Louth involved in worst attended Leinster Championship match of 2019

Louth’s win over Wexford last May was by far the lowest attended match during the 2019 Leinster Championship, in both hurling and football.

The fixture returned just €15,420 at the gate, which suggests a presence of in or around 1,200 spectators for the affair at Wexford Park, which The Reds won to book a quarter-final against Dublin two weeks later.

Carlow’s hurling round-robin encounter with the Dubs was the next lowest in terms of revenue, at €30,503.

A bumper crowd turned out for the Portlaoise double-header, in which the All-Ireland champions defeated Louth by 26 points after Meath had walloped Carlow, with the income tallying €174,055.

The general trend indicates greater attendances for hurling championship affairs, with the football run-off taking in €210,000 less.

However, Louth benefited financially from Leinster grant funding, with the Laois-based body contributing €275,000 towards the preliminary stages of the Dundalk stadium project. The capital went towards the purchase of the Inner Relief Road land from Louth County Council.

Meanwhile, 11 clubs from The Wee County split €94,000 of Leinster money for the improvement of their grounds. Glyde Rangers gained the biggest portion of the grant, €31,200, as they continue their pitch development at Páirc Uí Taibh.