Replying To BarneyGrant:  "It was down to stewarding. Not proper stewards from clubs but paid security who were clearly not up to task.

I was in Limerick for big games and yerrace stewards were excellent. Even nipped some potential flash points with drunken but otherwise harmless young fellas in bud with help of good Gardaí.

There is persistent pattern of gangs occuppying upper right part of Hill and throwing bottles and debris onto people below them. Could easily be solved."

Replying To Cockney_Cat:  ""There is persistent pattern of gangs occuppying upper right part of Hill and throwing bottles and debris onto people below them. Could easily be solved."
If it's a persistent pattern, why hasn't it already been solved?"

Replying To Fionn:  "That is a regular occurrence now Barney from non Dublin fans. Bottles and flares raining down on us from top centre right area.

As for the so called over crowding….
A lot of it is down to stewarding.
Far too many teenage stewards and a lot of them girls, who are suddenly confronted by a rush of hundreds of fans coming in. I feel for them tbh.
Trying to check if beer is being brought in, trying to direct them to areas where there is space, when the fans want to meet up with their pals on different areas of the Hill. There is also a part of the Hill close to the Cusack which fans are rarely allowed into.

There is another reason why fans don't want to be directed down to the lower terracing and no one has referenced it yet…..
that damn plastic 20 foot barrier.
You can't see the game properly from behind it. Glare in the sunshine, reflection, flowing water on it during rainy days, and generally a blurred view from the dirt on it.
It is a nightmare trying to watch a game from behind it.
You can't blame fans for wanting to move higher up the terracing to avoid being behind it."

Replying To Fionn:  "Surely it is time to remove those plastic abominations at this stage….
Restricted View - no wonder no one wants to stand on the first few rows of the Hill…!"

Replying To Pikeman96:  "Devil's advocate here, but isn't it a bit of a chicken and egg situation?

Basically, the screen was erected to prevent pitch invasions from The Hill, because rightly or wrongly, it was felt that crowds there couldn't be trusted as much to stay off the pitch as people in other parts of the ground.

And for so long as the people going there show that they can't be trusted to obey the directions of stewards, to not bring in flares, and to not throw bottles and other items around, it'd be hard to trust them to stay off the pitch as well.

And as for "overcrowding" issues....I've been on The Hill for a couple of All-Ireland Hurling Finals, when it would have been every bit as full as for the football matches last weekend. Go in early enough - i.e. maybe an hour before the game - and you'll get a decent spot all right.

The problems are mainly caused by too many people leaving it to the last few minutes to try get in there at all, often because they're gulping another pint or two first, and then not moving on far enough from the access points when they do get in, thus blocking others from gaining access at all."