The Kerry hurlers are the latest group to find themselves left with nowhere to stay in Dublin due to a shortage of hotel rooms.
The hurlers are due to take on Antrim in the Joe McDonagh Cup next Saturday June 4th.
It has emerged the team will have to travel up and down to Dublin on the same day because they can’t find anywhere to stay close to the city.
It comes after Fianna Fáil Senator Eugene Murphy said he has been forced to sleep in his car due to a lack of hotel space in the city.
Meanwhile Dublin Cllr Danny Byrne is calling on the Irish Hotels Federation to come before the Oireachtas an explain the spiralling prices being charged in the capital.
On The Pat Kenny Show this morning, Kerry footballing legend Darragh Ó Sé said the situation will play havoc with the player’s routine.
“It’s very simple,” he said. “A final is a final no matter what grade it is.”
“When you are in a final in a GAA setting in Croke Park it is like being at Wembley for an FA Cup final. You know, it’s the main stadium so there’s a routine, a ritual I suppose, for any team going up there.
“You go up on the bus, you get your hotel, you have dinner, you go for your walk, you have your meeting and stuff like that. Then you get prepared in the morning and get ready for your match.
“So, it takes away a lot from the whole event. I am not really sure what they’re going to do when they have to go halfway up the country and then you’re getting back on a bus to go all the way home.
“It’s very difficult for these players. This Kerry team have been in finals before, so they’re used to that routine.”
"Nightmare"
He said the situation is also a nightmare for supports hoping to attend the match.
Ó Sé said that, while it is great to see the capital so busy, it is hard to know how the Kerry hurlers will respond.
“I’m not sure how they’re going to work around it,” he said. “It’s too much of a spin from Kerry to Dublin on the day of the game. It is nearly a four-hour journey on a bus, so you’re going to have to break that up.
“They may stop in Portlaoise or Kildare somewhere up along – but Kildare is so close to Dublin, the hotels are probably booked up as well. So I am not sure how they are going to work around that.”
Hotels
The Kerry footballers are also facing the prospect of an upcoming fixture in the capital – with an All-Ireland Quarter Final to look forward to if they can get past Limerick in tomorrow’s Munster Final in Killarney.
The county board has already pre-paid €13,000 for accommodation in the hopes they will make it – more than double what they would usually pay.
If they fail to qualify, they face losing their deposit – and there are calls for the GAA to provide assistance for counties facing accommodation crises in the capital.
You can listen back here:
