Munster classics on course to break hurling championship attendance records

CROWD-PLEASER: Over 36,000 savoured Saturday's Cork v Tipperary match. 

After surpassing the 100,000 mark on Saturday at Pairc Ui Choimh, this year’s Munster senior hurling championship is well on its way to breaking attendance and gate receipts records.

With an aggregate attendance of 134,567 across the first half of the round-robin championship, an average crowd of 26,913 per game, this year’s round robin is set to smash the previous best figure of 237,000 for the group stage in 2019. Including that year’s final, over 280,000 went to Munster SHC matches.

Both Clare-Cork and Tipperary-Limerick games in Ennis and Thurles on May 21 are on course to be sell-outs, which will boost the total by over 60,000, while the meeting of Limerick and Cork in the final round in TUS Gaelic Grounds on May 28 will also attract a massive attendance.

Last year, the Munster Council recorded €4,736,267 in gate receipts from its senior hurling championship, a jump on the pre-Covid figures of €4.2m in 2019 and €4.05m in ‘18.

The income will more than compensate for the anticipated low SFC gate receipts, which brought in €508,578 last year and are expected to be less this time around. The lucrative final pairing of Cork and Kerry have not met at the ultimate stage in a normal year since 2019. Their last decider clash in Killarney occurred six years ago when over 30,000 were in attendance.

2023 Munster SHC to date: 20,267 – Limerick v Waterford; 17,971 – Clare v Tipperary; 30,460 – Limerick v Clare; 29,104 – Cork v Waterford; 36,765 – Cork v Tipperary.