Over the course of five days, three important sporting events in Dublin experienced various degrees of crowd problems. The International rugby match at Lansdowne Road against Scotland in the Five Nations Champion- ship last Saturday, the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Leopardstown on Sunday and the B International soccer match between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland at Tolka Park each found that people arriving to the ground late caused extreme congestion in and around the grounds.

This happened despite efforts from all concerned to encourage patrons to arrive early at the ground. In the case of the IRFU, entertainment was organised while at Leopardstown the organisers ensured that the restaurants and bars were fully serviced. The FAI and the IRFU advertised in magazines and newspapers that it was essential to arrive to the grounds early.

Lansdowne Road

Capacity: 49,000 (for rugby)

Attendance: 48,000 (all ticket)

Problem: Fifteen minutes after kick-off people started arriving in numbers. The gates between the East stand and the Lansdowne Road end terrace were opened to allow fans settle around the fringes of the pitch. The IRFU believed that this was the best option citing massive disruption to the people who had arrived on time as the principal reason. The IRFU believe that people watching the match between France and England may have contributed to the late arrival of so many people.

"We counted 68 people in the East stand 40 minutes before kick-off. About 10,000 people arrived after ten to three," an IRFU stewart at Lansdowne Road said.

Leopardstown

Capacity: 20,000

Attendance: 19,807 (tickets and cash)

Problem: Enormous traffic tailbacks on entering the ground. Leopardstown officials used the same free flow routes as they had done at Christmas for the festival, although, there were less people in attendance - 17,500 being the biggest over the four days.

The organisers had more car park space available than normal for patrons - 7,500. Contributary factors were the road works around the main arteries to the course but it was primarily the fact that people were arriving at the last moment which caused the long delays.

"We had small negative feed back but if people in cars insist on leaving it to the last minute there will be delays," a Leopardstown official, Ruth Chamberlain, said.

Tolka Park

Capacity: 9,100

Attendance 9,100 (virtually all cash 1,200 turned away)

Problem: A number of Irish stars of the future on display and inexpensive admission prices attracted more people than the FAI had expected. More fans arrived than the ground could accommodate and as a result hundreds of fans could not get into the stadium. According to the FAI a contributory factor was supporters arriving to Tolka Park very close to kick-off despite published notices.

"The operation was not helped by the fact that a sizeable number of supporters arrived very close to kick-off time despite repeated requests that they should be in the ground 45 minutes before kick-off," Bernard O'Byrne, Chief Executive of the FAI, said.