Leinster GAA hoping to break 25,000 in ticket sales for provincial hurling final at Croke Park

Large swathes of empty Croke Park seats are a familiar sight on Leinster SHC final day, but it will be a totally different scenario in Thurles this Sunday when a capacity 44,000 is expected for the Munster SHC decider between Limerick and Clare.

By Wednesday morning just under 18,000 tickets had been sold for the Kilkenny/Dublin showdown, which forms a HQ double-header with the Joe McDonagh Cup final between Laois and Offaly.

On that basis, officials believe it’s possible they will exceed 25,000 on the day itself.

This figure obviously pales when compared to the southern province, where a Semple Stadium full-house on Sunday would bring the cumulative Munster SHC attendance figure for 2024 to almost 315,000 – a new box office record.

Crowds at this year’s Leinster SHC have been mixed.

A very healthy 18,785 attended the group finale between Kilkenny and Wexford whereas the heavyweight clash of Galway and Kilkenny attracted just 9,621 to Pearse Stadium, which later housed 8,087 for Galway’s do-or-die clash with Dublin.

Last year’s Leinster final rollercoaster between Kilkenny and Galway drew a crowd of 24,483.

A similar attendance on Saturday would be significant in one respect, as it would mean more fans had watched the Dublin hurlers than their football counterparts in Leinster final battle this year.

Last month, just 23,113 turned up as the Dubs overcame Louth to land their 14th consecutive title – a modern-day record low for the Leinster SFC.

Leaving aside the years of Covid crowd restrictions, 2019 was the last time Leinster hurling proved a bigger draw than football.

The Wexford/Kilkenny final that summer drew 51,482 to Croke Park, compared to 47,027 for the Dublin/Meath clash.