Munster SHC attendance could surpass last year's record total
A combined crowd of 60,000 at this weekend's final round games in the Munster senior hurling championship in Cork and Limerick will see it surpass last year's record total for the round stages.
A total of 270,750 took in the 10 round fixtures last year before another 45,148 attended the Limerick-Clare Munster final.
There is a possibility that overall 315,898 figure, up over 5,000 from 2023, may not be surpassed this year.
TUS Gaelic Grounds, which will host the Munster final should the pairing be Limerick and Cork as part of their home-away deal, was at capacity for their counties's fourth round game on Sunday when 42,477 were in attendance.
Thus far, a total of 211,103 have taken in the eight Munster SHC matches with another large crowd anticipated for the Cork-Waterford knock-out clash in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday at 4pm.
Although Clare are out of the championship, a good Limerick crowd is expected to attend their meeting in TUS Gaelic Grounds, which throws in at the same time.
Munster officials remain extremely happy that numbers have held up from last year when they recorded €6.794 million in gate receipts for the competition, especially as ticket prices were increased for the second year running.
Admission prices to the final on Saturday, June 7 are also set to jump from their 2024 points when a stand ticket for an adult cost €45 and it was €35 for the terraces. There was a €5 concession to both for students and old age pensioners.
Only a 26-point defeat to Clare on Sunday will deny Limerick a berth in a seventh straight Munster final. With that in mind, it is already believed John Kiely will use the game to rotate part of his team.
Cork must defeat The Déise to make a first provincial senior final in seven years. A draw will send them into an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final against the Joe McDonagh Cup runners-up on June 14 and Tipperary will qualify for a first Munster senior decider in four seasons.
Lose to Waterford and Peter Queally's side will go through the backdoor and it will be Tipperary who provide the opposition to Limerick in a final in FBD Semple Stadium as part of the counties's home-away agreement.
Meanwhile, Limerick's Johnny Murphy has been appointed to referee the Cork-Waterford game on Sunday. Thomas Walsh of Waterford is the man in the middle for the Limerick-Clare game.
In Leinster, Colm Lyons (Cork) takes charge of the de facto semi-final between Dublin and Galway in Parnell Park. Michael Kennedy (Tipperary) officiates the Offaly-Antrim relegation play-off in Glenisk O'Connor Park and Seán Stack (Dublin) the dead rubber involving Wexford and Kilkenny in Chadwicks Wexford Park.
A draw in Donnycarney will be enough for Galway to advance to a Leinster final clash with Kilkenny on score difference. Kilkenny have qualified for an eighth straight decider where they will be aiming to claim the Bob O'Keeffe Cup for a sixth consecutive time in Croke Park on Sunday, June 8. Antrim must beat Offaly to avoid the drop at the expense of their opponents to the Joe McDonagh Cup in 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Hurling Nation: Microwave season too fast to savour
Good morning, Hurling Nation. We haven't reached the middle day of June and after tomorrow there's five inter-county championship games left. The crazy microwave season has given us another summer that's been too fast to savour. The Munster final gripped the imagination of the country. There will be no complaints from Cork but a replay was the most natural and fair outcome – an opportunity to promote the game and earn bonus money that could make a difference for grassroots hurling. But the microwave season leaves no room for breathing, let alone replays in the competition that's the golden fig leaf for the GAA's hurling shame. On Sunday, just before a dreary, badly-attended Leinster final, Kildare became one of the best stories of the year. They were young, fast, skillful and a joy to watch. They play again tomorrow, just six days later. Are this new exciting team on the television? Of course not. GAA's own GAA+ channel, which seems like it should be designed for such a service disdains the Joe McDonagh Cup until the final. You can watch Laois versus Tipperary. However, don't hold your breath. The last time Tipp played in one of these games, they put 7-38 past Offaly, who then stood where Laois now stand after losing the final. Did those experiences do Offaly any harm? They certainly didn't do them any good. Outside of Laois beating Dublin once, the average losing margin of the other nine involving McDonagh finalists has been 17 points. McDonagh finalists become McDonagh survivors a week later. The cup is a good idea badly executed. Nobody has made the breakthrough. Teams that win need support in keeping their energy going. They don't need to be put back in their box six days later. Tomorrow, get out to support Kildare playing Dublin in Newbridge and Laois playing Tipperary in Portlaoise. You probably won't see a thriller in either place but they've earned the support. Enjoy yourselves, it's later than you think. The stingy annual ration to hurling from those who've become gatekeepers of the game, not its guardians, is running out.
The 42
2 hours ago
- The 42
The great transfer gamble: Why League of Ireland clubs must not rely on add-ons for value
IT LOOKS LIKE Ringmahon Rangers have already won this summer's transfer window. The 20% sell-on clause that was included in the Cork club's deal that sent Caoimhín Kelleher to Liverpool in 2015 paid off when his transfer to Brentford was completed just after the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper linked up for international duty at the start of the month. Brentford paid an initial €15 million, which could rise to just over €21m depending on add-ons being triggered. Regardless, Ringmahon will receive a guaranteed €3m from Liverpool and, as per Fifa solidarity payments, an additional amount in the region of 2% of the transfer fee will be forthcoming from Brentford. Not only that, unlike the training compensation mechanism that ensures clubs who develop players from the age of 12 to 23 are properly remunerated, the solidarity payments are attached for every transfer a player makes throughout their professional career. So, should Kelleher's star rise in the Premier League and a club decides he is the first €50m Irish goalkeeper, Ringmahon and Rockmount (he spent half a year there) will be divvying up another 2% that is calculated by the recently-established Fifa Clearing House system. In November, the world governing body confirmed that just shy of €110m had been distributed to grassroots and professional clubs over the last two years, and around €200m more is pending. Advertisement A decade after Kelleher left for Anfield, Ringmahon finally hit the jackpot financially. That's because Liverpool's initial outlay for the teenager was only in the region of €50,000. And therein lies the great add-on gamble for clubs when players are moving on. In hindsight, Ringmahon's 20% sell-on clause with Kelleher was astute. In reality, it was a price the Premier League giants were more than willing to pay given the odds of it ever being triggered are stacked against any youngster leaving in their mid-teens. It was a win-win scenario for them. That's another element of this deal that seems like it's part of a bygone era for Irish football. A year after Kelleher left home for Merseyside, the United Kingdom voted for Brexit. That means no Irish youngster can join a club there until the age of 18. On the whole, League of Ireland clubs will be the ones creating the market for the most talented youngsters here. No longer will a Kelleher or a Nathan Collins leave these shores without being in the national league set-up. And, increasingly, grassroots clubs will likely be cut out of any major deals going forward as training compensation is due from the age of 12, and that is now the point at which many players are joining League of Ireland academies. The compensation system is currently as follows. Clubs are benchmarked into four different categories, with the big five leagues in Europe (England, Spain, Germany, France, Italy) and those top tier clubs in Argentina and Brazil in Category 1. League of Ireland Premier Division clubs fall into Category 2, First Division clubs here are in Category 3, and Category 4 are grassroots clubs. If a transfer is being worked out solely on compensation terms, then as it currently stands, a club receives €10,000, regardless of category, for each year a player spent with them from the ages of 12 to 15. It's once a player turns 16 that the categorisation comes into effect. For every year a player is there between the ages of 16 and 23, Category 1 clubs get €90,000, €60,000 for Category 2, €30,000 for Category 3, and €10,000 for Category 4. One major difference now when it comes to arranging compensation if an English, Scottish or Welsh club come calling is the fact they are no longer in the European Union. That means the category of the buying club determines the compensation. So, if Arsenal decide to sign a player who has been with Shamrock Rovers from 12 to 15, Rovers will receive €10,000 per year for those three years, but Arsenal will then have to shell out the maximum €90,000 per year for each year beyond that. The caveat, of course, is that League of Ireland clubs won't want to be relying on compensation figures for their best players. That is why it's vital to ensure professional contracts are in place so the transfer market can determine a player's value, and building up the marketplace over time here is pivotal. Take this summer, for example. With four Premier League clubs among those keen to sign Cathal O'Sullivan, the Republic of Ireland U21 international will most likely leave Cork City for a transfer fee that should be in the high six figures, potentially even seven. That's despite the fact his current contract runs out at the end of this season. If such a market didn't exist and the 18-year-old wasn't already a professional, were he to join a Premier League club, under the current training compensation system Cork would be entitled to €10,000 per season he was at the club from 12 until 15. After that, as England is outside the EU and he would be joining a Category One club, the compensation from ages 16 to 18 would be worth €90,000 per season. Cork, you can be sure, will insist on a sell-on and if O'Sullivan hits the heights like some expect, that should be a welcome bonus rather than relying on it so as not to feel short-changed. Further add-ons for senior international appearances will be built in too, and in the most recent case of Killian Phillips, who was capped twice for Ireland by Heimir Hallgrímsson, Drogheda United will still benefit despite St Mirren triggering the option to buy the midfielder last month after an impressive loan spell from Crystal Palace. The Premier League club signed Phillips from Drogheda but even though the Scottish side took up the option, his registration won't officially sign over until 1 July, which means he was technically still a Palace player and thus the original add-ons are valid as per the first transfer. That, again, shows the gamble that comes with such aspirational add-ons. It's why, for example, clubs here will make sure there are add-ons of varying value for any first-team appearances a former player makes while sent on loan – the cost depending on whether it's a Championship, League One or League Two they are sent to. Related Reads 'He was awful, that's the worst I've seen Josh' - Shamrock Rovers star heads for Ireland duty on a low Grounds for change in League of Ireland shines a light on anguish and joy in equal measure 'I'm not one bit mortified for myself, I'm mortified for the league': Damien Duff on that viral photo Mason Melia is a prime example of a standard-setting deal, the €2 million transfer to Tottenham Hotspur coming to fruition as a result of competing clubs in the marketplace, in this instance Everton and Celtic. Melia did also play for St Joseph's Boys and Bray Wanderers between the age of 12 to 14 so they will be due training compensation. But nothing like what St Pat's will rake in, and the Premier Division club also have not one but two sell-on clauses to ensure they maximise the earning potential from the deal. If that sounds cold and cynical, that's because it's how the business of the game works and it will be vital for League of Ireland clubs to build on this for a sustainable and profitable industry. Rovers, of course, have already shown their capabilities by earning the guts of €3m on Gavin Bazunu – because of various add-ons and a sell-ons – and the earlier reference to Arsenal is not completely plucked from thin air either as they are likely to confirm a deal with Rovers for 16-year-old Victor Ozhianvuna. It's expected that the guaranteed upfront amount for Ozhianvuna will set a new League of Ireland transfer record, and could potentially even rival what Ringmahon's speculative clause for Kelleher delivered. That is no slight on the Cork club, of course, as they were simply trying to get the best deal possible in the system they were operating in. But, in the 10 years since, the market has changed and so have the demands on League of Ireland clubs.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Evan Ferguson given reality check after Newcastle and Everton transfer links
Evan Ferguson has been told he doesn't need to leave the Premier League to get his career back on track. The former Bohemians forward burst onto the scene at Brighton in 2022, attracting interest from European heavyweights and even being valued at £100million. However, Ferguson's career has stalled over the last couple of years. He endured a barren 33-game streak without a goal at Brighton, which he only snapped last October. Then, after struggling for game time with the Seagulls, he had a fruitless loan spell at West Ham, which yielded no goals in eight appearances. With Brighton willing to cash in on the Ireland international, Newcastle, Everton and Bournemouth have been credited with an interest, while Celtic have also been mentioned as a potential destination. Ex-Ireland defender Richard Dunne, who began his career in English football at Everton, has faith that Ferguson can get his career back on track. Asked if the youngster should consider leaving the Premier League, Dunne, 45, told William Hill: 'Sometimes in football, you just have moves that don't work out or moments that don't work out. 'I remember when I started off at Everton, I played 10 or 11 games, thought I had done really well, came back the next season and never played a game. 'You have ups and downs throughout your career and it's just about how you react. I'm sure Evan will be desperate to get playing next year and if that means moving up the Premier League or down the Premier League, whatever it may be, I'm sure he'll do it.' Dunne believes Ferguson may just need one pre-season to discover the form that made him such a hot property. The former Manchester City and Aston Villa centre-back added: 'He's also a player who can turn back up in pre-season. 'He can score 10 goals in pre-season and become a number nine because he's a very, very good footballer. He just needs a run of games, a bit of confidence and a couple of goals. 'There'll be a hundred options for Evan in the summer and it's just sort of making sure he gets the one which is focused on him playing week in, week out.' Meanwhile, former Ireland and Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given believes Ferguson needs to move on for the good of both his club and international career. Per the Daily Record, Given said: 'Maybe because he burst onto the scene that everyone's been expecting so much so soon. But again, with young players, you need to have a bit of time. 'I just feel he's ready now to burst onto the scene for a full season with somebody. For us, with Ireland, it would be great too. "I don't know if the finances would be to buy him, but if you said for a loan for the season, it would be perfect. But I'm not the financial power at Celtic or Newcastle, so I don't know.'
