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Irish Examiner
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Munster set to seed Cork and Kerry in 2026 football championship
MUNSTER GAA top-brass are in favour of seeding Cork and Kerry in next year's Munster SFC, with a full provincial council vote on the matter to take place next month. Under the current structure, which seeds the previous year's finalists, Clare and five-in-a-row Munster champions Kerry are to receive semi-final draws for the third year in succession in 2026. Kerry and Clare can still be paired against one another in the last-four stage, but this has not happened on the two occasions they were the seeded duo. This current structure has been in place since 2015, but in the wake of Kerry overcoming the Banner by 14, seven, and 11 points respectively in the last three provincial deciders, Munster's management committee is now recommending a change to the existing format and instead seeding Cork and Kerry in 2026. The seeding of Cork, over beaten Munster finalists Clare, would be linked to Cork's higher League position this year. Cork finished fifth in Division 2, whereas Clare just missed out on promotion to the second tier when winding up third in Division 3 for the second year running. League positions, similar to the criteria for Sam Maguire involvement, would be the new Munster model of determining what two counties are seeded for the following year's provincial draw. There is quiet optimism the recommended seeding of Cork and Kerry will be passed, even in the face of expected Clare opposition. The proposal was outlined to counties at the most recent Munster Council meeting, with a vote to take place at the next meeting in July. In his match programme notes on the day of the Munster football final, provincial chairman Tim Murphy wrote: 'It is incumbent on us as a provincial council to review and consider what we can do better to further enhance Gaelic football as a spectacle within Munster and create the conditions and structures necessary to improve and enhance the game for players and spectators alike. 'We will be discussing this and working on what we can do to achieve the best possible outcome over the coming weeks and months.' The total attendance figure for this year's Munster SFC - 33,491 - was less than that which watched the drawn Munster final of 10 years ago. The Munster final crowd of 13,181, while bigger than the Kerry-Clare deciders of the past two years at Ennis (12,059) and Limerick (12,499) respectively, was still 59% down on the last non-Covid Munster football final - 2017- to take place in Killarney. It is now seven years - stretching back to the 2018 Cork-Kerry final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh - that a Munster football fixture has drawn a crowd in excess of 20,000. The average per game attendance for 2025 equates to a paltry 6,700. The Munster MFC also looks certain to be altered next season, the likely outcome that its structure will mirror the U20 format where Cork and Kerry are guaranteed a minimum of three games. At present in the minor championship, Cork and Kerry are guaranteed two championship outings, compared to three for Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford. The corresponding Munster MHC guarantees counties a minimum of four games. Cork minor football manager Keith Ricken touched on the issue following their nine-point All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Tyrone at the weekend. 'I said previously that the more games these lads play the better they will get, and that has been true. But they've played three games in Munster and one in the All-Ireland. Tyrone have played around 10 games between the Ulster league and championship. 'Until we kind of address that issue with the lack of games in Munster, then it's going to be a problem when you get into the All-Ireland series. Croke Park have called this minor, it's not minor, it's U17.' Elsewhere at Tuesday's behind-closed-doors Cork county board meeting, there was further criticism of both the executive's Munster hurling final ticket distribution and Munster Council's year-on-year ticket price increase for the game. The Cork executive was criticised for not allocating a single stand ticket to football-only clubs in their initial breakdown of ticket distribution. In the build-up to the game, St Nick's football club chairman Robert Brosnan told the Irish Examiner there was no need to distinguish between codes. 'There's enough people do that already without any good ground for it. Hurling is obviously No 1 in Cork, it is a sad state of affairs when the county board is backing that up,' said Brosnan. 'Even for an All-Ireland final, whether your county is involved or not, every club in the country receives two stand tickets. Our county is in the Munster final and we are not getting a stand ticket, not one.' Cork GAA CEO Kevin O'Donovan, in reply, said that due to demand, priority had to be given to hurling clubs over their football equivalents. The €50 and €40 stand and terrace tickets for last Saturday's game was also looked upon unfavourably by delegates, with comparison made to the €40 price for Leinster hurling final stand tickets.
Irish Examiner
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Stand ticket for Limerick-Cork Munster SHC final set at €50
Tickets for Saturday week's Munster SHC final have been priced at €50 for stand, €40 for the terrace, and €10 for U16s. As usual, €5 concession for students and OAPs is also available for the Limerick-Cork decider in TUS Gaelic Grounds, which is certain to be a sell-out with all tickets being distributed via the participating county board and season ticket holders. There is a €5 increase on stand, terrace and juvenile price points from last year's final between Limerick and Clare in Thurles. In line with the rises for round-robin tickets, it is the second jump in two years. In 2023, stand admission was €40 and terrace €30 for the Limerick-Clare clash at this year's venue. Unconsolidated attendances for the 10 round-robin games in Munster this year were 285,417, almost 15,000 more than last year's record figure of 270,750. With the Gaelic Grounds capacity currently just over 42,000, Munster GAA is expected to report another record-breaking crowd and gate receipt year for the competition. A total of 315,898 attended last year's 11 matches. The €50 stand charge to the hurling final is €20 more than what it cost to sit in Fitzgerald Stadium for the Kerry-Clare provincial senior football showdown last month. Meanwhile, there is already strong take-up among clubs for the free ticket initiative for U14s attending Sunday week's Leinster SHC and Joe McDonagh Cup final double-header in Croke Park. At the weekend, the Leinster Council announced they were making available 20,000 free tickets available for children to the Galway-Kilkenny and Kildare-Laois double-header. Thousands have already applied for the initiative where a minimum of 10 children will be allowed take in the games gratis providing they are accompanied by at least two supervising adults. Adult stand tickets are priced at €40 and €30 for Hill 16. Regular juvenile admission is €8. Read More Seánie McGrath: The Cork dressing room should be ravenous for Munster medals
Irish Examiner
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Munster SFC attendance slightly down from last year's total
The total attendance figure for this year's Munster SFC - 33,491 - was less than that which watched the drawn Munster final of 10 years ago. In the latest sign of the dwindling interest in the Munster football championship, the total attendance figure for the 2025 edition represented a slight decrease on last year's 35,823 equivalent. More worrying and, indeed, more telling, however, is that the overall 33,491 figure is smaller than the 35,651 which attended the 2015 Munster final drawn game between Cork and Kerry at Fitzgerald Stadium. The replay crowd of 32,233 wasn't far off either from standing taller than the combined total from this year's five-game series. Of the two provincial football finals played on Sunday, the crowd in Killarney was less than half the 27,137 that paid in for Galway-Mayo in Castlebar. The Munster final crowd of 13,181, while bigger than the Kerry-Clare deciders of the past two years at Ennis (12,059) and Limerick (12,499) respectively, was still 59% down on the last non-Covid Munster football final - 2017- to take place in Killarney. It is now seven years - stretching back to the 2018 Cork-Kerry final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh - that a Munster football fixture has drawn a crowd in excess of 20,000. The average per game attendance for 2025 equates to a paltry 6,700. Writing in Sunday's match programme, Munster chairman Tim Murphy accepted there is a body of work to be done to make their provincial football championship more attractive than is currently the case. 'Over recent years much has been said and written about the competitiveness and non-competitiveness of Munster football. "The Munster Football Championship received a badly needed boost two weeks ago when we witnessed an exhilarating semi-final clash between Cork and Kerry. The game, which went to extra-time, had everything that is good about Gaelic Football. 'The new rules are certainly contributing to the improvements, but it is incumbent on us as a provincial council to review and consider what we can do better to further enhance Gaelic Football as a spectacle within Munster and create the conditions and structures necessary to improve and enhance the game for players and spectators alike. 'We will be discussing this and working on what we can do to achieve the best possible outcome over the coming weeks and months.'
Irish Examiner
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
TV clock accuracy questioned following freezes during Connacht and Munster football finals
The use of the public clock in televised inter-county Gaelic football matches has been called into question following several freezes during the live broadcasts of Sunday's Connacht and Munster football finals. Several inaccuracies were provided to RTÉ viewers from both Mayo-Galway and Kerry-Clare games in Hastings Insurance McHale Park and Fitzgerald Stadium. In Castlebar, the clock was stopped on at least three occasions while action continued. Including one stoppage that lasted one minute and 39 seconds towards the end of the first half and two further halts in the second half the second of which was 1:23 in duration, the clock froze for three minutes and 33 seconds. The incidents in the transmission of the game in Killarney weren't as significant, although there were at least two periods when the clock didn't move as the ball was in play. The clocks used at the venues and by the broadcasters are not synchronised and it is understood a lack of clarity around referees's communications of 'time off' and 'time on' to the clock official who controls the stop clock have created difficulties for the likes of RTÉ, TG4 and even the GAA's own streaming service GAA+. Their respective on-site production teams have to interpret such signals and in some of their broadcasts the clock as shown in the top left corner is stopped to allow it to sync up with the one in the grounds. In March, the GAA's Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) advised Central Council that updates were urgently required to avoid discrepancies between the clocks. 'We feel it is also essential that modifications are made to existing clocks to allow for TV Broadcast synchronisation (i.e. to ensure the same time is being displayed on the clock in the grounds as on TV).' The use of the public clock and hooter had been a major concern for the GAA's media broadcasters. In January, Nemeton's head of sport Maidchí Ó Súilleabháin warned of the challenges of synchronising the two timekeeping systems. 'The referee will stop the clock for injuries, substitutions, and other stoppages, but the broadcast team will rely on a visual cue from the referee to manually stop or restart their clock,' he said. 'Any delay or miscommunication could lead to a mismatch between the TV and on-field clocks, causing confusion for viewers. This dependence on physical signals from the referee highlights a potential flaw in the system, making accurate synchronisation a logistical hurdle for broadcasters.' The inaccuracy of what was presented on TV on Sunday was in contrast to an Armagh-Tyrone Division 1 football game in Box-It Athletic Grounds in February when the scoreboard lost power and players, management and those in attendance were not aware of what time was remaining. However, those at home had no issue. The clock/hooter is set to apply to this weekend's Leinster and Ulster SFC finals but will feature in only one of the eight Tailteann Cup games, the Westmeath-Antrim Group 3 game in Mullingar. The timing of the other seven will be controlled by the referee in question. The following week, two of the four Group 1 games as chosen for streaming by GAA+ will be subject to the public clock and the other two under the remit of the referee. The Galway v Dublin Group 4 and Kerry v Roscommon Group 2 matches are expected to be selected, the other two games being Mayo v Cavan (Group 1) and Clare v Down (Group 3). That distinction between televised/streamed games and those not shown live follows a Central Council decision on foot of a recommendation by the CCCC that the clock/hooter only be used for televised or streamed games. The rationale behind the call was a financial and logistical one as the CCCC estimated an initial cost of €250,000 to fit the required technology in each championship venue so as to ensure 'the risk of reputational damage/system failure is mitigated. 'It is unfortunate,' said Football Review Committee (FRC) chairman Jim Gavin, whose body recommended the technology be introduced to Gaelic football this year and claimed in March that it was having an 'overwhelmingly positive impact'. He continued: 'Obviously, from an FRC perspective, we'd like to see it everywhere.' Last month, the Kildare-Westmeath Leinster quarter-final in Newbridge was subject to the stop clock as it was streamed on GAA+. The following day's provincial clash between Louth and Laois at the same venue wasn't as it wasn't being screened. The clock/hooter has been a headache for the CCCC, who in March convinced Central Council to allow play to continue following the sounding of the hooter until the ball goes dead. Also backed by the FRC, the amendment came into force into Division 1 and 2 for the final two rounds of the Allianz League, but it has led to confusing situations for some players, the most high profile incidents involving Cavan's Dara McVeety and Louth's Craig Lennon.
