by Adam Moynihan<\/p>\n
Sources say 30,000 people are expected to pass through the turnstiles on LGFA All-Ireland finals day for a triple-header that will be headlined by Kerry versus Galway.<\/p>\n
As recently as 2012 the final drew 17,000 to Croke Park so 30,000 is nothing to be sneered at, but the figure would be lower than the post-Covid average of 42,500.<\/p>\n
After a sustained period of consistent growth, have LGFA All-Ireland final attendances levelled off?<\/p>\n
Again, there\u2019s nothing wrong with 30,000. It matches the last Kerry v Galway senior final in 2024, and it\u2019s better than most people could have imagined just a few short decades ago. But what about 50,000\u2026 60,000\u2026 70,000? What about a full house?<\/p>\n
Imagine 82,300 Gaels packing out Croke Park for a ladies\u2019 football final. Wouldn\u2019t that be a sight to behold?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to acknowledge that Dublin\u2019s involvement or non-involvement in the final does impact the numbers. The three best-attended games of all time featured the Dubs, and the two highest featured the all-conquering four-in-a-row team of 2017-2020.<\/p>\n
Croke Park welcomed 50,141 spectators through its doors for the Dublin v Tyrone final in 2018. A new record was set in 2019 when 56,114 watched Dublin v Galway.<\/p>\n
2019 also marked the seventh consecutive year that the All-Ireland final attendance saw an increase on the year before.<\/p>\n
Then Covid came. The 2020 decider was played behind closed doors. In 2021, the capacity was capped at 32,000.<\/p>\n
The average attendance in the three-year boom pre-Covid was roughly 50,800. Post-Covid it has dropped by over 8,000.<\/p>\n
Even if you only count Dublin finals since Covid (i.e. 2023 and 2025), the average is around 46,700 \u2013 down 4,000 on that three-year run pre-2020.<\/p>\n
LGFA All-Ireland final attendances since 2011<\/p>\n
2011 \u2013 20,061 (Cork v Monaghan)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2012 \u2013 16,998 (Cork v Kerry)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2013 \u2013 25,103 (Cork v Monaghan)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2014 \u2013 27,374 (Cork v Dublin)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2015 \u2013 31,083 (Cork v Dublin)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2016 \u2013 34,445 (Cork v Dublin)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2017 \u2013 46,286 (Dublin v Mayo)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2018 \u2013 50,141 (Dublin v Cork)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2019 \u2013 56,114 (Dublin v Galway)\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2020 \u2013 0* (Dublin v Cork)\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2021 \u2013 32,000** (Meath v Dublin) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2022 \u2013 46,440 (Meath v Kerry)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2023 \u2013 45,326 (Dublin v Kerry)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2024 \u2013 30,340 (Kerry v Galway)\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
2025 \u2013 48,089 (Dublin v Meath)<\/p>\n
2026 \u2013 approximately 30,000, TBC (Kerry v Galway)<\/p>\n
*Behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic<\/p>\n
**Capacity capped due to the Covid-19 pandemic<\/p>\n
Whatever way you spin it, the numbers haven\u2019t gone up. There\u2019s room for improvement, and room for 30 to 40,000 more people in the stands and terraces of HQ.<\/p>\n
Cynics might say that filling Croke Park for a ladies\u2019 match isn\u2019t possible, but the cynics also doubted the potential of women\u2019s soccer. Barcelona Femin\u00ed went from tiny crowds at a mostly empty Mini Estadi to 91,000 in the towering Camp Nou.<\/p>\n
When the Irish women\u2019s team held their first ever match in the Aviva Stadium in 2023, they brought a crowd of almost 36,000 \u2013 roughly five times their previous record of 7,300.<\/p>\n
Some experts even doubted Katie Taylor\u2019s ability to sell out Croker. After all, no women\u2019s boxing match had ever filled a stadium of that size. Tickets went on general sale on Friday, June 12 at 9am. Within half an hour, they were gone.<\/p>\n
Different codes, different circumstances, but it does show that the growing popularity of women\u2019s sport should not be underestimated.<\/p>\n
So, if the figures show that LGFA final attendances have, indeed, reached some sort of plateau, why is that? And what can be done to take them to the next level?<\/p>\n
Research conducted in 2025 by the LGFA\u2019s partner Lidl revealed that 42% of the Irish public would be more likely to attend a female game if a high-profile player was playing. We saw how much of the recent World Cup was framed around household names like Messi, Mbapp\u00e9 and Haaland. Bar\u00e7a have Bonmat\u00ed. Men\u2019s football has Clifford. The Irish women have McCabe. The WNBA has Clark. Irish athletics have Adeleke.<\/p>\n
With all the outstanding female footballers on show this season, including leading scorers for the senior finalists S\u00edofra O\u2019Shea (Kerry) and Olivia Divilly (Galway), identifying the Messi or Bonmat\u00ed or Clifford of the LGFA is not all that straightforward at present. It feels like ladies\u2019 football is waiting for its next breakout superstar. Maybe one will emerge on Sunday\u2026<\/p>\n
Even so, players doing their thing on the pitch is not enough. Marketing also plays its part. Thankfully female footballers are now more visible than ever, which can largely be attributed to the impressive efforts of TG4, Lidl and other commercial sponsors.<\/p>\n
When it comes to social media, the LGFA and Camogie Association are doing fantastic work but, for me, the GAA are currently the standard bearers \u2013 not just in Gaelic games, but in Irish sport in general. Their graphics are sharp, their content is becoming increasingly engaging, and videographer Mark Forde and others are supplying superb footage that highlights the individuals and sells the product to would-be match-goers.<\/p>\n
In more ways than one, the pending merger of the associations and a pooling of resources will benefit everyone. <\/p>\n
Of course, the elephant in the room is that many of the LGFA\u2019s most high-profile players \u2013 some of them household names \u2013 are no longer in this country to be highlighted.<\/p>\n
Vikki Wall (Meath), Erika O\u2019Shea (Cork), Sarah Rowe (Mayo), Kayleigh Cronin (Kerry), Jennifer Dunne (Dublin) and others too numerous to mention have been lured Down Under to the AFLW, following in the footsteps of LGFA greats like Cora Staunton (Mayo) and Sin\u00e9ad Goldrick (Dublin) before them.<\/p>\n
In total, 44 Irish players are currently contracted to teams in Australia, including Kerry exports Julie O\u2019Sullivan, Paris McCarthy and Emma Dineen. There are so many Irish players in the league that an Australia v Ireland Aussie Rules exhibition fixture took place this weekend.<\/p>\n
No one can deny these talented Irish athletes their right to pursue a career in professional sport \u2013 nor can anyone deny that our own game is worse off for losing them. Kerry legend Louise N\u00ed Mhuircheartaigh, who was the game\u2019s biggest star prior to her retirement in 2024, has said that given the extent of the ongoing player drain, she fears for the standard of ladies\u2019 football. Her concerns are understandable.<\/p>\n
It all adds up. While the men\u2019s game thrives under the new rules (some of which have been replicated in the ladies\u2019 game), what effect would it have if you took 40 of its best players out of the mix?<\/p>\n
Interestingly, shortly after St Kilda-bound starlet Kobe McDonald led Mayo to their first All-Ireland since 1951, reports emerged that the GAA are in talks with the AFL over implementing new guidelines that would potentially limit such transfers. McDonald will join 14 other Irish men in the league, including Kerry\u2019s Mark O\u2019Connor, Cillian Burke, Rob Monahan and Ben Murphy.<\/p>\n
Perhaps ladies\u2019 football should also be part of that conversation. Having said that, if the GAA and LGFA want to keep their best players, incentivising a career as a Gaelic footballer should be their number one priority.<\/p>\n
Another star of the ladies\u2019 game Hannah Tyrrell of Dublin followed N\u00ed Mhuircheartaigh into retirement in 2025 after falling victim to the dreaded ACL. Cruciate injuries hamper more female players than male, in turn taking high profile female footballers out of the action for extended periods of time. There is no obvious solution to that particular problem but it\u2019s another factor that merits consideration.<\/p>\n
While they may be set to join forces in the future, for now direct competition from the GAA is clearly holding back LGFA attendances, at least to some extent. Male and female intercounty matches frequently clash over the course of the season, making it difficult or sometimes impossible for supporters from a particular county to go to both.<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t apply directly for the All-Ireland itself as the ladies\u2019 final is held one week after the men\u2019s, but even that arrangement can prove challenging. For instance, this year Kerry qualified for both All-Ireland football finals. For some fans who went to Dublin for the men\u2019s fixture, doing it again the following weekend, with all the travelling and expense that it entails, can be a big ask.<\/p>\n
Ticket prices shouldn\u2019t be a major barrier, however. Adult tickets for this Sunday\u2019s LGFA finals are \u20ac30 while children go for \u20ac15. A family ticket (two adults and two kids) is \u20ac70.<\/p>\n