Dublin confirmed as the biggest draw

Dublin's enviable position as one of the GAA's top money-earners has been reflected in the Leinster Council's annual accounts for 2002, which were released this week ahead of next Monday night's convention in Carlow.

The Leinster football final of last July, involving Dublin and Kildare, was by far the highest grossing game for the Leinster Council, yielding gate receipts of €1,347,848. The figure was more than double that of the Leinster hurling final between Kilkenny and Wexford, which yielded just €636,369.

Dublin's Leinster football semi-final against Meath also surpassed the hurling final figure, yielding gate receipts of €920,027. The other semi-final involving Kildare and Offaly, while played at Nowlan Park in Kilkenny, brought in just €190,986 for the drawn game, and less than half of that for the replay.

Overall the province's gate receipts for 2002 were down €22,251 on the previous year, but Leinster Council secretary Michael Delaney had an obvious explanation for the difference.

"Last summer we only played three games in Croke Park," he said, "compared to seven games the previous year. That's a big difference right there. But no one is denying that it's Dublin and Kildare and Meath that provide the main source of income for the Leinster Council."

The significant difference between the gate receipts from football and hurling is the other notable aspect of the 2002 accounts, but Delaney does not believe that reflects any dwindling of hurling interest in the province.

"It's just a fact that hurling in Leinster is stronger in the lower populated counties like Kilkenny and Offaly. But it was a little disappointing to see the low gate receipts from the hurling semi-finals played in Thurles, especially since that venue was more convenient to the counties involved than Croke Park would have been."

Delaney, however, makes some controversial comments about the future of hurling in the province in his convention address - suggesting that the six weaker counties (Carlow, Kildare, Laois, Meath, Westmeath and Wicklow) drop out of senior hurling for a three-year period and play their own summer league in an effort to lift standards.

"I've already had plenty of feedback from that suggestion," said Delaney, "from both sides of the argument."

The Leinster Council's commercial income also dipped marginally from the 2001 figure to €285,036, and is one area where Delaney sees room for definite improvement.

"I think we have to look beyond the two main GAA sponsors. We have a lot of other attractive competitions now such as the O'Byrne Cup, the under-21 championships, and even the Walsh Cup that could attract their own commercial deals. There is definitely a lot of potential there which hasn't yet been fully examined."

GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell, meanwhile, said yesterday that he was not surprised to hear that the association has paid players on the International Rules tour to Australia. Speaking at a GAA breakfast forum in Dublin yesterday, president-elect Seán Kelly confirmed that squad members on the trip two years ago had been given €127 a day - the exact figure that the GPA is seeking as a flat weekly rate for player expenses.

"That's been in the public domain in the past but nobody really latched onto it, " said Farrell, "but it is an allowance, a flat rate and something we've been campaigning on for some time now."

Kelly, however, made it clear that there was no room for play-per-play in the GAA.

"Professionalism in the GAA is a non-runner," he said.