O'Connor Park to host Leinster SFC semi-final

OFFALY GAA and the town of Tullamore has received a huge boost with O'Connor Park selected as the venue for a huge Leinster Senior Football Championship semi-final.

The iconic venue will hold the very attractive showdown between Kildare and Westmeath on Sunday, May 3 with a 2pm throw in.

It will be a huge game with a Leinster final against the winners of Louth and Dublin at stake – that takes place in O'Moore Park, Portlaoise the previous evening.

It is a great game for Offaly GAA to get and it will bring a financial windfall to the shops, restaurants and pubs in Tullamore.

O'Connor Park hosted the quarter-final clash between Meath and Westmeath last Sunday with Westmeath turning in an excellent display to shock the favourites. They were outstanding on the day, full value for a thrilling 4-18 to 0-25 win in a tremendous game of football. There was a real old style championship feel to the whole occasion, showing the benefits of not having every match available on television.

SEE NEXT: Offaly break two big barriers to pick up deserved point in Leinster SHC thriller

A crowd of almost 10,000 created a great atmosphere with throw in delayed by ten minutes to allow the crowd get in. There was a great buzz in Tullamore before and after the match and while the semi-final is likely to be televised, there will be more of the same on May 3.

With both Westmeath and Kildare hungry for a Leinster final berth, the attendance should go north of 10,000. Kildare would normally be favourites but the semi-final form will ensure that Westmeath wear that hat and they certainly looked in prime shape last Sunday. The stakes are also huge for Westmeath as a Leinster final berth, even a losing one, will ensure them of a place in the All-Ireland series and not the Tailteann Cup – Kildare are assured of that as they won the Tailteann Cup last year and if Westmeath do get through, Down could be the unlucky team to lose out, unless they get to the Ulster final.