Just the ticket

In the rat race for All-Ireland final tickets in September, the lament most often heard is the old chestnut, “I know fellas who were at every league match and they can’t get a ticket.”

But there’s just no excuse for allowing that to happen. Not when you can make a present of the GAA Season Ticket. Available on the GAA website or seasonticket.ie, they cost €85 for adults and €10 for juveniles.

This covers the spring league campaign for any chosen county as well as their first championship match in the summer. From that point on, the season-ticket holder gets first refusal on subsequent championship games for €10 off the price. And if they’ve used their season ticket for 60 per cent of the team’s matches over the course of the year, they can buy an All-Ireland ticket.

Further afield, if you’re looking to send someone to the Premier League, travel agent packages from the likes of Marathon or Abbey are pretty competitive, generally working out at between €180 and €250 depending on the profile of the fixture. Check what’s included though – a lower price can often include ticket and hotel but not travel.

Depending on your provenance, the various provincial rugby websites go variously wide and deep with every form of hat, scarf, lunch box and keyring on offer. Ulster offer personalised mugs (£10) and iPhone covers (£20). Intriguingly, Leinster are the only ones to offer official club cufflinks (€39). Make of that what you will.

If getting out and about is more what you had in mind, Irish Fishing Tours have packages to suit all. From a single day’s fishing for three people with a guide on Lough Derg for €150 to a week-long package including accommodation, packed lunches and evening meals for €900.

And if not fishing, then golf. One night’s B&B in Doonbeg, Co Clare, with a round of golf for two on one of the world’s great courses goes for €345 (outside of summer). At Mount Juliet, Co Kilkenny, it ranges from €319 to €349 depending on the month but with dinner in their Michelin Star restaurant included.