You’re badly rattled kid…and have been won lose or draw for ye…take a chill pill
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I cant make sense of that mess.
Dublin v Galway 1983 was the last pay at the gate final, all finals were all-ticket from 1984 on. The 1977 football final between Dublin and Armagh was the first all-ticket final.
In finals from then on counties may have been given some tickets for the other terrace (I recall the press talking about Donegal and Down getting some Hill 16 tickets in 1992 and 1994) but in practice each participating senior county had a designated terrace. Frantic swapping of Hill and Canal tickets would go on in Barry’s Hotel etc. in the hours beforehand to get on your county’s designated terrace. Each county in the minor would be given a smaller amount of tickets for a designated terrace. The Canal End had a bigger capacity so you’d always get some stragglers from the county that “had” the Hill, ie. I watched the 1992 football final from the Canal End.
Cork were usually given the Hill for hurling finals but not always for football. Ulster counties would always be given the Hill for football final unless they were playing Dublin. Kilkenny would always get the Canal.
In hurling my recollection was:
1986 Cork got the Hill and Galway the Canal
1987 Galway Hill Kilkenny Canal
1988 Tipp Hill Galway Canal
1989 Antrim Hill Tipp Canal
1990 Cork Hill Galway Canal
1991 Tipp Hill Kilkenny Canal
1992 Cork/Waterford Hill Kilkenny/Galway Canal
1993 Galway Hill Kilkenny Canal
1994 Offaly Hill Limerick Canal
1995 Offaly Hill Clare Canal
1996 Wexford Hill Limerick Canal
1997 Clare Hill Tipp Canal
1998 Offaly Hill Kilkenny Canal
Football
1986 Tyrone Hill Kerry Canal
1987 Meath Hill Cork Canal
1988 Meath Hill Cork Canal
1989 Cork Hill Mayo Canal
1990 Cork Hill Meath Canal
1991 Down Hill Meath Canal
1992 Dublin/Meath Hill Donegal/Armagh Canal
1993 Derry/Meath Hill Cork Canal
1994 Dublin Hill Down/Galway Canal
1995 Dublin/Westmeath Hill Tyrone/Derry Canal
1996 Meath Hill Mayo Canal
1997 Mayo Hill Kerry Canal
1998 Kildare Hill Galway Canal
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I think this was the other way around
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By God you’re right. Kilkenny being given the Hill for a final is a fairly blowing idea.
An all Ireland final or Munster final without the minor final as the curtain raiser still seems a travesty to me
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The year Tipp got back into the AI for the first time in ages, 1988, that was all ticket I’m pretty sure. Tipp supporters were on the Canal End and RTE had a vox-pop with a Tipp muldoon and she tearing up her ticket as she couldn’t get onto the terrace as it was so packed. I’m going to say 1987 for paying for terrace tickets.
Was the hurling always typically a full house? Or participant dependent?
Did Antrim bring much of a crowd back in 89?
1984 in Thurles was all ticket, yes. But not sure if the following ones in Croke Park up until 1988 were. But open to correction
Kilkenny on the Hill in 1991. My first AI. There was war over us not getting our traditional place on the canal end.
I watched the 1988 and 1991 finals from the Canal End, ticket was £6 for one of them, not sure which though.
Clare owned the Canal End in 95 and much of the Hill with it.
We were in the canal for 97 too
Fairly sure it was a usual full capacity crowd. Tickets for finals were always hard got. You’d get one but would have to look for it.
I’d say it was 1988. Can’t remember what price a terrace ticket was in 1991. I didn’t pay for it in any case, the auld boy sorted it out for me.
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No it was participant dependent. 1979 was a notably bad year for attendance at the final, 53,000 for Kilkenny Galway.
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Was that not because of the strikes - was there a big bus and rail strike that year ?
There was a train strike that year that effected the attendance somewhat
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Ok then, 64,000 for Limerick and Galway in 1980, 72,000 for Offaly Galway in the following year. It was very much participant dependent
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Hard to argue with this logic
https://twitter.com/JWBlanchfield/status/1810001985615077869?t=miiEs9H410aodnsfzWO3Qw&s=19
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Fair enough.
I also remember when the official attendance would be shown on the scoreboard (not sure when the old electronic one came in) everybody would scoff and say there were way more there and that the GAA were deliberately showing a smaller number. Maybe they had all come in the blue door
My other memory from the time and travelling back from Croke Park in early 80s was the black flags flying from lampposts all over the way home in support of the IRA hunger strikers.