Interprovincial finals return to Croke Park

The GAA has confirmed that Croke Park will host the Interprovincial football final for the first time since 1991 next month.

The Association's Competitions Control Committee have decided to fix the M Donnelly-sponsored Interprovincial hurling and football finals for GAA headquarters under floodlights on Saturday, October 27.

The football final will have a 5.15pm start and it will be followed by the hurling decider at 7pm. All games in the competition will have extra-time if necessary.

This decision breaks with recent tradition as the finals have taken place on foreign soil in recent years with Boston, Paris and Rome among the venues.

It will only be the fourth occasion since 1980 that Croke Park has hosted the football final while the hurling decider has not been played at the Jones' Road venue since 1995.

This year's Interpro semi-finals will take placed the previous Saturday - October 20 - at provincial venues. Fermoy will host the football (throw-in 1.30pm) and the hurling (3pm) semi-finals, where Munster will face Leinster.

Meanwhile, the floodlights will be turned on in Ballybofey for the respective games between Ulster and Connacht with the hurling semi-final at 6pm and the football equivalent following at 7.45pm.

Two years ago the football series was affected by the International Rules tour which coincided with the competition, but this year with no Rules series, the competition is set to get the full focus of the GAA.

With the return to Croke Park, a large crowd will be expected for the finals of two competitions which drew attendances in excess of 60,000 to the stadium at the height of the Railway Cups in the 1960s and 1970s.