staging the game at a reduced capacity Páirc Uí Chaoimh, involving health and safety audits as well as the deployment of a security firm. Spectators were also directed to follow colour-coded routes to their chosen seats and terraces.

“It was tough going for a couple of weeks but that’s part and parcel of the job that’s involved,” said Frost. “To be fair to all involved, including my colleagues in the Munster Council, Michael Slattery the health and safety officer and the Cork County Board, they all did a tremendous job, as well as the gardaí.”

The revised capacity drew the ire of supporters in both counties about a lack of tickets. Frost defended the council’s decision, stating they were obliging the home-away arrangement entered into by Cork and Limerick. “We might have been criticised for not playing the match in Thurles but when counties reach an agreement, I think it should be honoured. I would be in favour of the home-away agreements, especially as in this case it was a great boost to the local economy in Cork. They were saying it’s hard to get out of Cork but when you have 30,000 congregating in one corner of a city, no matter where it is, there will be difficulties. Thurles hasn’t developed as other towns have. We’re still parking in the same fields there as we did 25 years ago. The parking facilities are excellent there. In other towns now, there are houses where people used to park. ”

The Cork-Waterford replay means the Munster Council’s gate receipts for this year will be significantly higher than last season. Approximately 127,765 attended the five games, compared to 93,394 in 2013.

Even taking out the replay, this year’s numbers would still be up, coming in at 105,672.

However, there is an expected drop in football attendances, a disappointing 21,028 attending the Cork-Kerry final on July 6. “Last year, we had Kerry playing at home on three occasions and Kerry are a good draw at home,” said Frost. “Against Waterford and then Tipperary last year, you’d get a nice crowd in Killarney and then the final, of course, against Cork. But Kerry played both their games away from home this year.”

Meanwhile, Frost believes Clare and Tipperary footballers have been motivated by this year’s seeded draw. However, he pointed out it is likely to be revert to the open structure for 2015 in a vote in the coming months.

“We call them the so-called weaker counties but they mightn’t be weak anymore. They have done tremendous work over the last 12 months and I suppose it (the seeded draw) was a shot in the arm for them to prove people wrong.

“I always said there would be a vote. There was going to be a review every 12 months and I couldn’t see what the fuss was all about because it wasn’t going to be cast in stone. The thing changed in 2008 and then it reverted to the previous system. It wasn’t much harm to try it for one year.”