Croke Park to host club finals

Next month's All-Ireland club finals will be held in Croke Park. This has been confirmed by the GAA's Games Administration Committee after a few weeks' uncertainty caused by the redevelopment work. The decision to retain what has become a major part of the GAA calendar in headquarters has been taken, however, in the light of a vastly-reduced capacity.

As a result of the continuing construction work, only the New Stand and the Hill 16 terrace will be open for the finals. "There were a number of factors involved in the decision," according to Sean O Laoire. "We wanted to keep the finals together and Croke Park is the one venue where all teams would want to play. There may well be a reduction in the attendance but it shouldn't be too great."

The New Stand holds 23,500 and the Hill around 10,000 so the capacity will be in the region of 35,000. If reached, this would represent a drop of 5,000 on last year's record turn-out for the final, 40,106 but the participating clubs from 12 months ago were from Clare, Wexford, Mayo and Armagh - all counties with reputations for turning out in numbers.

It's possible that all these counties except Wexford will again be present so demand may exceed supply.

Were UCC to defeat champions Crossmaglen this Sunday, Croke Park's reduced capacity would be more than adequate to hold the crowds. The college team don't have the advantage of a parish base and even within the county of Cork are viewed askance because of the number of Kerry players on the team.

Des Cullinane, the UCC coach, concedes that his team isn't the biggest of crowd-pullers but believes that they will have good support.

"I can't argue with that view of us," he says, "but I am pleased with the interest in the college. For the first time buses are being organised for students, staff members and their families and past players. We won't be close to the horde that will come down from Crossmaglen but it will be a far higher level of support than we would expect for a Sigerson Cup match.

"There is some apathy in Cork and although a lot of people are delighted with our style of play, the fact that so many players are from Kerry has an impact. The positive side of that is the interest in Kerry. There are buses coming from Kerry to Sunday's match which is unusual for a championship semi-final featuring a Cork club."

UCC's Sigerson campaign has suffered from the distraction of the All-Ireland run. Although the teams involved are slightly different, it could be argued that the Sigerson side is stronger with All Star Anthony Lynch and Donagh Wiseman, who played so well for Cork at the weekend, ineligible for the championship.

Should the match with Crossmaglen end in a draw, the scheduled replay date would have to be moved because UCC will be involved in the Sigerson weekend in Galway on Friday week.