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Tailteann Cup Crowd Issues

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I attended the Tailteann cup semi finals yesterday. To say the crowd organisation was a mess is an understatement. Initially only the Hogan Stand was opened as the Gaa anticipated less than 10,000 fans would attended. Whoever picked that figure obviously has no understanding of the interest in all 4 counties. The fact that tickets were unreserved rather than numbered was crazy. Between games as the majority of Laois/Down crowd were coming in a d the Meath/Antrim crowd were leaving, its lucky nobody was hurt. My 8 year old was terrified and crying his eyes out as he thought he was going to be crushed .Added to that, the amount of fans that were clearly drunk was a shock to me. I have been attending Croke Park since 1982 and was suprised at the level of drinking in the concourse yesterday. I felt sorry for the stewards as they were doing their best Dessie15 (Westmeath) - Posts: 215 - 26/06/2023 08:07:01 2489363 Link
I don't think the drinking problem is confined to Tailteann Cup. I had 2 pints before the hurling matches on Saturday but at 4pm there were people 3 sheets to the wind in the pub and there was a group of young Tipp lads came in behind us for their match only who were completely inebriated and made it an unpleasant experience for everyone. Its a problem at every match now though and I don't have the answer. ExiledInWex (Dublin) - Posts: 1320 - 26/06/2023 09:53:53 2489389 Link
Replying To Dessie15: "I attended the Tailteann cup semi finals yesterday. To say the crowd organisation was a mess is an understatement. Initially only the Hogan Stand was opened as the Gaa anticipated less than 10,000 fans would attended. Whoever picked that figure obviously has no understanding of the interest in all 4 counties. The fact that tickets were unreserved rather than numbered was crazy. Between games as the majority of Laois/Down crowd were coming in a d the Meath/Antrim crowd were leaving, its lucky nobody was hurt. My 8 year old was terrified and crying his eyes out as he thought he was going to be crushed .Added to that, the amount of fans that were clearly drunk was a shock to me. I have been attending Croke Park since 1982 and was suprised at the level of drinking in the concourse yesterday. I felt sorry for the stewards as they were doing their best" I have actually observed that the level of drinking amongst younger fans is actually on the increase. I have been cognisant of this at games recently and it isn't nice sitting in the vicinity of drunk young fans. Stewards are turning a blind eye to this at matches. With some of these fans it isn't actually drink either , it is other substances involved also. roseyinthegarden (Wicklow) - Posts: 126 - 26/06/2023 10:22:09 2489412 Link
Any word on official attendance OpenStand (Limerick) - Posts: 735 - 26/06/2023 10:31:00 2489420 Link
Agreed, I was there yesterday and it was a mess. The unreserved seating was a shambles. As soon as the first match was over you had lots of the Meath/Antrim crowd leaving, you had people only coming in at that stage for the second match and you had people who were stuck in the Canal who were trying to get around to the vacated seats in the lower Hogan for a better seat. They all converged on the one concourse at the same team all trying to move in different directions, and then you had people queuing for toilets and food/drink blocking the way for thousands of people. A mess, and as you say, lucky people weren't hurt. Laoisvillian (Laois) - Posts: 87 - 26/06/2023 10:54:32 2489436 Link
I got my first chance to join the Prawn Sandwich Brigade in the corporate boxes yesterday-or so I thought! Got to the stadium to learn that all suites were closed and we'd have to go to Premium. The place was packed and unreserved seating made things worse as everyone had to just keep moving further and further along the concourse to finally get a seat. Exiting the place was worse, as things got very packed with Meath/Antrim fans exiting and Laois/Down fans entering. CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1677 - 26/06/2023 10:57:49 2489438 Link
GAA President Larry McCarthy was asked about this on Morning Ireland and was I thought VERY poor in his response, the interviewer obviously didn't have the time to deal with it either as he brought to challenge. Upsetting to hear of an 8 year old crying for fear of a crush yet the president effectively dismissed it, safety has to the the TOP consideration and it would seem this is not the case. Supporters deserve better. wexford2012 (Wexford) - Posts: 90 - 26/06/2023 11:54:40 2489470 Link
Replying To CastleBravo: "I got my first chance to join the Prawn Sandwich Brigade in the corporate boxes yesterday-or so I thought! Got to the stadium to learn that all suites were closed and we'd have to go to Premium. The place was packed and unreserved seating made things worse as everyone had to just keep moving further and further along the concourse to finally get a seat. Exiting the place was worse, as things got very packed with Meath/Antrim fans exiting and Laois/Down fans entering." It's always a mess.....got premium seats for last year's al football final, I should have watched it at home, not part of the drinking culture it was overcrowded and many not bothered about gMe at all Won't stop Mccarthy. Mckenna and the rest fro. Clapping themselves on the back about the fantastic job they are doing totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 1041 - 26/06/2023 12:21:37 2489492 Link
Having only one set of toilets opened in the hoganstand and them being down at the very end on the canal side caused allot of hassle and congestion at half time of the meath antrim game, took me over 20 minutes to get to the toilet and I then missed the start of the second half, in fairness to croke Park it usually is well run but yesterday was a mess, our current gaa president seems to bury his head in the sand allot when issues arise. Royal.Legend (Meath) - Posts: 710 - 26/06/2023 13:02:47 2489526 Link
Replying To OpenStand: "Any word on official attendance" Around 17k I think they said Laoisvillian (Laois) - Posts: 87 - 26/06/2023 13:18:46 2489536 Link
I had started a thread on this yesterday but for some reason HS decided to censor me & not post it. What went on yesterday was nothing short of reckless from the GAA & Croke Park officials. I actually felt sorry for the stewards trying to manage the situation. Unreserved seating for a double header is a non runner when people more around & go to toilets or convenience stalls between games. Then to close some of the toilets just pushed more crowds onto already full pressure points. As someone there with small kids it was very dangerous at the time between both games. Jinxie (Meath) - Posts: 6347 - 26/06/2023 13:31:50 2489552 Link
Think one of the main issues was they only had one set of toilets open, way down the the end of the Hogan and it was a nightmare. I only stood for the first game so found it okay, went in found a seat and sat there - no real hassle. But I'd say it was a nightmare for the 2nd game with fans coming and going - and the mass confusion of people looking for toilets. hyperache (Meath) - Posts: 271 - 26/06/2023 14:31:05 2489597 Link
Replying To wexford2012: "GAA President Larry McCarthy was asked about this on Morning Ireland and was I thought VERY poor in his response, the interviewer obviously didn't have the time to deal with it either as he brought to challenge. Upsetting to hear of an 8 year old crying for fear of a crush yet the president effectively dismissed it, safety has to the the TOP consideration and it would seem this is not the case. Supporters deserve better." When we eventually got to our seat,my young fellow was that worked up he wanted to go home. It took me a few mins to calm him down and ruined his 1st experience in Croke park. As a lifelong GAA fan who give up 5 -6 hours svery week coaching kids, i felt the Presidents response on the radio this morning was dreadful. Basically denying it happened as he sat up in his plush seat. Attendences are in decline all over the country at Gaa games and the organisation is being run by guys oblivious to what real GAA people want. Dessie15 (Westmeath) - Posts: 215 - 26/06/2023 14:42:16 2489610 Link
Replying To Dessie15: "When we eventually got to our seat,my young fellow was that worked up he wanted to go home. It took me a few mins to calm him down and ruined his 1st experience in Croke park. As a lifelong GAA fan who give up 5 -6 hours svery week coaching kids, i felt the Presidents response on the radio this morning was dreadful. Basically denying it happened as he sat up in his plush seat. Attendences are in decline all over the country at Gaa games and the organisation is being run by guys oblivious to what real GAA people want." The RTE boys won't ask the hard questions. KnockaineyAbú (Limerick) - Posts: 96 - 26/06/2023 15:39:58 2489656 Link
Replying To roseyinthegarden: "I have actually observed that the level of drinking amongst younger fans is actually on the increase. I have been cognisant of this at games recently and it isn't nice sitting in the vicinity of drunk young fans. Stewards are turning a blind eye to this at matches. With some of these fans it isn't actually drink either , it is other substances involved also." Young people drink alcohol?? And actually enjoy their lives? God love you... streaker (Galway) - Posts: 510 - 26/06/2023 16:12:12 2489685 Link
Replying To Dessie15: "When we eventually got to our seat,my young fellow was that worked up he wanted to go home. It took me a few mins to calm him down and ruined his 1st experience in Croke park. As a lifelong GAA fan who give up 5 -6 hours svery week coaching kids, i felt the Presidents response on the radio this morning was dreadful. Basically denying it happened as he sat up in his plush seat. Attendences are in decline all over the country at Gaa games and the organisation is being run by guys oblivious to what real GAA people want." Attendances at Munster Hurling aren't in decline ! OpenStand (Limerick) - Posts: 735 - 26/06/2023 16:25:35 2489693 Link
Replying To Dessie15: "I attended the Tailteann cup semi finals yesterday. To say the crowd organisation was a mess is an understatement. Initially only the Hogan Stand was opened as the Gaa anticipated less than 10,000 fans would attended. Whoever picked that figure obviously has no understanding of the interest in all 4 counties. The fact that tickets were unreserved rather than numbered was crazy. Between games as the majority of Laois/Down crowd were coming in a d the Meath/Antrim crowd were leaving, its lucky nobody was hurt. My 8 year old was terrified and crying his eyes out as he thought he was going to be crushed .Added to that, the amount of fans that were clearly drunk was a shock to me. I have been attending Croke Park since 1982 and was suprised at the level of drinking in the concourse yesterday. I felt sorry for the stewards as they were doing their best" It was a disgrace and not to mention dangerous. The drink thing needs to be looked at and is getting worse every year. royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 26/06/2023 17:15:34 2489725 Link
Replying To Jinxie: "I had started a thread on this yesterday but for some reason HS decided to censor me & not post it. What went on yesterday was nothing short of reckless from the GAA & Croke Park officials. I actually felt sorry for the stewards trying to manage the situation. Unreserved seating for a double header is a non runner when people more around & go to toilets or convenience stalls between games. Then to close some of the toilets just pushed more crowds onto already full pressure points. As someone there with small kids it was very dangerous at the time between both games." Extremely dangerous. I was lucky in a since that I had only 15 and 11 yo with me. The two little ones decided they didn't want to go. Thank god as it was very dangerous royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 26/06/2023 17:28:57 2489733 Link
In Clones you can bring in your own alcohol, well technically you aren't supposed to but they don't check bags. During the minute silence for recent deaths before the Ulster final I heard a drunk Meath fan shouting "hon the Royals". PattyONeill (Derry) - Posts: 263 - 26/06/2023 18:40:54 2489763 Link
Replying To royaldunne: "It was a disgrace and not to mention dangerous. The drink thing needs to be looked at and is getting worse every year." To be fair to patrons having a drink yesterday, they weren't the real issue, the bars were to the back of the concourse. For me ot was the unreserved seating with crowd's moving between games, and then the toilets being closed. The gaa got it very wrong Jinxie (Meath) - Posts: 6347 - 26/06/2023 18:54:11 2489771 Link