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Tyrone GAA supporter refused entry to Croke Park after being asked to provide ticket for her nine-week-old baby

The Tyrone GAA supporter missed the first half of Sunday's U-17 All-Ireland final after being refused entry because she did not have a ticket for her baby. Picture by Cliff Donaldson
The Tyrone GAA supporter missed the first half of Sunday's U-17 All-Ireland final after being refused entry because she did not have a ticket for her baby. Picture by Cliff Donaldson The Tyrone GAA supporter missed the first half of Sunday's U-17 All-Ireland final after being refused entry because she did not have a ticket for her baby. Picture by Cliff Donaldson

THE GAA has insisted that all supporters must be in possession of a valid match ticket after a Tyrone woman was refused entry to Croke Park because she had not purchased one for her nine-week-old baby daughter.

The woman, whose child was strapped to her chest in a baby carrier, was stopped from entering the stadium after travelling to watch the first game of Sunday's triple header, which saw Tyrone's Under-17 team win the inaugural All-Ireland title.

The woman and her husband, who do not wish to be named, have brought their newborn child to a number of GAA games this summer.

The woman's husband told The Irish News that the couple are both GAA season ticket holders and have "never had any difficulty" prior to Sunday's game, having recently attended Croke Park for the Tyrone vs Armagh clash.

"We have three children and have taken the kids to matches before and there has never been any bother," he said.

"We had the baby with us in Thurles for Armagh v Tipperary, we had her in Clones for the Ulster final, Tyrone v Down, and we had her in Croke Park for the Armagh v Tyrone game.

"On Sunday, a supervisor was called over and she refused. The guy at the ticket office said - well I won't repeat exactly what he said - that my wife should go back and try and get in without a ticket for the baby."

Although officials at the stadium eventually relented and allowed both parent and baby in together, the woman ended up missing the first half of the Under-17 showpiece.

The couple and the baby attended their first soccer game last month at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, where Manchester United played Sampdoria in a friendly, and were advised prior to that game that a child under the age of two years old and held in the parent's arms did not require a ticket.

After querying the issue with the GAA, the couple received an email stating that all people attending games must have a ticket "for health and safety and insurance reasons".

It comes after a caller to RTÉ last week reported being asked to pay 35 euro for a ticket by a Croke Park steward for the Monaghan vs Dublin All-Ireland quarter-final game for their six-month-old child, who was also strapped to their chest.

A GAA spokesman told The Irish News: "Every person entering the stadium - regardless of age - needs a valid match ticket.

"This has been a long standing stadium regulation and is applicable to all fixtures."