In what will amount to a break from tradition, neither Limerick or Kilkenny are staying in Dublin this Sunday, on All-Ireland senior hurling final night.
RTÉ have confirmed to us that The Sunday Game will still broadcast on the night of the final from the winning team’s hotel, however. Previously, this would take place in either the Citywest or the Clayton hotel in Dublin but this year Marty and co. will be on the road.
Limerick are heading to Fitzgerald’s Woodlands House Hotel and Spa in Adare while, over in Kilkenny, the team are heading home to Langton’s first, before staying the night in the River Court hotel just down the road.
Looking back at the aftermath of last year’s All-Ireland camogie final, RTÉ did head Noreside, with Katie Nolan named as player-of-the-match to jubilant scenes at the team banquet.
Katie Nolan is named Player of the Match for the 2022 All-Ireland senior camogie final #rtegaa pic.twitter.com/0i5ADj09rV
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 7, 2022
Speaking on KCLR, Kilkenny GAA PRO Paul Fitzgerald explained that a ‘number of factors’ led to Kilkenny’s decision to return home.
Chief among them is the fact that, with Kilkenny hurling and camogie teams generally heading to the Citywest after their finals, the Saggert venue is out of action this year seeing as it is being used to accommodate Ukrainian refugees.
“We have a wonderful relationship with the Citywest Hotel but that option is no longer available,” said Fitzgerald.
The fact that Kilkenny player Cillian Buckley’s wedding takes place the day before the game may also be a factor in the team returning home, while the rising cost and low availability of hotel rooms in the capital are also reported by the Irish Examiner as having played a part.
Meanwhile, from a Limerick perspective, the team are set to board a train in Heuston Station at 8.00 on Sunday night and plan to be back in Limerick city by 10.00 for a team home-coming.
As a knock-on-effect of the team’s decision to return home, it means that there will be no visit to the Children’s Hospital in Crumlin, something which has been a routine in years gone by.
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