How did so many Cork fans get All Ireland tickets?
Many people watching the hurling over the weekend thought there was something of a mismatch between the proportion of supporters, with Tipperary’s blue and yellow fans far outnumbered by the red and white of the rebel county.
On Lunchtime Live, Off The Ball’s Eoin Sheehan said that Croke Park “definitely” seemed to have been overwhelmed with Cork fans yesterday.
“I just pulled up an aerial photo from last year’s All-Ireland final - which Cork were in as well - and it also looks a bit like a sea of red,” he said.
“I think there’s a bit where red possibly jumps off the screen a little bit more than blue or yellow.
“There were definitely more Cork people there than Tipperary people.
“But there was also a whole pile of Tipp people.”
“John McGrath won the county final, so hopefully John McGrath will win the All-Ireland for Tipperary next Sunday aswell” - Frankie McGrath pic.twitter.com/zm5wqsoswN
— The GAA (@officialgaa) July 20, 2025
Despite this, Mr Sheehan continued that he does not suspect any foul play.
“There’s allocations for both counties which are done fairly,” he explained.
“After that it can descend into something of a free for all.
“For example, when you go through the people who have taken sponsorship or corporate tickets.
“Are there likely to be more Cork people than Tipperary people, yes, of course, because there are three and a half times more Cork people.”
"It's a really good, historic tradition".
Off The Ball's Rachel Sheehan caught up with Tipperary's Jake Morris at Crumlin Children's Hospital, the morning after the Premier County's victory over Munster rivals Cork in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final. pic.twitter.com/YBWKdhGJx3
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) July 21, 2025
Overall, Mr Sheehan said that he does not believe the GAA could come up with a fairer system.
More importantly than questions of ticket allocation, he said he believes it was a result that Cork “won’t be able to get over this for a long, long time”, given Tipperary’s "magnificent" performance in the second half.
The moment @TipperaryGAA lifted Liam! 🏆👏 pic.twitter.com/gGmvTjENBp
— The GAA (@officialgaa) July 20, 2025
Echoing his praise for the Tipperary team, Tipp FM’s Paul Carroll said the entire county will “definitely be celebrating” when the team come home.
Despite this, he too believes Tipp fans were outnumbered in Croke Park.
“I think the red kind of jumped out for sure,” he said.
“There probably was more Cork than Tipp, but I think when the Cork supporters left after full time, the Tipp supporters were just there waiting for the trophy presentation.
“It was then that you saw how many Tipperary supporters there were there - there was a huge number.”
Mr Carroll added that Cork fans also had more time to find their tickets.
“Cork won their semi-final on the Saturday,” he added.
“So, they got a 24 heads start on us on the hunt for tickets.”
Main image: Cork fans. Picture by: Alamy.com.
