Former Waterford hurler John Mullane has pleaded for the GAA to make the game accessible and affordable for everyone after the GAA confirmed that the price of All-Ireland tickets for hurling and football finals would be increased this year.
For the hurling and football finals, terrace tickets will now cost €55, up by €5 from the previous year. Tickets for the All-Ireland semi-finals and quarter-finals will also experience a €5 price hike.
This adjustment marks the first increase in final ticket prices since 2019 and only the second in the past 14 years.
In its statement announcing the price hike this month, the GAA stressed that it was the first rise in final ticket prices in five years and highlighted earlier offerings for the All-Ireland series.
"This is the first increase to final ticket prices since 2019, and the second in 14 years, and is part of a ticketing review that featured discounts during the Allianz Leagues, has seen new '3 for 2' offers for All-Ireland series games, and GAA membership discounts of €5 issued via Foireann for the Allianz League finals and again for the upcoming football and hurling preliminary quarter-finals," the association outlined.
Mullane, a lover of the Gaelic games, has asked the GAA to keep games inclusive for everyone and also stated that the average man and woman shouldn't be priced out of future games.
‘Massive Real Madrid fan’ John Mullane picked @Offaly_GAA and the U20 HC final over the Champions League final
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"My only fear is that I hope we don't go down this route because GAA is for everyone," said Mullane to the Throw-In podcast this week.
"It doesn't matter what class of people you are; the GAA is inclusive for everybody, and I just hope that we're not going down the road of pricing a certain class of people out of going to games and that a certain class can go to games.
"The Munster final at the weekend is €45, and I think that's great value considering what type of match we're going to get. The Leinster final and Joe McDonagh Cup final are €40, and that's very good value."
Mullane also questioned the price of tickets for the hurling finale and struggled to comprehend how people in 2024 could justify the fees the GAA were looking for.
"On the off chance that Clare and Limerick are to meet again in the [All-Ireland] final, how can you justify having the price where you have to pay an extra €55 to watch the same amateur sportsmen run around the field and play the exact same match?" he added.
"And probably we won't get as good of a match as we will this weekend. I'm just scratching my head, and they're going to have to look at it with this condensed season because there's only a certain amount of income that comes into a household per month."
You can listen to the full conversation here.
