In the last All-Ireland semi-final before the arrival of Brian Cody, known in the hurling bible as 1BC, Kilkenny scraped past Waterford by a point back in 1998.
A wonderful Waterford team featuring the likes of Peter Queally, Paul Flynn, Dan Shanahan and Tony Browne were eventually undone by the freak occurrence of a mishit DJ Carey 65′, which PJ Delaney finished to the net.
There were 50,856 in Croke Park that day. Eighteen years later and the latest meeting of the two neighbours in the penultimate stage of the Championship was witnessed by 15,000 less.
Just 34,432 passed through the turnstiles at headquarters last Sunday for an epic semi-final draw.
It was a game that had nearly everything and the hope is that the replay in Thurles on Saturday evening – which along with the camogie semi-finals completes a triple-header – will draw a larger crowd. A venue in closer proximity to both counties and €10 cheaper tickets will almost ensure it.
However falling semi-final attendances have been a feature of Kilkenny’s dominance since Cody took the reins in 1998, during which time they have won 11 All-Irelands and contested the final in every season bar three since 1999.
Over the course of that time the crowds attending semi-finals featuring Kilkenny have generally been on the slide (see the graph below). There have been a couple of boosts – such as when they met traditional final nemeses Tipp in the last four in 2012 – or extreme dips, like in 2011 when they last played a Waterford side who had been beaten by the Cats the two years previously.
In contrast, the semi-finals not involving Kilkenny have been holding pretty steady. Last year’s Galway-Tipperary thriller attracted over 58,000, Cork and Tipperary a year earlier almost 70,000 and the Kilkenny-free last four of 2013 attracted over 124,000.
Speaking on the latest episode of The GAA Hour Hurling Show, Kilkenny legend JJ Delaney admits there is no great mystery to the falling number of Kilkenny fans turning out for the second biggest game of the year.
“They were going for a 10th All-Ireland final in 11 years, so yeah they are spoiled. There is no point in saying any different. A percentage of people would have said, ‘right, we’ll wait until we get to the final if we get there’.
“But the genuine hurling supporters have been there and will always be there and will be in Thurles next Saturday. I think what we will see is a lot more neutrals going to the match on Saturday.”
Former Galway All-Star Damien Hayes is also hopeful that Semple Stadium will play host to a bigger crowd on Saturday, with fans of both counties making the effort in the hope of seeing another blockbuster between a young, skilful Waterford team and a three-in-a-row chasing Kilkenny who just do not know when they are beaten.
Pauric Mahony and Austin Gleeson played the games of their lives – now they just have to do it again on Saturday https://t.co/yRECGa5Mix
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) August 8, 2016
The sheer quality of Cody’s teams has been the issue, however, in Hayes’ opinion.
“I was surprised myself when the attendance came out,” he said on The GAA Hour. “They have unbelievable, fantastic teams that every year are representing them and getting into All-Ireland finals and they are the majority of people who don’t travel for the semi-finals.”
We are a long way from the giddy heights of 2006 and 2008, when crowds of over 70,000 turned out to see Clare and then Cork fall at the penultimate hurdle to a team who would eventually be denied a five-in-a-row by Tipperary in 2010.
Clare’s shock win in 2013 is the only other year the Liam McCarthy has not travelled to the Marble City since 2005 and fans seem to be turned off by Kilkenny’s dominance.
It is a shame because, outside of the All-Ireland final (and possibly the Munster final), there is no bigger day on the hurling calendar than the semi-finals. While this Kilkenny team may be operating at a level below the team of Delaney, Eddie Brennan and Henry Shefflin, it is still a crying shame their very dominance seems to be acting against them.
In an era when the GAA are pumping more than €1million into the likes of Antrim, Laois and Westmeath to develop hurling, it seems the best exponent of the sport are becoming something of a turn-off.
Listen to the GAA Hour hurling show – Wooly is joined by JJ Delaney, Damien Hayes and Mikey Stafford. Subscribe here on iTunes.
