'My phone went off like a slot machine in Vegas!' Limerick GAA club secretary on ticket hunt
Na Piarsaigh GAA club secretary reveals lengths fans have gone to to try and get golden ticket for Sunday
The secretary of a top Limerick GAA club has revealed the huge demand she faced from supporters hunting a ticket to Sunday’s date with destiny.
Lavinia Duggan, who is responsible for handling ticket requests at Na Piarsaigh GAA Club in Caherdavin, said her phone lit up “like a slot machine in Las Vegas” almost as soon as the final whistle went in Limerick’s dramatic semi-final win over Clare.
With demand easily outstripping supply on tickets for the All-Ireland senior hurling final, she has been in high demand.
Speaking to RTE’s Brenda O’Donoghue on the Oliver Callan Show on Radio One, Lavinia said: “The minute the whistle blew on the semi-final, my phone went off like a slot machine in Las Vegas. It was ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding. Whether it was by WhatsApp or by email by text ,or by phone.”
And demand for a golden ticket for Sunday’s game against Galway - throw-in 3.30pm - is not just confined to those in her own club - Limerick’s senior hurling champions - with Lavinia adding she has been getting calls from all four corners of the county.
“Not only that, people have chased me down. They've been contacting my husband to get in contact with me. Whether I'm at Mass on Sunday, or in a coffee shop, it's literally Lavinia, ‘any chance of tickets’? I've been consistent in saying - I cannot give what I don't have.
She joked to the RTE presenter that the one problem she has now on the radio is people know where she is!
“So I’m expecting cars to be spinning into the car park at any moment,” she laughed.
Of course, Limerick already have one All-Ireland title in the bag this year, with the minor hurlers’ defeat of Tipperary at TUS Gaelic Grounds last month.
They were captained by Na Piarsaigh man Shane Walters.
Finbarr Brougham, the youngster’s grandfather, said: “I never thought I'd see a day where my own grandson would lead a Limerick team to an All-Ireland success. To say I am proud and emotional... Even talking about it now brings a tear to my eye. Absolutely amazing. The pride the whole family have. When that final whistle went and to see my grandson walking up those steps was just absolute heaven.”
Seoirse Laffan will be instantly recognisable to many Limerick fans with his six-foot by four-foot flag which he proudly carries following the Treatymen across the country.
A portion of the flag, he revealed, is dedicated to Cranberries leasd singer Dolores O’Riordan, who sadly died in January 2018.
He added it after ‘Dreams’ blazed out on the Croke Park loudspeakers following Limerick’s 2018 semi-final win over Cork, which teed up their first Liam MacCarthy win in 45 years.
“We have great joy out of it. The lads have given us great joy - all the Limerick lads and all the Na Piarsaigh lads,” he said.
Reporter Brenda was suitably impressed with the facilities at Elm Park in Caherdavin, declaring NA Piarsaigh have “the swankiest toilets of any GAA clubs!”
“The tiles are gleaming,” she laughed.