AN interesting debate emerged on social media as Cork and Dublin supporters struggled to get into Croke Park on time.
Sports journalist Daniel Hussey shared a pair of images taken 15 minutes before throw-in.
This was the scene outside Croke Park at 4.45pm[/caption]
It was close to a sell-out crowd as Cork and Dublin met in an All-Ireland hurling semi-final[/caption]
He suggested: “This is not great 15 mins before an All-Ireland semi-final. GAA needs to do more to get people in earlier. Worst I’ve seen it.”
At the of writing his tweet had garnered 247 likes. However, the bulk of the 49 replies took a different stance.
Among them, Fran replied: “Fans’ fault. The gates have been open since about 1.30pm.”
In a similar vein, Ger argued: “Why do the GAA need to do more? The gates have been open for hours. If fans want to be in on time, arrive on time.”
Cork fans did clearly outnumber their Dublin counterparts in spite of the lengthy journey they would’ve had to take to make it up to the capital.
On that point, Owen added: “Any issues with the trains from Cork into Dublin Heuston Station? My understanding is 60k+ coming from the south-west.”
The age-old notion that many fans cut it too fine around squeezing in one last pre-match pint at a pub also cropped up.
Stephen countered: “Maybe if fans avoided having a p***-up until moments before the throw-in that would clear things, I’ve always been in about 40 mins before throw-in to get a spot.
“It’s not the GAA’s problem if fans want a beer instead of being in early.”
Lastly, John chipped in with another potential cause as he yearned for days gone by.
He said: “The ticket scanning on phones is a disaster. People doing the scanning are really slow.
“Also people flustering looking for their tickets delaying things. The old perforated paper ticket worked well. Let’s go back to it.”
That 5 pm throw-in was preceded by Waterford predictably easing past Clare by 2-20 to 2-10 in the camogie quarter-finals.
The hope for Sunday would be that since it’ll be a double dose of Tipperary vs Kilkenny in the camogie from 1:30pm and hurling from 4pm that there’ll be a steady stream of people coming in throughout the afternoon rather than a late rush.
Unfortunately, the fare between Dublin and Cork on the pitch didn’t prove too interesting as the Rebels coasted to a 7-26 to 2-21 success.
