The Gaelic Grounds is an excellent venue located within walking distance of Limerick city centre. It currently provides 22,000 seats to supporters, as well as standing accommodation for a further 25,000. Its safe to assume that the Gaelic Grounds could have a seated capacity of 35,000, using the temporary seating commonly seen at Lansdowne Road. Such a capacity would be very welcome to the Munster rugby team who were forced to play Wasps in Lansdowne Road last year. Assuming that the Munster branch charged 50euro for a seated ticket to the Wasps game, a cool €1.75 million would be generated by hosting a game at the Gaelic grounds.

A Munster game at Thomond Park normally attracts in the region of 12,000 supporters. One assumes that 1000 of those would be in the stand at possibly €50 a head. Approx 11,000 supporters pay €20 giving the Munster branch a total €270K from a top Thomond Park fixture. It’s fair to assume that the security costs at both venues would remain the same given their close proximity. There is potential for Limerick county board to earn a cool €0.5million for nothing, were the Munster rugby team to play at the Gaelic grounds. My number crunching may be a rough estimation and may not be totally correct, but it certainly throws a suggestion into the air that is well worth researching and looking into.

Last year, Munster played four sell-out games in Ireland in the Heineken Cup, facing Gloucester, Bourgogne, Stade Francais and Wasps. Assuming that the Gaelic grounds sold out fully for those games, €2million would be wiped off the debt for the Gaelic Grounds. Going forward, future revenues gained could be ploughed into underage development and provision of funding at club GAA grounds throughout the county.

Of course, this situation could be a reality rather than a debate by now were it not for a delegate of Limerick county board voting against his county’s wishes a few years back. Padraig S O Riain is from the Galbally club and has been the Limerick delegate to Central Council for many years. Croke Park came within a whisker of being opened a few years back when after a tie on a show of hands, the chairman’s casting vote decided the issue. Had O Riain voted with his County, Croke Park would have been opened.

Had Croke Park been opened on that day, the Gaelic Grounds may have followed and Munster may have beaten Wasps in Limerick and finally reached their Holy Grail. The debt may by now have been fully cleared on the Gaelic Grounds and a number of clubs throughout the county may have been able to boast superb facilities by now. A number of fulltime coaches could have been employed by the county board to nurture and foster the dying game of hurling in the city. Regardless of whether the GAA opens up or not, soccer and rugby will be popular amongst youngsters. Are the GAA so naïve to think that by not opening up that they are preventing thousands of youngsters from playing other codes. There is only one Association suffering from the failure to open this venue to other sports and that is the GAA itself. Perhaps its time they woke up and realised that.

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Provincial Chickens Come Home to Roost