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GAA defends ticket pricing for All Ireland final

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) has defended its pricing strategy for the All Ireland final after being criticised for hiking stand ticket costs to a record €90 (£83/$101).

GAA president John Horan said it was the first time the cost had been changed since 2011, when it went up by the same price of €10 for the final.

Fans took to Twitter to express their anger over the pricing, with one person stating: “How can the GAA justify an All Ireland final tickets costs €90 and it’s an amateur game? Family of 4 will spend €360 to see Sunday’s match.”

Another added: “It’s a farce that it’s costing that much for a ticket, pricing out the fans who’ve gone to all the games with their kids, the future of the GAA. These true GAA fans missing out for the ‘I was there’ person(s).”

In addition, Eddie Brennan, the manager of hurling club Laois, said the pricing is “shocking”, adding in a tweet that “youngsters who attended all games are going to get nailed.”

The governing body said it has “absolutely no plans” to increase ticket prices for games in 2020, after costs have risen around a third over the course of 10 years.

In 2009, it cost fans €70 for a stand ticket to the All Ireland final, which equates to a 28.5 per cent hike over the decade.

Alan Milton, GAA communications manager, told the Irish Independent: “We are a special organisation in that it’s an amateur one which is volunteer-led so I think the ticket prices compare very favourably to other organisations.

“You could still bring a child here to see a game at the weekend for €5 and it stays that price up until the final.”

Last week, the GAA was criticised for the issues related to fans getting tickets to the Dublin vs Mayo semi-final with virtual queues of up to 20,000 people. Tickets.ie, the system utilised by the GAA, apologised for technical issues that left fans waiting for up to five hours.

The 2019 All Ireland final is between Dublin and Kerry on September 1 at 83,000-capacity Croke Park.

Image: William Murphy