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2019 Attendances - 4 Like(s)
Replying To OpenStand: "Only tickets for lower levels on sale at present ?
Doesn't indicate a massive crowd been expected to travel to Dublin from the regions .
Still reckon moving the fixture from Thurles to Dublin will have halved the amount from Limerick and Waterford in attendance . Also Kerry in particular will not travel for a league final to Dublin despite the fact Kerry could get 12,000 in Tralee or Killarney for a home league game ." I think the football league final must be in Croke Park due to games that are guaranteed when 5 and 10 year tickets are purchased. Thurles would be ideal for the hurling.
You have to question the marketing though. Some array of talent on show on Croke Park on Sunday. The 2 main contenders to stop the 5 in a row going head to head. The 2 most exciting young footballers in the country in David Clifford and Sean O'Sé on show.
In the hurling you have the current All Ireland champions and the previous years runners up. some intriguing battles - Arron Gillane vs Noel Connors for example.
There is probably more media hype about Connaught's challenge cup game at the weekend.
tomhealycork (National) - 28/03/2019 10:01:13
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Admission To League Games Set To Increase - 3 Like(s)
Replying To DonaldDuck: "Indeed. GAA "people" are the most overly price-sensitive fans around.
I looked up the price of tickets for Connacht's Pro-14 match against the Cheetahs next month. Bear in mind the Cheetah's have lost 7 and won only 3 of their 10 games to date. I've seen betting odds of Connacht minus 10 points on the handicap so I think it is fair to say the outcome is pretty much predictable.
The cost of a ticket for the main TERRACE is 32 Eur for an adult and 28 Eur for students and senior citizens over 66. The behind the goal terrace is 27.50 for an adult, 22 Eur for students and senior citizens.
And the thing is...the ground will probably be close to capacity and nobody will be complaining!!
20 EUR is enough for the National Leagues but it is not excessive.
PoolSturgeon (Galway) - Posts: 1115 - 1/20/19 9:55:23 PMAnd nobody will complain because they know the costs of running games as well as everything else.
20 quid for national league isnt excessive at all.
They are savage prices for the Rugby. Amazing it's draw at the moment. Connaught would probably draw bigger crowds than most football counties for league games and that Pro14 is awful stuff, teams playing second and 3rd string players, almost throwing away games ..
I have always defended the GAA prices I felt they were excellent value compared to other sports. The 5 euro kids championship ticket is great value. However I do think 20 is a bit much for a league game. This across the board pricing is a bit of a blunt object too. Cork footballers draw crowds of a only a few hundred, there is a plan in place to promote football in the county, this is just another deterrent. Maybe 20 makes sense for some teams. - division 1A in hurling and some top football teams but it is nuts for teams already struggling to draw a crowd.
tomhealycork (Cork) - Posts: 14 - 1/21/19 9:08:05 AMare they really "savage prices"?
You dont watch pro14 if you call it "awful stuff" and it isnt teams with second/third string players or throwing/almost throwing away games
Correct me if I am wrong, but do the lads who play for Connacht and other Pro14 teams not get paid? If so then the entrance fee is contributing towards those salaries and of course will be expected to be higher. If you want to compare like with like then should you not be comparing it to the AI Rugby Leagues (or close to like for like as I know there are payments made to players in Irish League rugby). And if so, what are the prices in to a Div 1A Rugby match for instance of a Saturday?
Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 3709 - 1/21/19 10:07:46 AMAIL prices can be around a tenner per adult. I wouldnt be comparing them to national league. Not like for like comparison." I actually watch plenty of Pro14. I really enjoy a competitive rugby match. My son goes to all the Munster games and I go the the ones in Cork with him. Here is my summary of the Munster home Pro14 games this year.
Munster Rugby 38-0 Toyota Cheetahs - awful uncompetitive waste of money
Munster Rugby 49-13 Ospreys - Went to it - awful uncompetitive waste of money
Munster Rugby 64-7 Ulster Rugby - awful uncompetitive waste of money
Munster Rugby 25-24 Glasgow Warriors - very enjoyable game
Munster Rugby 44-14 Edinburgh Rugby - Went to it - awful uncompetitive waste of money
Munster Rugby 26-17 Leinster Rugby - decent game
Rugby fans seen different in the sense that they rarely criticise the game be it a dour struggle or a onesided washout. There are a lot of kids in Musgrave Park who cheer every try even where Munster are 40 points ahead of a side that have lost the will to live not to mind win.
If Limerick hurlers send down an brutal team to Cork and get beaten by 30 points because they are minding their players for another competition I'd call that awful stuff too. The gap between Munster and many of the teams they hammered here isn't that big but many teams are picking an choosing the games they target making a lot of games very disappointing and very poor value for money.
tomhealycork (National) - 23/01/2019 14:41:17
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Hurling: Carlow -32 And Waterford -39 - 3 Like(s)
Replying To legendzxix: "Carlow's loss margin has been less than Waterford after 3 games played each.
It's important that McDonagh Cup teams can close the gap that has existed between the top 9 and the next group.
Will we see a day when a McDonagh Cup team can lower a provincial team's colours in a preliminary quarter-final? It'll take such a result to put the McDonagh Cup firmly on the map." It would be great to see Carlow come up to the level of the top 9 counties but it's going to be very hard because there just enough hurling played in the county. Comparisons of Waterford and Carlow based on this stat are off the wall. Waterford were in the League final. If Carlow made the League Final it would be the story of the decade, possibly the greatest ever GAA story! Waterford are having a terrible year, there is loads of good young hurlers coming from Waterford, they'll bounce back.
I'd love to see Carlow compete with the top teams. Clubs wise Antrim and Westmeath are probably better placed to make the step up. Wouldn't it be great to see a huge investment made in the McDonagh Cup teams (and Carlow). I mean proper money, something like what was done in Dublin. Give them full time coaches and every support, money to rent halls to have kids hurling in the winter, really drive the game at underage ..
That gap hasn't been closed in the GAA's history, would such a plan work, who knows? Mad that it hasn't been tried though.
tomhealycork (National) - 04/06/2019 11:19:26
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Attendances 2020 - 2 Like(s)
Replying To KillingFields: "It's a lot more than 5k at games in thomond. No away fans at all really at majority of Munster games not an issue with gaa" Just to clarify I wasn't slagging off Munster rugby or anything. I'd often go to their games too. The Pro14 does them no favours, you rarely have 2 strong teams going at it and that is being reflected in attendances.
There was 10k at the pro14 quarter final in Thomond last year. Season tickets didn't cover this one so it was an actual attendance and it was double what I have seen there for some Pro14 games in the same venue earlier in the year. Here is a link to validate my figure - [url=]https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/sport/380045/munster-escape-to-victory-against-gallant-benetton-in-pro14-play-off.html
Again though this is not to slag off rugby. Limerick hurlers we bringing in a lot less than 5k for league games for many years. Cork footballers are barely get 1 or 2k. My point is just that it is great to see the league growing and such an appetite for gaelic games at the moment.
tomhealycork (National) - 04/02/2020 14:32:09
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Early Galway Exit A Financial Loss To GAA - 2 Like(s)
I can't see the Lenister final getting near the 60k that attended the Galway Wexford final 2 years ago. I think that game really burst the Wexford bubble. The "Davy bounce" was in full flow back then. Promotion, first championship win over the cats in years, anything seemed possible. The comprehensive Galway defeat and subsequent tame enough exit to Waterford resulted in the supporters losing confidence in the team or Davy or both. None of their home games in the round robin this year or last have sold out, even the visits of Galway of Kilkenny. Assuming the Cats brought 5k on saturday that would mean only 10k Wexford fans attended.
40/45k would be a good Leinster final crowd, a Wexford win would see them bring a huge crowd to the All Ireland Semi final. I think they need something big to reel in the casual supporter again, a Leinster final win over the Cats would tick that box nicely for them.
tomhealycork (National) - 17/06/2019 09:48:29
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Attendances 2020 - 2 Like(s)
Football
Cork Derry 1,874
Mayo kerry 8,069
Hurling
Clare Dublin 3,360
Galway Cork 4,564
Tipp Waterford 6,411
Wexford Carlow 3,306
tomhealycork (National) - 03/03/2020 10:01:13
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2019 Attendances - 2 Like(s)
Replying To PoolSturgeon: "It depends how you look at it. For the most part, games are being keenly contested, mainly because new players are trying to impress and because of local/ traditional rivalries. For instance, teams in Munster won't concede an inch to each other and it would be the same if it was a charity match for the opening of a pitch or something of real importance. They'll like to think they'll gain some kind of small psychological edge for the summer by winning, even if they know that there isn't really one. But does the result matter? Not at all!
The Pro-14 rugby comparison doesn't stand because it is a professional game and they have to hype it up in order to keep the money flowing because careers and teams depend on it. I presume the financial dividends are structured similar to the way they are in the English Premiership....the higher up the league a team finishes the more money they earn...11th earns more than 12th etc. So the incentive to be competitive is real and it doesn't matter that there's no promotion/relegation." There is no such thing as "11th earns more than 12th" in the Pro14, money is distributed through the unions. Hence all the 2nd / 3rd strings you see. There may not be relegation (this year only) but division 1A hurling is a million times more competitive than the Pro14 rugby. My son is a big Munster fan and I often along with him. Games down in Cork are usually very one sided and uncompetitive. Munster have won their 3 games down here by an average of 36 points! This is no aberration last years stat is similar.
tomhealycork (National) - 18/02/2019 18:30:37
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Shane Ross Comments On Facilities - 2 Like(s)
As time moves on the the glamour and draw of professional sports is becoming greater. When I grew up you dreamt of playing for your county. There is still a bit of that but it is mostly Man Utd, Ireland even munster now. There is a sense of you'd be mad not to get paid for your talent. A rugby play goes on the Late Late and it's great craic, a GAA player goes on and it more of a - you are great but you must regret not picking a sport that you could have made a career from. There is definitely a battle going on for the hearts and minds of the youth going on.
Pro Sports Advantages
1) Glamour / celebrity status hugely appealing to modern day kids
2) Big money
3) Massive exposure through infinite TV games
Pro Sports Disadvantages
1) Wages - a constant drain on resources
2) Lack of facilities
3) Lack of clubs
GAA Advantages
1) Excellent Facilities
2) Clubs in every parish
3) Greater sense of community
4) Money available to fund clubs - they have enough for what they do
GAA Disadvantages
1) Kids bombarded with Pro Sports form all angles
2) Difficult to hold on to top talent
Not an exhaustive list but for the GAA to make good 2 of the 3 big disadvantages for professional sports in exchange for a bit more money would be madness.
There are many towns and villages in rural Ireland with no rugby or soccer facilities, they have a GAA club and are tight on numbers. To open up those GAA facilities to 2 competing sports and dilute your numbers would be a crazy move. There would be no club in a few years.
tomhealycork (National) - 31/01/2019 09:53:20
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Diarmuid Connolly - 2 Like(s)
Lots of great players retiring now on the eve of championship - Colm Cavanagh, Adrian Marren and Connolly to name but a few. Strange timing, if you hung in there this long you'd be mad not to see out the compressed championship.
Given the timing I'd imagine these men were willing to give it another lash but told they were surplus to requirements. Best of luck to them, they have provided us with some serious entertainment over the years.
tomhealycork (National) - 01/10/2020 11:00:25
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Attendances 2020 - 1 Like(s)
5,605 Kilkenny Dublin
7,654 Galway Wmeath / Gal Monaghan
4,466 Armagh Cavan
11,867 Tipp Limerick
tomhealycork (National) - 27/01/2020 10:18:25
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2019 Attendances - 1 Like(s)
3,039 at the Waterford Clare Munster Hurling League clash in Dungarvan
tomhealycork (National) - 11/01/2019 11:36:54
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2019 Attendances - 1 Like(s)
Replying To TheUsername: "Some interesting analysis looking at the total attendances in the provinces thus far, Munster Hurling growing, Leinster Hurling slightly down, Leinster football marginal increases, Ulster up significantly (probably helped with replays), Connacht has dipped maybe surprisingly so though the Galway and Mayo fixture last year may account for that, Munster football attendances are down 50% on last year that is a startling unraveling figure.
Munster Hurling
2019 180,387
2018 170,104
Leinster Hurling
2019: 68220
2018: 79248
Leinster SF
2019: 71501
2018: 71304
Ulster SF
2019: 106067
2018: 70197
Connacht SF
2019: 45101
2018: 55630
Munster SF
2019: 12349
2018: 24191" There is no big crisis or story with those Munster football attendances to be honest. 3/5k is about standard for Munster semi finals for as long as I can remember. If Kerry are at home to a Clare or Tipp they would draw a bigger crowd. Last year they drew a huge crowd (17k I think) down to it being David Clifford's championship debut. This year Kerry were away and Cork were at a low ebb. Plus both games clashed with the champions league final containing 2 of our beloved English teams! So there certainly wasn't any records going to be broken!
The Munster final crowd next week will be interesting. This was always 40/45k pre back door but slipped to mid 20's after. When Cork and Kerry were both contending for All Ireland's a 5/10 years ago Killarney crowds got back to 30/35k. The crowd for a Pairc Ui Caoimh Munster final never picked up though 20/25k is about the standard. Strangely it is always the Kerry terrace that is close to empty. They tend to bring a very small crowd across the border post back door even when this game was more competitive.
tomhealycork (National) - 17/06/2019 09:58:37
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Shane Ross Comments On Facilities - 1 Like(s)
Replying To DonaldDuck: "As time moves on the the glamour and draw of professional sports is becoming greater. When I grew up you dreamt of playing for your county. There is still a bit of that but it is mostly Man Utd, Ireland even munster now. There is a sense of you'd be mad not to get paid for your talent. A rugby play goes on the Late Late and it's great craic, a GAA player goes on and it more of a - you are great but you must regret not picking a sport that you could have made a career from. There is definitely a battle going on for the hearts and minds of the youth going on.
Pro Sports Advantages
1) Glamour / celebrity status hugely appealing to modern day kids
2) Big money
3) Massive exposure through infinite TV games
Pro Sports Disadvantages
1) Wages - a constant drain on resources
2) Lack of facilities
3) Lack of clubs
GAA Advantages
1) Excellent Facilities
2) Clubs in every parish
3) Greater sense of community
4) Money available to fund clubs - they have enough for what they do
GAA Disadvantages
1) Kids bombarded with Pro Sports form all angles
2) Difficult to hold on to top talent
Not an exhaustive list but for the GAA to make good 2 of the 3 big disadvantages for professional sports in exchange for a bit more money would be madness.
There are many towns and villages in rural Ireland with no rugby or soccer facilities, they have a GAA club and are tight on numbers. To open up those GAA facilities to 2 competing sports and dilute your numbers would be a crazy move. There would be no club in a few years.
tomhealycork (Cork) - Posts: 18 - 1/31/19 9:53:20 AM You are seriously deluded...
When you say pro sports lack of facilities? Lacking what/where?
What clubs are lacking/where?
You are seriously generalising things. Saying GAA has excellent facilities overall.
There isnt many towns with no soccer facilities and rugby is in all major towns and is increasing number of clubs year on year.
Think over 2018/2019 so far there has been at least 4 new rugby clubs set up" What I mean is there are loads of small villages around the country with fine GAA pitches and changing rooms. Many have indoor facilities and gyms too. Rugby is confined for the most part to big towns and the cities.
You are kind of proving my point in saying "Think over 2018/2019 so far there has been at least 4 new rugby clubs set up". Rugby is on the crest of a wave at the moment. Imagine how many rugby clubs would be set up if they were granted access to the GAA pitch on every town and village in the country? A lot more. Why would the GAA facilitate a rival sport to spring up in village where they are already tight on numbers?
tomhealycork (National) - 01/02/2019 15:29:48
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2019 Attendances - 1 Like(s)
Replying To PoolSturgeon: ""....a competitive hurling match....." With no promotion or relegation, there is no such thing as a "competitive" hurling match in the league this year no matter how keenly contested some of the games turn out to be. In the overall scheme of things, it doesn't matter a whit whether your county team wins or loses. The exception is for counties like Laois/Offaly/Carlow for whom winning and losing is huge. Given all that, crowds have been remarkably good this year in the hurling league, probably due to the amount of patrons who are season ticket holders. Galway are reported to have sold out their allocation of hurling season tickets this year which certainly accounts for a much bigger following we are bringing to away matches. We had a noticeably large following at our away match in Carlow which wouldn't normally be the case." It was still competitive, you don't need relegation to make it competitive. There is no relegation in the Pro14 rugby either, any season in fact.
These were 2 well matched teams who both really wanted to win. It was there and there was a good edge to it. 5 league games isn't a lot to get your house in order. Cork in particular could do with games to sort things out and I'm sure both teams wanted would like to qualify for the quarter finals. Plenty there to make it competitive and it certainly was.
tomhealycork (National) - 18/02/2019 11:53:07
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Attendances 2020 - 1 Like(s)
3,800 Donegal Galway - played at O'Donnell Park, Letterkenny
Didn't see many any crowds announced this weekend. Looked like they were well down due to the weather and moves to smaller venues.
tomhealycork (National) - 10/02/2020 10:35:10
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2019 Attendances - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Jack_Goff: "It would be wise of the GAA to heavily invest in football in Cork, Limerick, Tipp and Clare. Kerry need no money as they are well off. You could probably argue cork too but they've a big debt to pay off. The likes of Clare, Tipp and Limerick however should be focus points for the GAA but they don't seem to care.
Do your figures for munster hurling this year include this weekends matches? How do the total numbers for 2018 stack up to 2019?" Here is the full list of the announced hurling attendances. Few blanks for Leinster games. Massive crowds in Munster, just under the 20k average last year up to 23,663 this year.
Clare Waterford 11,012
Cork Tipp 30,274
Tipp Waterford 22,883
Limerick Cork 31,274
WFord Limerick 10,874
Clare Tipp 18,216
Cork Waterford 26,521
Limerick Clare 29,611
Clare Cork 16,856
Tipp Limerick 39,115
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Total 236,636
Average 23,663
KK Dublin 9,495
Galway Carlow 6,097
Carlow KK 7,050
Dublin Wexford ??
Galway Wexford 12,624
Carlow Dublin ??
Wexford Carlow 6,500
KK Galway 15,778
Wexford KK 15,241
Dublin Galway ??
tomhealycork (National) - 17/06/2019 15:46:32
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The Next MAJOR Change In The GAA Will Be... - 1 Like(s)
With the possession game lads can strike the ball over 100 meter's comfortably by working the ball to a player who can get a clean strike out of his hand creating a problem for smaller pitches used for other sports. I'd like to see a 9 or 11 side game with no catching allowed. Without catching the possession game would be a lot more difficult to execute, players would be striking under pressure and should lessen the distance the ball traveled though it mightn't be enough.
I think it would be some sight though, players striking let and right off the stick. Over head pulling, a great skill but on that has little place in the modern game would become a core skill again.
I actually thing some reduction in the about of ball handling in the current game would be worth looking at too. Games with 50+ scores and another 10-20 wides don't tend to be great spectacles so something like this could be an interesting experiment.
tomhealycork (National) - 08/05/2020 14:12:04
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What Makes A Great Footballer - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Whammo86: "Honestly this is just such complete rubbish.
Did you see Jack McCaffrey, Sean O'Shea, David Moran or Brian Howard in the first game?
Then there was Murchan, Fenton and Mannion in the replay.
Players take on their man all the time.
These players are pure class.
Murchan is a corner back who roasted a midfielder and slotted the ball into bottom corner with the outside of his foot after a 50 yard run.
Paddy Durcan, Con O'Callaghan, Peter Harte, Cathal McShane, Michael Murphy, Paddy McBrearty, Conor McManus, Eoin McHugh.
I actually pity people who can't appreciate these guys. I don't know what game you're watching if you can't see the skills on show.
They're proper ballers these lads and they're testing each other more than players ever did back in the day.
The decision making is at a level that wasn't even a consideration 20 years ago." Excellently put. To me Gaelic football has almost the perfect balance of skill, fitness and power. The players name checked are incredible both athletically and skill wise. Even in the era when blanked defenses were ultra prominent we were treated to the speed of thought and movement likes of Gooch, Donnacha O'Connor and Bernard Brogan to create space and unlock them. A challenge infinitely greater than any of the forwards of previous generations faced.
It always did my head in when you had every Tom, Dick and Harry saying there was no skill in gaelic football anymore while lauding a relatively minor skill in that they might see in a rugby game (which I also enjoy). I suppose that's just the nature of it. If the TV pundits say something is awful or amazing often enough the average Joe will take the same line. Some of the older pundits seemed to have a "twas better in my day" agenda
I'd rather the Dubs weren't so dominant but one positive is that they have made the general public sit up and admire not just them but also gaelic football again.
tomhealycork (National) - 15/10/2019 15:52:41
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Covid Supervisor Legalities - 1 Like(s)
Just wondering what are the legalities around this job.
If there is a covid out break and it turns out there was no hot water or some player hadn't done the return to play course and was left train. Or the supervisor missed out on a health check form.
Basically be it that he/she has done a totally inadequate job or made an honest mistake are there legal ramifications to the person who has taken on this role?
tomhealycork (National) - 23/06/2020 17:50:53
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Galway V Wexford- Summer Hurling At It's Best. - 1 Like(s)
Replying To galwayford: "What a glorious match today in the sunshine in Pearse stadium. Great skills, great scores and great amateur players. All that is great about the GAA." I actually enjoyed the battle myself, much more so than I did Cork and Tipperary where despite witnessing some incredible skills from Bubbles, Horgan and the like, the game bored me a bit. Every puck out lead to a shot and usually a score. It was very open.
The skill level was lower in Pearse stadium, I'd imagine the Atlantic wind played havoc with the shooting to be fair but it was a great war, more like hurling of old at times. I enjoyed the Kilkenny Galway 0-18 a piece draw last year too. Some times the high scoring shootouts can completely lack intensity.
tomhealycork (National) - 29/05/2019 09:30:14
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