Nationwide Survey from lastminute.com in Ireland reveals country’s desire to see new hurling champions

Dublin, Ireland, September 3rd 2010 – 43% of people in Ireland said they’d least like Kilkenny to win this year’s GAA Hurling Championship, according to a nationwide survey of 1,000 people taken during the quarter finals. This is more than five times the amount for Tipperary – only 8% would not like to see them crowned champions.

The survey, conducted by popular travel and leisure website lastminute.com, demonstrated the ongoing provincial rivalry that exists when it comes to GAA in Ireland, with over half (58%) of those not wishing for the Cats to win this year hailing from Munster.

When asked if they thought the final would be won on a last minute point or goal, 16% believed this to be the case, while 40% believed the championship would not be won by such a small margin.

Carey Withey, lastminute.com in Ireland’s spokesperson, said: “You just never know what will happen when it comes to the last minutes of an All–Ireland final. And, while we can’t predict which team will take the title this year, we can guarantee sports fans great deals for flight, hotels and holidays. No need to wait ‘til the last minute either as we have ongoing deals to help save you money for holidays you want to plan well ahead in advance.”

One of the deals on lastminute.com in Ireland now is the World Hotel Deal with up to 40% of hotels worldwide for bookings made before 30th September, including:

London
2 nights for 2 people: Friday, 24th – Sunday 26th September
·     4-Star Top Secret Hotel* at Wembley for €197.60 (total)
·     5-Star Rafayel on the Left Bank for €301.57 (total)

Paris
2 nights for 2 people: Friday, 1st – Sunday 3rd October
·     4-Star Marriott Paris Charles de Gaulle for €198.00 (total)
·     5-Star Sofitel Paris le Defense for €280.00 (total)

Milan
2 nights for 2 people: Friday, 8th – Sunday 10th October
·     3-Star Naviglio Grande for €108.00 (total)
·     4-Star Best Western Falck Village Hotel for €137.19 (total)

New York
2 nights for 2 people: Friday, 15th – Sunday 17th October
·     3-Star Wall Street Inn for €376.67 (total)
·     4-Star Ace Hotel for €437.54 (total)

In other results:

Females (550 respondents) were asked about the mandatory helmet rule with mixed views on the attractiveness of our GAA sportsmen.
·     38% said the helmet “takes care of the ugly”
·     33% saying it “hides the handsome”
·     39% didn’t actually know there was a helmet rule

Respondent were asked: if you were the ref and made a controversial call that affected the outcome of the championship, what would you do?
·     40% of respondents would have the guts to face the music by visiting the affected county’s local and apologising.
·     32% would avoid direct contact with the locals, but would take to the airwaves to justify their decision.

The independent survey was carried out in Ireland by research company iReach for lastminute.com. Survey respondents from each of the 4 provinces answered the survey.