Fixture standoff halts All-Ireland Freshers Hurling final

The All-Ireland Freshers Hurling Final was thrown into chaos after the University of Limerick refused to play the game at the home of their opponents Limerick IT this afternoon.

Fixture standoff halts All-Ireland Freshers Hurling final

The All-Ireland Freshers Hurling Final was thrown into chaos after the University of Limerick refused to play the game at the home of their opponents Limerick IT this afternoon.

The final had been fixed for the grounds of Mary Immaculate College, but was switched after Croke Park chiefs deemed their grounds ‘unsuitable’. LIT won the subsequent toss and were awarded home advantage.

UL stuck to their guns and turned up to Mary Immaculate College, but referee Cathal McAllister and his umpires headed to LIT. McAllister threw the ball in, waited the required 15 minutes and left the field with his umpires and linesmen. No trophy was awarded to LIT.

Ronan Keane, Games Development Officer at the University of Limerick, said that they were left with no choice but to turn up to Mary Immaculate College for the original fixture.

“LIT, ourselves and Croke Park had an agreement to play the Freshers 1 Final in Mary I at 4:30pm. On Monday evening, the CCC decided that Mary I was unfit or deemed unusable for the game and a toss for venue, without our knowledge would take place.

“LIT won the toss and we were informed yesterday (Tuesday) that the game was moved to LIT. We queried why the game was to be moved to LIT and the exact wording was that Mary I was unsuitable.

“Unofficially, on a phone call I was told that it is not an enclosed venue and shouldn’t be used. I was completely baffled by that because both LIT and UL are not enclosed venues for an unenclosed venue when you already have one is bizarre altogether.

“Mary I has hosted Fitzgibbon games over the years. The pitch is perfectly playable. We weren’t looking for any special treatment here. We were looking for the fixture to go ahead as it was agreed.

“We are very disappointed. Ultimately, we are gutted for the players. LIT don’t want this, we certainly don’t want this. We just want to play the Fresher Final, in a neutral venue and give it the respect it deserves.

“I was in discussions with Croke Park today and I said that we were open to any suggestion, but it would have to be a neutral venue. I don’t mind where they bring us. If they want to bring us to Croke Park to play it we would go.

“If Croke Park came back with a fixture for a neutral venue in Limerick tomorrow we would jump at it. We are not trying to not play this game. We want the game played. We just feel that we had to take a stand.”

more courts articles

Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van
Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman
Coronation Street actor William Roache (91) given three months to settle tax debt Coronation Street actor William Roache (91) given three months to settle tax debt

More in this section

Wexford v Kildare - Dioralyte O'Byrne Cup Quarter-Final 36-year-old Ben Brosnan reaches another milestone for Wexford
Cavan v Wicklow - Allianz Football League Division 3 Relegation Play-Off Relegation in GAA: Soul-destroying or a blessing in disguise?
St Attracta's Community School v Ursuline Secondary School - Lidl LGFA All-Ireland Post Primary School Senior B Championship Fin Lavin goals help St Attracta’s Tubbercurry past Ursulines Thurles
Sport Push Notifications

By clicking on 'Sign Up' you will be the first to know about our latest and best sporting content on this browser.

Sign Up
Sport
Newsletter

Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers

Sign up
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited