jacktheDub (Dublin) - Posts: 944 - 29/08/2017 20:06:15    2040348

Have a season ticket so I'm sorted but the ticket dilemma every year drives people daft, if it were up to me this is what I would do, in Mayo the Co Board tell every club in January to send them the names of every club officer, managers and trainers from adult to underage, after that every player has to pay membership and insurance, no player is allowed to play without being insured but some clubs muddy the waters and they play, anyway names of players are also sent to the co board so by September the co board know the name of every club officer, managers, trainers and players, rural clubs may hit around 70-80 names and town clubs more but if you have an average of 100 names per club and in Mayo I think it's in or around 60 clubs and they get 1 ticket each, no ticket for partners, season ticket holders only get 1 ticket per person, that's 6000 tickets for clubs, if clubs look for 100 extra for club members, sponsors etc that's a further 6000 and season ticket holders are some say 3500 others say 5000, that's 6000+6000+5000=17000 tickets. If Dublin get 25000 tickets that's 42000 tickets for both teams, that leaves 41 42000 tickets for the minor teams and for every club in the country, other sponsors, past Presidents, etc, surely that would reduce the nonsense every year. The GAA will say that genuine fans will always get tickets well I went to every game in 2012 and by pure luck I got a ticket at 10pm the night before the game and in 2013 also went every game and was sitting at home for the final, I wouldn't travel to Dublin without a match ticket, so it's just by chance genuine fans get a ticket and from what I'm hearing yesterday and today tickets are next to impossible, for some reason word is that a lot of tickets are heading overseas to attract promotion for our games abroad

riverboys (Mayo) - Posts: 1389 - 29/08/2017 22:54:24    2040468

I'll just do what I usually do on final day and ask on the streets. Avoiding the ticket touts at all costs. Would rather miss the game than pay their silly prices. Have been lucky in getting tickets over the past few years due to someones misfortune in not being available on the day. (How can you sleep in????)
I find genuine fans decent enough and only asking face value. I usually throw in the price of a couple of pints as a handling fee.
You'll find me around O'Connell Street or Croke Park Hotel
Hint Hint

Kirkintilloch (Donegal) - Posts: 43 - 29/08/2017 23:58:27    2040528

I'm a club secretary. Our club is very active by the standards of overseas GAA, so we usually get one (maximum two) tickets for the football and hurling finals each year. Unfortunately though, we have a disproportionate number of members from Dublin relative to most overseas clubs, and thus this always leads to disappointments for All-Ireland tickets. I was the sole Mayo member for a long time, but another fella joined us this year, adding further competition. We had a draw last year and I missed out, so will have to tap connections at home.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 30/08/2017 06:43:53    2040548

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1105 - 30/08/2017 06:52:53    2040551

I should add that I've been at all of the recent finals Mayo have been in, with the exception of 2013 ( was too broke at the time to fly back for it) and all of those finals have seen a massive, ticketless Mayo presence. Last year's drawn final was by far the worst for this, I was on Dorset St. three hours before throw-in in the senior match and saw loads of Mayo fans asking around.

There are always spares floating around, though. In 2012, I was over with a Donegal friend whose brother got one an hour before throw-in. If you have the desire, you'll usually get one, and genuine fans will usually ask face-value or thereabouts.

The system is too weighted towards insiders, though. There's no reason, for example, why past presidents/members of the Ard Chomhairle should get quite as many tickets as they do, with the competing counties getting so few.

Also, club draws at home are a very long shot if you come from a town club with a large membership. Castlebar Mitchels, for example, have about 900 members and will receive a fraction of that number in tickets, and so there will be a lot of disappointed people around.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 30/08/2017 12:29:49    2040692

GaaGaa78 (UK) - Posts: 285 - 30/08/2017 13:13:22    2040715

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 30/08/2017 13:40:50    2040728

Severe shortage of hurling tickets around this year by the looks of it.
Normally I would be able to pick up one fairly ok from contacts/locality, but they seem very thin on the ground this year.
I often got sorted on the Saturday before the hurling final, not too hopefully of securing one this weekend.

Anyone in the same boat feeling the pinch on the shortage of tickets? The tickets were plentiful in recent years, but I guess that had a lot to do with the Kilenny/Tipp sagas.

louthman57 (Louth) - Posts: 292 - 31/08/2017 08:26:12    2040986

Think on final days there should be an agreed area around Croke where spare tickets can be sold. Every year I must wear out a pair of shoes walking between Croke and O'Connell Street looking for tickets.
My voice also goes after asking thousands of times "any spare tickets"

Kirkintilloch (Donegal) - Posts: 43 - 31/08/2017 10:06:12    2041028

hooknblock (Waterford) - Posts: 5 - 31/08/2017 11:14:23    2041063

I'm a Dublin hurling season ticket holder (for my sins) and the years Kilkenny are in the All Ireland final I usually get an email from the GAA telling me that as a season ticket holder I can buy tickets for the Hill/Nally as it's not anticipated to be a sell out. That only happens when Kilkenny are involved, don't think that will ever happen when another county is involved and not a chance in hell it'll happen this year unfortunately!

GaaGaa78 (UK) - Posts: 285 - 31/08/2017 14:12:26    2041167

Dissapointing to see both county boards are suggesting they will have 30thousand each at the final, that Leaves over 20thousand tickets that go elsewhere.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 31/08/2017 18:46:41    2041298

Carlow have never been in an All Irl final on either the first or third Sunday in Sept. We get very few tickets down here. Most clubs get 5 or 6 max. That is not many to share with the members who promote the game just as hard as in any county or in the competing counties...

All county players get the chance to buy two tickets... So the hurling lads get to buy two in every county in the country. That adds a lot to those from competing counties. Same for football county squad members. That is a fairly recent addition. Nobody would begrudge them their chance to see the big one.

As I see it people should not expect to get a ticket because they 'follow' the county solely. Those who train and coach teams in my opinion should have a better than average chance of getting a ticket if they want to go to the All Irlenad. The people I see from Carlow going to the All Ireland's are those involved at club level up to their necks.

That's the way it should be unless we put a third and fourth and fifth tier on the stands and put about 6 tiers on the Hill to bring the capacity to around 200.000!!!!! tickets are always very very hard to get when we have a novel pairing in the final like this Sunday. Always going to be like that.

carlowman (Carlow) - Posts: 1820 - 31/08/2017 20:15:31    2041315

hooknblock (Waterford) - Posts: 5 - 01/09/2017 09:43:59    2041485

Dubsfan28 (Dublin) - Posts: 2509 - 01/09/2017 12:20:37    2041540

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 01/09/2017 12:57:04    2041569

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 01/09/2017 13:02:07    2041573

TDs who represent the counties involved are allowed to purchase a ticket for the All-Ireland Final.

Senators are not allowed to do this.

I, like many, love a bit of politician bashing but I actually don't think it's the worst thing in the world that public representatives of constituencies that are involved are allowed to buy a ticket.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13704 - 01/09/2017 13:47:19    2041592

PaudieSull1 (Down) - Posts: 738 - 01/09/2017 14:24:02    2041601