Will it be Cork for the first time since 2005 or Clare’s first Liam MacCarthy since 2013?
Here is everything you need to know about a showdown that has created one of the biggest all-time ticket scrambles.
When is the All-Ireland final?
The final showdown between Clare and Cork takes place on Sunday, July 21 at 3.30pm in Croke Park.
Where can I watch it?
RTE 2’s coverage starts at 2.15pm while BBC are broadcasting the final for the first time from 3pm. You can also follow all the action on our liveblog from 1pm on Sunday.
Team news?
Keep an eye on independent.ie for all the team news this week.
Today’s Sports News in 90 Seconds – 18th July
Who is the referee?
Limerick’s absence from an All-Ireland hurling final for the first time since 2019 has opened the way for Johnny Murphy to take charge of hurling’s biggest game for the first time.
The GAA has confirmed that Murphy will be referee for Cork and Clare on Sunday week.
Murphy has made quick progress since first taking charge of a Liam MacCarthy game for the first time in 2018. He has refereed an All-Ireland minor final (2018), an U-20 final in 2021 and last year’s club final. At provincial level he was referee when Kilkenny beat Dublin in the 2021 Leinster final.
Murphy, a member of the Ballylanders club, has refereed four championship games this year, Tipperary/Clare in Munster, Wexford/Dublin and Dublin/Kilkenny in Leinster in addition to the Wexford/Clare All-Ireland quarter-final, a day he sent off Wexford’s Rory O’Connor for two yellow cards.
Ticket news
Demand for All-Ireland hurling final tickets is now at an unprecedented level – with some Cork clubs struggling to deal with applications that are 2,000pc higher than their Croke Park allocation.
GAA officials admitted they have not experienced such a demand for tickets since Dublin clinched their five-in-a-row of Sam Maguire triumphs in 2019.
With a capacity of 82,300, Croke Park is still struggling to cope with demand for Sunday’s hurling classic. A number of Cork city clubs have received total application requests in excess of 1,000 tickets, dwarfing their allocation from GAA headquarters.
Senior clubs are expecting ticket allocations of between 40 and 60, with many of those going to senior club officials.
Smaller clubs are expecting allocations of between a dozen and 20 tickets depending on membership and teams fielded. A number of counties have implemented special raffles among club members as the fairest way of allocating available tickets.
Multiple Cork clubs imposed a ticket application limit of two per member, with a warning that if club members are lucky enough to be selected, they are likely to receive only one ticket.
The GAA has a new pricing structure for All-Ireland finals this year, with stand tickets costing €100 and terrace tickets priced at €55.
Cork boasts a total of 219 active GAA clubs, by far the most of any county in Ireland. The number of GAA clubs in the Rebel County dwarfs even counties with larger populations such as Dublin (134).
Clare has a total of 84 GAA clubs – almost one-third the number in Cork.
But Clare clubs have also stressed that demand has vastly outstripped their ticket allocation. Sixmilebridge GAA warned that such has been the demand for tickets that no one will be left in the Clare village over the weekend.
What to read and listen to
