Munster Council chairman Jimmy O'Gorman has admitted that the attendance for last Sunday's Munster SHC semi-final between Tipperary and Clare was disappointing. A crowd in excess of 25,000 was expected, but just 20,872 turned up in the Gaelic Grounds to see Tipp withstand a late Clare rally to qualify for the final against Waterford. O'Gorman believes the lack of expectation in Clare contributed to the low attendance. "I thought we'd make 25,000 on Sunday. I think Clare didn't really come out and support the team but now they know that they should have. They have a great manager in Mike McNamara, a totally committed hurling man," he said. O'Gorman felt the attendance of just over 15,000 for Saturday's Munster SHC semi-final replay between his native Waterford and Limerick at Semple Stadium was a decent turnout given how badly both counties have been affected by the recession. He explained: "You must remember that they have suffered severely in the employment situation. Hundreds of jobs were lost at Waterford Crystal while the situation with Dell in Limerick has directly and indirectly affected thousands of jobs. "A lot of people working in those places are our hardcore fans while the weekend brought concerts and other attractions. "You must remember too that in 2002, when Clare played Tipperary in a Munster semi-final in Limerick, there were only 23,000 at the game when things were on the crest of a wave and people had surplus money. "We had 25,000 for the first Limerick-Waterford game, 12,000 from each county and 7,000 each on Saturday was not bad. We know that attendances are down but there is a valid reason why they are." Tweet

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