*Keelan Sexton in action against Kerry in Cusack Park. Photograph: Martin Connolly
INFORMAL TALKS are ongoing between high-ranking board officials in Clare and Kerry about the possibility of Cusack Park hosting the Munster SFC final.
For the first time since 2000, Clare and Kerry will face off in the provincial final. On that occasion, 23,176 spectators attended the game at the Gaelic Grounds which has already been tipped as the venue for the Munster Final scheduled to take place on May 7th.
Administrators in both counties believe that the prospects of hosting the game in Cusack Park will attract a far greater crowd and atmosphere than if the tie was to be held in Limerick. The figure of 10,000 has been floated about as an estimated attendance for the final were it to go ahead in the Gaelic Grounds.
The Clare Echo has learned that senior officials in Clare GAA made contact with high-ranking officers on the Kerry County Board in the hours following Clare’s three point semi-final win over Limerick on Saturday evening.
Officials in the Kingdom are amenable to the idea with discussions expected to progress over the coming days.
Cusack Park has a capacity of 18,500 and officers believe a full house would be the outcome if it got to host a first Munster senior football final since 1919. The potential economic boost that Ennis has experienced from home ties in the Munster SHC is to be referenced when Clare GAA officials put a case to the provincial body. 17,971 attended the first round Munster SHC clash in Ennis on Sunday between Clare and Tipperary.
Shy of 15,000 people attended last year’s provincial decider at Fitzgerald Stadium when Kerry won their second Munster title in a row defeating Limerick.
A decision on where the game takes place will ultimately be made by the Munster Council but a united front from County Boards in Clare and Kerry could have some sway to seeing Cusack Park fixed as the venue.
