The 33,848 that attended Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final between Kerry and Tyrone is down 36% from the 2015 equivalent.
Hill half-empty. Stands the same.
Only 33,848 at Croke Park today.
For an All-Ireland senior football semi-final, that's paltry and alarming. pic.twitter.com/TTBeWf623i
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) August 11, 2019
Kerry prevailed 1-18 to 0-18 with a Stephen O’Brien goal ultimately sealing a place in the All-Ireland final for the Kingdom.
54, 716 fans attended last year’s All-Ireland semi-final between Dublin and Galway while 49, 696 attended the other semi-final between Monaghan and Tyrone.
Sunday’s attendance pales in comparison to the 2015 semi-final where 53,044 fans watched as Keryy defeated Tyrone 0-18 to 1-11 while 58,687 watched Tyrone’s 2003 triumph over the Kingdom.
Last year’s attendance of 54,716 and 49,496 combined for a total attendance of 104,212 – the lowest since 2009 and 30% down on the 2017 All Ireland semi-finals.
This year’s attendance eclipsed that figure thanks to a sell out between Dublin and Mayo, although it’s believed the official number fell just short of that figure on the day, however, the Kerry and Tyrone final is the worst attended football semi-final of this century and the third worst of football or hurling semi-final, trailing only the 2011 hurling semi (31,638) between Kilkenny and Waterford and the 2016 semi-final replay (30,500) between the same counties (figures per Irish Times).
According to the annual financial reports, attendances overall fell by 18% last year with both the football and hurling All-Ireland series seeing a reduction with gate receipts slipping overall by 14%.
Last year attendances in the football fell from from 628,618 in 2017 to 515,763 in 2018 despite the number of games increasing from 33 to 39 in the All-Ireland senior championship.
