The Munster senior hurling final between Clare and Limerick will take place in the TUS Gaelic Grounds at 1.45 on Sunday June 11.
The Limerick venue was confirmed following a meeting of the Munster Council on Tuesday.
Surprisingly, the Gaelic Grounds came into the equation following a request from the Clare county board to have the match played there.
It comes after the unanimous verdict of the Munster council to have the game played in Páirc Uí Chaoimh – with Limerick in agreement. But Clare weren’t in favour of the Cork venue, perhaps due to the longer trek for their supporters, and that was why they put in the request for it to be played in the Shannonside venue.
You would have expected that, like last year, Thurles would have hosted the Munster final between these two counties but, due to the large number of games that took place there this year – Waterford’s home games and this weekend’s All-Ireland minor and U20 finals included – provincial officials were looking to give another venue a go.
But Clare weren’t having it. And now they have their way.
“Following a meeting today of the CCC of the Munster Council,” read the province’s GAA committe’s statement today.
“It has been agreed that the Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final between Clare and Limerick will take place at the TUS Gaelic Grounds in Limerick on Sunday June 11th at 1:45 pm.
“This decision follows a request from Clare to the Munster Council CCC on Monday evening of May 29th to postpone making a decision on the venue to allow Clare time to explore the possibility of playing the game at the TUS Gaelic Grounds in Limerick,” stated Munster GAA.
“Earlier, Clare had proposed Semple Stadium, while Limerick had proposed Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
“The Munster Council CCC agreed to postpone making their decision, and today Clare and Limerick have confirmed that they had reached agreement to play the game at the TUS Gaelic Grounds.”
“The 1:45 pm throw in time is to facilitate live TV and the possibility of extra time. The Leinster Final throws in at 4 pm.”
Clare beat Limerick in the round-robin series of the Munster championship in the Gaelic Grounds earlier this month.
It is anticipated that tickets will be highly sought after and that the game will be a sell-out. In a statement today, Clare County Board confirmed that both themselves and Limerick will have stand tickets.
“Stand tickets for the Munster Final will be distributed through participating County Boards only, while terrace tickets will be going on sale to the general public on Thursday June 1st at 12 Noon.”
