In 11 minutes on Thursday morning, the 11,000 terrace tickets which went on general sale for the Munster hurling final between Clare and Limerick at Semple Stadium had been snapped up. The game is expected to be a sell-out. Even if your sibling is on one of the panels, it might be hard to get a ticket.
"I have a couple of brothers," says Limerick hurler Diarmaid Byrnes, speaking on Thursday after being named PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Month for April.
"The phone is actually hopping there now, looking for tickets. They were trying to get tickets online for their friends. They're all here looking for tickets now, but they won't be getting them off me any way!"
26 May 2022; Awards winners, from left, PwC GPA Player of the Month for April in ladies football, Michelle Guckian of Leitrim, PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month for April in football, Paul Conroy of Galway, PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month for April in hurling, Diarmaid Byrnes of Limerick, and PwC GPA Player of the Month for April in camogie, Miriam Walsh of Kilkenny, at Eyre Square in Galway. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Earlier this month, Clare and Limerick played out a thrilling draw on the fourth weekend of the Munster round robin. Bynres hit an injury time free - one of nine points he scored from half-back - to level the game. The match was a sample which whetted the appetite for the decider on June 5th.
'You can see the positive impact that we've had on Limerick'
"It's not that I thrive off it, or need it, but I train four or five nights a week pre-season for these days," says Byrnes.
"So why not let it be the best occasion that it can be? Like a gladiator going into the Colosseum, he wants a packed stadium, he wants it to be as intense as possible. That's the kind of individual I am.
"Coming through Coivd, I remember 2020, being in Croke Park, and the only voices you could hear were the lads on the extended panel above in a little bunch, four or five seats apart, and we all after coming on the same bus together - crazy stuff.
"Below in Ennis the last day, the music was playing before the match, and the crowd were roaring. You can't hear it exactly, but Clare supporters are probably giving abuse, but sure it is what it is. It all feeds into the atmosphere."
Byrnes, who works for AIB in the city, has been there for all three of Limerick's Liam MacCarthy wins in recent years. He's seen the positive impact which the hurlers' success has had on the county.
"You'd get a lot of lads in, and there would be questions," he says.
"It's all good. They're all inquisitive. 'How's this lad?' How are you? How's training going?'
"They're all Limerick supporters, and I'm right in the heart of the city. You could meet anyone. You could see them coming a mile away with the Limerick tops on!
"You can see the positive impact that we've had on Limerick in the last couple of years. We feed off that. You can see the positive vibes, and how much they're looking forward to a game."
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