Time changes for Thurles quarter-finals
The two Guinness All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals scheduled for Semple Stadium on Saturday week have been brought forward by an hour.
The GAA has confirmed that the curtain raiser at the Thurles venue between Cork, the defending champions, and Limerick will now take place at 4.15pm.
The second game between Galway and Kilkenny - a repeat of last year's memorable semi-final - will now be played at 6pm.
The ties were originally scheduled for 5.15pm and 7pm starts.
The scheduling of the games and the choice of venues drew the ire of Galway manager Conor Hayes, who admitted yesterday that his wife and two children "probably won't travel now because it's (the 7pm throw-in) too late."
He insisted: "You won't find the football quarter-finals being played at provincial venues on a Saturday night at 7pm.
"It is a boost for any county to go to Croke Park. Supporters love to go there. We played Tipperary there last year (in the quarter-finals) and there was no problem."
The remainder of the 2006 quarter-finals will be going ahead at Croke Park on Sunday week with the clash of Clare and Wexford getting proceedings underway at 2.15pm. The Waterford v Tipperary game has a 4pm throw-in.
