Michelle Mulherin and Catherine Noone have reportedly secured tickets to the All-Ireland final this Sunday after a public spat with the GAA that garnered plenty of headlines.
Both Mulherin and Noone applied for tickets but were told that the demand was such that their request to be provided with an allocation for purchase could not be facilitated this year.
Mulherin took to Twitter to post the letter from Croke Park which stated that tickets would only be made available to TDs given the demand, while Noone stated that she was "embarrassed" to not be provided with tickets.
To clarify I sought to buy 2 tkts from Croke Park. Each year until this their policy gave option to both TDs and Senators. Maigh Eo Abu!
— Michelle Mulherin (@MulherinFG) September 15, 2016
The reaction from GAA fans both in Mayo (where Noone was born and where Mulherin is based) and Dublin was one largely of outrage, while Cora Staunton, legendary Mayo player, outlined the difficulty that she and her team-mates had in trying to source tickets to the final themselves.
Speaking to Balls.ie, she said that players on the panel there were "sourcing favours from people that they might know or that they've met through the GAA.
"The men's club don't have to give us tickets. I can put my name down on the list for Ballintubber, but that doesn't mean I'll get a ticket. In 2012 I got a ticket off them, and in 2013 I didn't. So that's the nature of the game."
It seems that was the method employed by Noone, who told the Mail on Sunday that she had secured tickets "through some friends", while Mulherin also revealed to the paper that she had eventually been able to get her hands on tickets too.
It's okay, it's okay ... The 2 FG senators will go to the Ball (game)! Sens Mulherin and Noone finally get tickets pic.twitter.com/U5IYxfdks0
— Irish Mail on Sunday (@IrishMailSunday) September 17, 2016
A member of the Mayo County Board however highlighted that the public nature of the whole episode wasn't beneficial to anyone, and told the Mail on Sunday: "I don't know why [Mulherin] didn't just come to us. There would have been something we could have done, and it would have made sense for her publicly."
Delighted to make presentation to @ArdnareeSarsGaa @AIBGAA All Ireland JFC Finalists #mayogaa pic.twitter.com/uQnmvfczF9
— Michelle Mulherin (@MulherinFG) January 27, 2016
Johnny O'Malley, the chairman of Mulherin's local club Ardnaree Sarsfields, added that "she isn't involved with us in any way", adding that "the more people who are there [at the final] who just like to be there but are not involved or working in the GAA, they are taking up seats and are actually depriving people - the genuine bedrock worker - of an opportunity".
Members of the GAA clubs both in Noone's constituency of Dublin West and her home town of Claremorris also told the Mail on Sunday that she was not involved in any clubs in either area, but she stated for her part that she "has always gone to Mayo matches" and was in attendance for the 2013 final.
Michelle Mulherin and Catherine Noone could not be reached by Newstalk for comment at time of writing.
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