Leinster hurling kingpins forced into Munster move

Next summer's Leinster hurling championship will have two of its highest profile games staged outside the province because of the redevelopment work at Croke Park. The semi-final double bill, set for June 9th, will now take place in Thurles instead of its traditional venue of GAA headquarters.

It is the first time that the Leinster Council has been forced to move outside the province for a senior hurling match. Central Council had informed them that Croke Park would not be available before mid-June as a total re-seeding of the playing surface will be necessary after the completion of the new Hogan Stand.

The semi-final bill features Kilkenny against Offaly and Wexford against the preliminary round winners - most likely to be either Dublin or Laois. The final will be staged in Croke Park on July 7th. It also means that, on recent form, the Dublin hurlers are unlikely to get a game in Croke Park next summer.

Leinster Council secretary Michael Delaney said yesterday that the Thurles venue won't cause any inconvenience to the counties involved. "In the case of Kilkenny and Offaly, the supporters can still have their lunch and then travel to Thurles," he said.

"Wexford have a little further to travel and so too will the other team involved but we are taking it into the heartland of hurling and it promises to be a great day out."

The semi-final bill has typically attracted between 40-45,000 and will comfortably be catered in the 55,000 capacity of Semple Stadium. It also promises to be one of many high-profile weekends in Thurles, contrasting with the situation this summer when the venue went without a single major hurling fixture.

The football semi-finals will take place in Croke Park as usual. The quarter-final involving Meath and the winners of the Westmeath-Carlow tie will take place on June 2nd. On recent form it is expected that Westmeath will get past Carlow, thus attracting significant interest around a Meath-Westmeath tie.

That game would almost certain be played in Portlaoise. Redevelopment work there will put the capacity around the 32,000 mark and the game is still likely to be an all-ticket affair.

The Munster Council will meet on Monday night to decide the fixtures and venues for the hurling and football championships. With the All-Ireland football qualifier series due to begin on June 8th, it is also likely that an earlier start to the championship will be implemented.

The unavailability of Croke Park means that the All-Ireland club finals of St Patrick's Day will also be moved. It may be that the football and hurling may be sent to different locations, depending on the clubs involved.