All Ireland Champions Limerick are heading up to Boston in November to play in the Fenway Hurling Classic 2018 organised by Fenway Sports Management and promoted by the GAA and the Gaelic Players Association.
Aer Lingus is back on board as sponsor and travel partner but AIG who were previously involved in the tournament are absent this year.
Limerick will be joined by reigning champions Clare, Cork and Wexford in the Super 11’s format tournament that will take place over a single day of hurling on Sunday, November 18th. There will be two semi-finals of forty minutes each and a final to take place at Fenway Park, the iconic home of the Boston Red Sox.
Players Seán Finn (Limerick), Peter Duggan (Clare), Patrick Horgan (Cork) and Lee Chin (Wexford) attended the launch of the event at Croke Park yesterday and were accompanied by management personnel from the participating counties in Paul Kinnerk (Limerick), Gavin Keary (Clare), Kieran Murphy (Cork) and Davy Fitzgerald (Wexford).
The Fenway Hurling Classic 2018 is a joint initiative by the GAA and GPA to make it easier for the game to travel to pastures new and provide a forum for experimentation and development.
It was developed specifically by the GPA in conjunction with the GAA to allow hurling to be played in stadiums all over the world where the pitch size is smaller than a traditional hurling pitch. This year’s event will mark the third time in four years that Super 11s has been played in Fenway Park.
The GAA and GPA are organising training sessions for players and referees in advance of the event to ensure that they are fully accustomed to the rules.
Aer Lingus will once again be the Official Airline of the event and will be responsible for flying the four teams to Boston.
Over 30,000 attended the event in 2017 and tickets are now on sale now for the 2018 event which will again include a Festival of all things Irish.
“Having experienced first hand the spectacle that is the Fenway Classic and the hugely entertaining game that is the Super 11s concept, I am pleased that we are returning to Boston with four of our top hurling teams,” said GAA President John Horan.“
“I am delighted that hurling is returning to Fenway Park,” added incoming Gaelic Players Association CEO, Paul Flynn.
“I experienced the games in 2017 as a spectator and found it a thoroughly enjoyable event. We feel proud to showcase the great game of hurling along with our outstanding players in one of the most iconic sports stadiums in the world.”
“We are delighted to have been part of what has turned out to be a huge success story from the beginning and to help bring the country’s leading hurling talent to perform in Ireland’s second capital city of Boston,” said Aer Lingus Director of Communications Ruth Ranson.
