Alright on night as stadium finds voice – eventually

THIS wasn’t how we imagined it to be, not by any stretch. The new Thomond Park, the improved Thomond Park, the superb full-length space-age stands packed to the rafters with the red-shirted hordes, but — and this was always the biggest concern — would the old Thomond Park atmosphere still be there?

The final answer is no, not quite, not yet.

Before the transformation from 20th-century 13,000-capacity relic to 21st century state-of-the-art stadium (capacity doubled), Thomond Park would be throbbing a full half an hour before kick-off, the terraces already packed and alive, all attention focused on the pitch. Not last night. A mere 15 minutes before kick-off, regular pre-game songstress Cara O’Sullivan was on her own in a sterling rendition of ‘There is an Isle’, the Shannon anthem and a Thomond Park favourite. “Ye’ll have to sing up lads!” she exhorted the crowd, as she launched into ‘The Fields of Athenry’, but still she sang solo.