LIMERICK:BUSINESSES IN Limerick are looking forward to a bumper Good Friday. Most hotels in the city are booked out ahead of tonight's rugby clash between Munster and Leinster at Thomond Park and will also benefit from the lifting of the drinks ban in the city.
Restaurants will also open for business as they cater to the 26,000 fans attending the game with many more expected to watch it in the city’s bars.
While the business community is celebrating, others regret that the rugby game is taking place on such a sacred Christian day.
The Franciscan Friars from Moyross will this evening be stationed outside Thomond Park as legions of fans arrive for the game. They will have a sign with information about Stations of the Cross ceremonies taking place at nearby churches. “We’ll be promoting the Stations of the Cross at the local churches,” said Brother Shawn O’Connor. “We plan to be there between 6-7pm as the stations start at 7pm.” The friars, who expect to be joined by some lay people, will also hand out holy cards to rugby fans arriving for the game, which starts just after 8pm.
Br O’Connor said their presence was not intended as a protest and that the friars wanted to remind people of the significance of Good Friday for Catholics.
While big crowds are due in Limerick today, most of those out for the match are expected to be locals. A spokesman for Iarnród Éireann yesterday said none of the trains ferrying fans from Dublin to Limerick were booked out. Only one extra train had been laid on for the match, which will take Cork fans home at 11.30pm. Spokesman Jim Galvin said: “So far there are 120 booked on it. The following week I already have 180 for the same train but that’s after a Heineken Cup game. There isn’t the same fever for Magners League games.”
Meanwhile, business will be brisk at the city’s hotels, and those located close to Thomond Park were last night booked out. There were just a couple of beds still available at the Clarion Hotel on Steamboat Quay. The receptionist said they normally sell out at the 158-bed hotel for rugby games and she had not noted an increase in demand following the lifting of the drinks ban.
Gardaí were expecting a well-behaved crowd but said exact numbers were difficult to quantify. A spokesman said: “We’ll police it like we police any other event. We’ll have extra gardaí for traffic reasons and increase our presence in the city. The thing about Limerick is that the people who attend rugby games are good-spirited so we don’t expect trouble.”