‘I understand the frustration & anger', says RTE star as desperate fans scramble for coveted All-Ireland final tickets
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RTE star Marty Morrissey feels for fans scrambling to get All-Ireland final tix
Credit: Garrett White - The Sun
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Peter Twiss of the Kerry County GAA Board holding what could be some of the last remaining pre-booked tickets for the big game
Credit: Domnick Walsh
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Donegal's ticket allocation for Sunday's showdown with Kerry is just 13,748
Credit: Inpho
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Young Kerry fans will be roaring their county on
Credit: Domnick Walsh
A number of clubs in Donegal have taken to social media to highlight how they haven't been able to satisfy all requests for precious passes.
And amid the frenzy for All-Ireland final passes,
He declared: 'It is difficult to get tickets, and I understand the frustration and the anger.
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'There's 82,300 tickets to go into Croke Park – that's the capacity crowd.
'The two contesting teams roughly get 20,000 tickets each.
'All the teams in the finals, despite it happening year after year, are spoilt when it comes to semi-finals because they can get 40,000 each really.
'But when it comes to All-Ireland finals, there is a process [where] tickets go to every unit of the GAA nationwide and abroad.'
Most read in the Irish Sun
Around 60,000 tickets are ring-fenced for county allocations, with the remaining tix split between premium and corporate, season tickets, schools, Croke Park residents and even some for overseas.
The competing finalists receive the most significant share of that near-60,000 batch set aside for county allocations, with the rest going to all other county boards.
RTE GAA pundit embrace Tipperary captain Ronan Maher after his epic display toppled Cork in All-Ireland final
The tickets filter down to clubs and club members, many being offered out through a raffle or a draw.
Marty highlighted how ticket allocations quickly add up - with the policy of sending tickets to all counties triggering angst from the two teams playing in the final.
DIEHARD FANS MISS OUT
More than 10,000 tickets in the stadium are nabbed for the corporate and premium sections - much to the fury of many diehard fans.
But while the commercial side of the GAA has ramped up, Marty maintained bosses pump the cash back into
He said: 'I can understand that argument (over corporate tickets).
'The GAA that I was brought up in didn't have the corporate boxes; this is the world we live in.
'EVERYTHING GOES BACK TO CLUBS'
'For the GAA to survive – or any organisation – it is about
'I will say that the GAA do one good thing: everything goes back to the clubs.
'You drive around from Mizen Head to Malin Head to Kilkenny to wherever you want, and you'll see clubs with sports centres, with astro turf, the pitches are really improved.
'When I was young, I remember togging out from the side of a ditch in Quilty in west Clare, now we have dressing rooms. It's different.'
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Kerry fans will be hoping the Sam Maguire returns to the Kingdom on Sunday
Credit: Domnick Walsh
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Fans are desperately hunting for tickets
Credit: Domnick Walsh
With the countdown underway until Sunday's big throw-in, Marty also insisted he believes every GAA fan should get the chance to experience an
He told the Behind the Story podcast: 'You don't have to be from Donegal or Kerry on Sunday to appreciate the pride that comes with even the parade, even the cheer.
'I've been lucky in my lifetime to see
GOOD ETHOS
'To see your neighbours running on to the pitch is truly historical and emotional.
'The policy is that man, woman or child in
'But generally speaking, the ethos is a good one in the sense of giving everyone, whether you are in Carlow or
In response to tickets criticism, the GAA insists the showpiece match is for everyone in the game in Ireland, explaining the policy to send tickets to all counties across the country.
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