Limerick training session behind Cork-Galway ladies football venue switch

'Limerick normally train there on a Sunday morning, that would be the norm. That would have been flagged [with the LGFA] as a provision,' said a Treaty county board official

DOUBLE-BOOKED: A Limerick hurling training session has meant a new venue is needed for Cork's ladies football semi-final with Galway on Sunday. Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

A Limerick senior hurling training session is the reason Sunday’s Cork-Galway All-Ireland ladies football semi-final has been moved from LIT Gaelic Grounds to Parnell Park in Dublin.

The semi-final, which has a 1.30pm throw-in, was confirmed for LIT Gaelic Grounds on November 16, but it was announced yesterday that the game had been switched to Parnell Park.

A Limerick County Board official has said that when the LGFA booked the Limerick venue for the Cork-Galway semi-final, it was made clear to ladies football officials that in the event of Limerick reaching the All-Ireland hurling final, John Kiely’s panel would get preference over the ladies football game if it was a case the Limerick hurlers required use of LIT Gaelic Grounds for a training session on Sunday, December 6.

Limerick secured their place in the All-Ireland final on Sunday last, and their final preparations include a get-together at the Ennis Road venue this Sunday.

“Limerick normally train there on a Sunday morning, that would be the norm. That would have been flagged [with the LGFA] as a provision,” said the Limerick county board official.

The exact time of the Limerick training session is unclear, but the Irish Examiner understands it overlaps with the 1.30pm start for the ladies football game.

But even if the Limerick session had concluded prior to 1.30pm, facilitating the ladies game would not have been straightforward, said the Treaty official.

“You have your Covid situation where you have to clean down the stadium after every session that we do, that the dressing-rooms or whatever areas they are using are thoroughly cleaned and there would need to be an adequate amount of time for that.”

The LGFA explored Semple Stadium, Thurles as an alternative to Limerick, but issues also arose there.

A Tipperary County Board official said “stewarding would have been a problem, but we did not close the door”.

Given the need for a floodlit ground, a number of other venues in the region were not suitable candidates to host the fixture between the 2019 and 2018 beaten All-Ireland finalists.

The moving of the semi-final to Parnell Park means the Beara-based Cork players face a four and a half hour drive to the game. Cork are now likely to overnight on Friday ahead of the Saturday afternoon throw-in in the capital.

The winners play four-in-a-row chasing Dublin in the All-Ireland final on Sunday, December 20.