Uachtarán praises fans for staying off pitch

Uachtarán Chumann Luthchleas Gael Criostóir Ó Cuana has paid tribute to Tipperary and Kilkenny fans for staying off the pitch in the aftermath of Sunday’s GAA Hurling All-Ireland final.

Both sets of supporters honoured the GAA’s call for patrons to remain off the field of play after Tipperary’s eight-point win, allowing victorious Premier County captain Eoin Kelly to accept the Liam MacCarthy Cup in the Hogan Stand before leading his players on a lap of honour around a buzzing Croke Park.

“The fans were brilliant, and the atmosphere was tremendous. We asked them to stay off the pitch and they honoured that,” said an Uachtarán, who was speaking at the launch of the 2010 oneills.com Kilmacud Crokes All-Ireland Football Sevens in Croke Park on Monday.

“That is great credit to them, and I think it made the occasion of the presentations even better. 
 


“The Kilkenny team were able to stand and watch in comfort the presentation to Tipperary, and to acknowledge in a special way the victory of Tipperary.

“You ask any of the players, and they enjoyed having the freedom to get around the pitch and do their lap of honour. The Kilkenny players had the freedom to get off the field with dignity having lost.”

Mr. Cooney said he was happy that the new post match arrangements had been greeted positively by all the parties concerned, especially the players. 
 


“From the people I met, there was absolutely no negativity about it. The PRO of Tipperary told me their players were very pleased with it. I got no negativity whatsoever from any source.”

He also paid tribute to the Gardaí, stewards and Croke Park staff for ensuring the day went exactly to plan.

“We had one person who tried to jump (the fence) and the Gardaí arrested him, and anyone else who wanted to jump was told they would be arrested as well.

“I think there were two or three (breaches) so we had no fuss, no hassle, people respected it.

“Our stewards did a great job, and our stewards went home as well without being intimidated in any way which is also marvellous.

“Croke Park staff did a tremendous job in ensuring everything went according to plan.” 
 


Mr. Cooney added that he hoped the day would prove pivotal in convincing people that the old tradition of pitch invasions had to come to an end.

“You talk about tradition and culture, but tradition is built on over time. Now we can build a new tradition of fans respecting themselves and respecting the players,” he said.

“It wasn’t just on the pitch: the Gardaí had no hassle with regard to the movement of people or the movement of traffic after the match. 
 


“People went out the way they came in, Jones’s Road wasn’t bottle-necked, so from the Gardai’s point of view and from a health and safety point of view, everything went smack-smooth. That’s down to the fans and the way they contributed yesterday.”