Practical information on Limerick

Gaelic Grounds

Photo of Gaelic Grounds: Maurice Horan (@_terminalx) via Twitter

I know it’s been linked here already but, just in case you haven’t seen it, the superb information put together by those helpful souls in Club ’51 on travel and parking advice (and much more) for Limerick on Saturday is here.  The main point to note is that you really should plan to get to Limerick as early as possible on Saturday, ideally leaving plenty of time for the spuds and a nice leisurely stroll to the Gaelic Grounds ahead of the 5pm throw-in.

With all manner of obstacles in the way of match-going punters – ranging from the fair in Clarenbridge to the Pride Parade in the city – it’s not a day for leaving it late to get there so it makes more sense to err on the other side and take the time to soak up the atmosphere.  The weather looks set to be nice on Saturday, which is an obvious plus, not least if (like us) you’re in the uncovered stand for the match.

If you haven’t got your tickets yet, then the County Board are offering a Last Chance Saloon opportunity to do so, with tickets left over from the clubs and Cairde Mhaigheo due to go on general sale at MacHale Park tomorrow (Friday), from 9.30am to 6pm. Snap them up, folks, otherwise the Kerry crowd will get them.

Speaking of the opposition, they’re due to name their team for Saturday tonight (at around 8.30pm so their website says) but, with one eye to Leeroy’s appeal hearing later on this evening, we won’t be naming ours until sometime tomorrow.

43 thoughts on “Practical information on Limerick

  1. have put this up on the Club51 site and Twitter but just in case….

    I have 3 adult and 1 juvenile ticket for the Clare End Terrace.

    Am looking for 2 Adult and a Juvenile, preferrably for the Mackey Stand.
    Would need any 2 of the tickets to be together.

    Need seating for this game hence the request.
    Am happy to pay any price difference.

  2. Have the same fffing problem myself, I have 2 adult & 2 kids tickets for the terrace. My kids are small, so it would actually be dangerous for them. I’ll be giving my tickets away.

    The GAA have a lot to answer for..

  3. Message for Mayo fans on Saturday evening from Paul Scholes (Ok bear with me he was talking about Manchester City but it is relevant to us too)

    So far, they have never got close in the Champions League and this is the year that they have to make the step. Over the three years that City have been in the Champions League, it has struck me that the home crowd could have done more to get behind their team.

    I guess much of that is down to the places that City fans have had to watch their team play in the last 20 years. When you’ve followed your team to clubs like Lincoln, Walsall and Macclesfield, for league fixtures, it is perhaps only natural that when Real Madrid or Bayern Munich are in town, you watch open-mouthed.

    But it won’t help their side.

    What City need to do is turn the Etihad into a hostile environment for away teams.

    At its best, Old Trafford on a midweek European night gave United’s players a real advantage. It is the same at Anfield. The City fans need to get to terms with the fact that they are now part of the elite and create an atmosphere that makes it difficult for away teams.

    http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/paul-scholes-the-real-worry-is-manchester-united-werent-good-enough-30543161.html

    So bring plenty of flags, vuvuzela’s (remember them) and make plenty of noise.

    Citywest

  4. Something I can’t find information on is whether the uncovered stand is allocated seating or ‘sit where you like’. I thought it was sit where you like, I thought I had seen it in a comment on this blog previously, and the guy on the other end of the phone in McHale park confirmed as much. But when the tickets arrived out the were for specific seats. I now have 3 tickets in the uncovered stand and would like to sit together with the 2 brothers but we are all spread out in different sections. Can anyone confirm that it is allocated seating? (Sorry if I have missed this info in the excellent Club ’51 info page)

  5. Great work, Club 51. I think that if I were travelling from Mayo, which I’m not, and not taking a bus I would go direct from Tuam to Athenry and take the train from there avoiding both Claregalway, Clarinbridge and parking issues.

  6. AndyD, you are right. However, I think the Galway-Oranmore-Athenry-Limerick train might already be sold out on the way home(there are a number of trains at different times on the way down but only one coming home after the game). But, by car you could come to Athenry from Tuam, then on to Craughwell and then on to Kilcolgan using the shortcut Club ’51 described. This would mean you skip ClareGalway and Clarinbridge but you still have the parking issues in Limerick. The roads would be poor enough but you might prefer them to sitting in traffic.

  7. This is such a fiasco and so inconvenient for every Mayo supporter and some Kerry ones too. If Liam Oneill chances crossing the road I’m driving on he won’t make the other side the prick. His behaviour has been appalling and when the game is over his resignation should be called for in light of his comments and attitude to this fixture.

  8. Tickets sold online all at edges of uncovered stand, who got the middle and covered stand. How many season tickets and Cairde Maigheo do Mayo fans have. Would think if all these go we should outnumber Kerry fans.

  9. @justoutsideballagh From the information I have there are about 4400 season tickets, between Cairde and Croke Park in Mayo. From talking to various holders of both, they are located in 102/103 and 111/112 in the Mackey stand.

  10. I have a funny feeling Kerry will outnumber Mayo supporters…lots of ppl I know are not going for one reason or another.

  11. i am a cairde ticket holder and got 107 they were selling tickets to public in Mc Hale pk to day

  12. Here’s some useless information for yee..
    Just looking at the Face The Ball predictions, of the ~604 or so registered users, only 20 predicted a draw last week.
    Of the 57 users participating in Willie Joe’s MayoGAA Blog mini-league, only 1 (yes 1) predicted a draw…anyway, carry on.

  13. Here’s some practical information for Saturday….my starting selection!

    Horan will probably name the same team as last time, same as Fitz but unlikely that team will start.
    Donaghy, the X factor, wont be named, but he will start IMO….they’ll look for a quick one or two goals to sink our hopes. His presence changes our posture completely. If they get a goal or two early, Donaghy can be withdrawn, job done…

    So then, here it is….

    Hennelly (Clarkeen might get the nod though…Robbie made some strange decisions with the game in the balance IMO)

    Cunniffe, Cafferkey (risky, but who else here?), Higgins

    Feeney, Vaughan, Boyle

    Seamus O’Shea, Parsons ( one of these two to shadow Star)

    McLoughlin, Aidan O’Shea (track back to MF if Donaghy tracks to FF), Doherty

    O’Connor, Freezer, Dillon

    What do yee think? any thoughts? ideas?

  14. Hope Keegan gets cleared but cannot see it happening. Don’t despair though. I had the good fortune to sit and listen to Mick Mulderrig months before he passed away. Mulderrig recalled the drawn ’51 match v Kerry for me.

    A tight game with cut throat marking . At the trading session during the week Sean Flanagan didn’t spare the forwards, singling out Mick and Peter Solon. In that years Connacht final Solon scored 3-1. The replay saw Mick dropped and both were gone for the historic final.

    Solon in particular was a scoring machine and Mulderrig not far behind him but in Flanagans eyes winning mattered more than score shy players. Mulderrig wasn’t happy 62 years later recalling this but grudgingly admitted that what had to be done was done. Solon though togged out didn’t stand in for that famous photo with the white jersey.

    If fate is for us, if the manager is bold and the players repeat the second half of last Sunday minus the last five minutes then they can prevail . If not then four years of toil slips away. It’s called between a rock and hard place. Even in winning, another mountain then beckons. This is not a time for faint hearted decisions or loyalties to certain warriors. Mayo expects.

  15. I have a funny feeling your rite mister mayor about Donaghy.in the aim to set up a goal or 2 .however if we keep him and o Donaghoe quiet I dont think their other players are experienced or good enough to take game my scruff of neck.Us on the other hand have leaders all over the park as showing when we went down to 14 men.

  16. Its interesting to note that just 6 of our players scored, only 3 of our starting forwards scored from play and none of our mid-fielders scored, while 12 different players scored for Kerry in the drawn game. We only scored 5 points in the first half which must be one of the lowest tallies in a half of football under James Horan in a big match in Croke Park. It just shows that we have lots of room for improvement. Then at one stage in the second-half we had scored 1-11 to 0-2 points, thats championship winning form. If we can repeat that we will be in a great position. Getting the right balance in the middle of the field will be key to us doing well in the replay.

  17. Sorry that should read above, we had scored 1-09 to 0-02 points at one stage in the second-half.

  18. Agreed Mister Mayor, I also think we are going to be seriously outnumbered.. out of the seven family/friends I travelled with or met at Croker the last day only two are going to Limerick. simple logistics make it impossible for them to go such as age, work commitments and plain old cash. I guess I’m going to have to go ballistic altogether and shout for the other five that couldn’t make it, or spread out the flag and cover as many kerry boys around me as I can 🙂

    I don’t think James is going to change the team that started the last day at all accept he’s going to push up much higher on Kerry and leave Donohuge to Higgins. Normally I would say Lee hasn’t a hope of getting a reprieve but with the fiasco that has been the replay, the GAA skewed logic might think that letting Keegan off would help calm the waters. You never know.. C’mon Mayo

  19. I know Lee’s appeal this this evening, but will the decision be announced tonight too?
    Not too long to go until the match now, it’s been hard to think of anything else all week! Up mayo!

    Ps, fantastic blog willie joe, long time reader in the background, a brilliant service you do us fans

  20. I doubt if Star will start but will probably appear later on if they need him. Starting him would be a bit of a gamble – great if it worked but disastrous if it didn’t. The other Kerry forwards are definitely good enough to do real damage if they get a decent supply of ball. And here is the trick……cut off the supply by crowding the middle third with the o Shea’s parsons or gibbons McLoughlin, and Boyler or Vaughan.
    Hopefully they have enough left in the tank to blitz Kerry with a work rate like the second half last Sunday. Mind you that is a fairly big ask. I’m sure many of them were shattered physically and mentally after that half. They were looking into the abyss for a while and that knocks a fair bit out of players despite surviving it! Rest and recovery is what is most needed before Saturday evening.

  21. Well here is the question lads. Is it asking too much for us to be fully fresh for Saturday with the quick turn around?

  22. kerry name same team,1. Brian Kelly Killarney Legion
    2. Marc Ó Sé An Ghaeltacht
    3. Aidan O’Mahony Rathmore
    4. Shane Enright Tarbert
    5. Paul Murphy Rathmore
    6. Peter Crowley Laune Rangers
    7. Fionn Fitzgerald (Capt) Dr Crokes
    8. Anthony Maher Duagh
    9. David Moran Kerins O’Rahillys
    10. Michael Geaney Dingle
    11. Johnny Buckley Dr Crokes
    12. Donnchadh Walsh Cromane
    13. Stephen O’Brien Kenmare
    14. Paul Geaney Dingle
    15. James O’Donoghue Killarney Legion
    Fir Ionaid :
    16. Brendan Kealy Kilcummin
    17. Declan O’Sullivan Dromid Pearses
    18. Killian Young Renard
    19. Bryan Sheehan St Marys
    20. Darran O’Sullivan Glenbeigh-Glencar
    21. Barry John Keane Kerins O’Rahillys
    22. Kieran Donaghy Austin Stacks
    23. Kieran O’Leary Dr Crokes
    24. Jonathan Lyne Killarney Legion
    25. Mark Griffin St Michaels/Foilmore
    26. Pa Kilkenny Glenbeigh/Glencar

    Read more: http://kerrygaa.proboards.com/thread/5506/kerry-mayo-ireland-semi-final?page=24#ixzz3BiT56w1P

  23. The Kerry Senior Football Team to play Mayo in the All Ireland Football Championship Semi Final Replay in Limerick on Sunday shows no changes from the drawn game.

    The team, captained by Fionn Fitzgerald lines out as follows:

    1. Brian Kelly Killarney Legion
    2. Marc Ó Sé An Ghaeltacht
    3. Aidan O’Mahony Rathmore
    4. Shane Enright Tarbert
    5. Paul Murphy Rathmore
    6. Peter Crowley Laune Rangers
    7. Fionn Fitzgerald (Capt) Dr Crokes
    8. Anthony Maher Duagh
    9. David Moran Kerins O’Rahillys
    10. Michael Geaney Dingle
    11. Johnny Buckley Dr Crokes
    12. Donnchadh Walsh Cromane
    13. Stephen O’Brien Kenmare
    14. Paul Geaney Dingle
    15. James O’Donoghue Killarney Legion
    Fir Ionaid :
    16. Brendan Kealy Kilcummin
    17. Declan O’Sullivan Dromid Pearses
    18. Killian Young Renard
    19. Bryan Sheehan St Marys
    20. Darran O’Sullivan Glenbeigh-Glencar
    21. Barry John Keane Kerins O’Rahillys
    22. Kieran Donaghy Austin Stacks
    23. Kieran O’Leary Dr Crokes
    24. Jonathan Lyne Killarney Legion
    25. Mark Griffin St Michaels/Foilmore
    26. Pa Kilkenny Glenbeigh/Glencar

  24. im new posting on this website but have being trawling it for years.well done willie joe its an abs brill website and a great nsight n to whts happenin mayo team. i am a strong mayo fan and travel to most league matches both home and away.dis team no matter wht happens on sat have given me grt excitement and enjoyment and of course huge disappointment as well.but wht a rollercoaster and heres to more excitement on sat.i know lime is a strange place for de semi replay to b on and i wud luv it to have bein n croker but lime it is so we have to accept dis.im born n bred mayo but for de last coup of years have bein living n lime and u know wht its a grt crack city and cheap as heck as well especially compared to the big smoke.u get gud deals n de restuarants and very gud food and de pubs do b rockin.i dink alot of ye are forgettin dat limerick is well used to dis with munster n thomond etc. pubs to go r de ardu bar b4 match r de greenhills hotel. after head n to town and u have clohesys which is owned by de claw,gerry flannerys and other flannerys pubs all over de city,after head to nancys(is usually very packed and has a similar athmosphere and crowd like mcgowans n phibsboro) smyths r obars.for restaurants head to texas,le chocolat r marco polos r hamptons.not sure if u will need to have buked b4 hand espec dis sat.hope dis helps.up mayooooo.yahooooo.

  25. @Trevor, yeah saw that funny! I have a good one I’ll tweet later meself.

    @mayomaningalway…great question…its a massive ask of both teams really. But we’ll see who handles the fatigue better.

  26. As the week progresses there is a chance for mature reflection on last Sundays game. One thing that I was pleased about was the response to mayo’s performance of courage and passion from our fans. It shifted the focus from win Sam at all costs mentality which completely blinds people from the magnificent achievements of this team and the success they have and the stylish football they play. With the exception of two or three every county in Ireland would due for the kind of success and performances we have had.
    However I think the reaction went to far and we have strayed into the territory of moral victories And the danger that brings bearing in mind we were hanging on at the end.The response in kerry meanwhile is that they left it behind them and played poorly really. A better psychological place to be in I think. The emotional roller coaster of Sunday for Mayo team will be difficult to recover from in six days.
    The drawn game will have brought kerry on more than Mayo especially the young Kerry players and that might be enough to shade it.
    The mayo fullback line needs attention as there are goals in the kerry forwards and we were fortunate only to concede one on Sunday.
    In my mind kerry pose more of a scoring threat only 2 scores from frees for kerry and a greater spread of scorers.
    But the bookies still have Mayo slight favourites and Mayo could turn on the style and rack up a big score if they can sustain a performance even for 40 minutes but I think it’s advantage Kerry.

  27. Lahan
    If anybody is sorry about the draw it’s Kerry, 5 points clear with an extra man and then played of the field while being hit for a 10 point turnaround, in Croke park!!!
    We lost a 5 point lead to them in the closing stages through a goal and a couple of points,I give you that, but I cannot see where Kerry will benefit any more than us, donaghy was a surprise but that’s not going to work this week, he ll be guarded by a fresher, stronger man this time out.
    Mayo by 3 points or more.

  28. Kerry left it behind them the last day.

    If Mayo had an extra man and a 5 point lead, then ended up scrambling to get a draw, we all know the kind of stuff we’d be reading in the papers.

    Please God we can finish the job on Saturday.

  29. The wholesale duplication of the Kerry team on this site, this evening, for the replay re-enforces my opinion that very few contributors actually read what others are posting.

    I remain vehementally opposed to the replay going ahead on Saturday – totally unfair and biased against Mayo in particular. If we all stood together – clubs, county board, supporters and most of all the players rep. body, and demanded a two-week break, the GAA would have had to cave in. Instead all we are getting from stakeholders, is pathetic compliance and tired resignation – totally devoid of leadership.
    And you call yourselves supporters of this great Mayo team – its still not too late to do the right thing

  30. Anyone out there that would be willing to swap a city end ticket for a Clare end ticket please?im really stuck

  31. Dear Mayopool, thanks for that info, we are on a hen this weekend in Limerick and up for the craic! Can you let me know where you and your gang will be partying and maybe we can all hook up for the craic….yahoo yahooooo….come on Kerry!

  32. There are now only a few tickets left for the extra trains to the big game. Supporters should book online to avoid disappointment.

  33. Hi Mayopool, we are just meeting up now and heading for Limerick, are ye on the lash tonight? Would be a bit of craic to meet up…ye wear mayo jerseys and we wear the Kerry kit to stand out!…we will be in mcgettigans at 8pm…do U know it

  34. Welcome to Limerick to all Mayo supporters . Worth noting that Shannon RFC in Thomond Park which is a five minute walk from the Gaelic Grounds are opening their clubhouse and they have limited secure carparking. So get there early and follow the signs on the motorway for Thomond Park. I know from some telephone enquiries that a lot of Mayo people will be there. Good Luck to Mayo .

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