A crowd of somewhere in the region of 13,000 is expected in O’Moore Park on Sunday for the meeting of Laois and Dublin.
The Leinster championship quarter final is due to throw in at 3.30pm and big numbers are anticipated.
It will be a crowd that we haven’t seen in Laois GAA HQ since the Leinster minor hurling final between Laois and Offaly last summer.
And if the estimates are correct, it will easily be more than 10 times the amount of people that watched Laois and Wexford two weeks ago.
Unfortunately for the home side, the bulk of these fans are expected to be here to shout for Dublin.
But it should make for a great atmosphere too and if the weather remains as it is, it will bring a real championship feel to the game.
And with a 3.30pm throw in, it should provide a nice boost to the pubs, restaurants and shops in Portlaoise and the surrounds as the Dubs are likely to require feeding and watering too.
It will be an historic occasion too as it will be the first time in over 100 years that the counties will have met in Portlaoise in championship football.
You have to go back to 1912 for the last time Laois played Dublin on Laois soil, the only occasion out of 35 championship meetings that they played in Laois.
Croke Park, Navan, Tullamore, Carlow, Athy, Newbridge and Kilkenny have all hosted Laois v Dublin Leinster championship matches since that 1912 meeting.
Dublin have played in O’Moore Park in recent years as a neutral venue but famously in 2016, the Leinster championship quarter-final between the sides was played in Nowlan Park, much to the anger of Laois supporters and officials at the time.
O’Moore Park was deemed too small a venue to cater for Dublin’s season ticket holders at the time – though that policy has been relaxed and Dublin have played against Carlow in 2017 and Wicklow in 2018 in the Laois venue.
Laois’s last win over Dublin was in the 2003 Leinster semi-final and Laois’s losing streak is currently nine games.
The game on Sunday is not on TV but will be available to watch on GAAGO and we will also carry coverage on our Live Blog.
Tickets are priced at €20 for the terrace and €25 for the stand. They can be purchased by clicking here.
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