THE COLOURS being worn by the young men involved should have made the question redundant - but it was posed nevertheless. The scene was the town square in Thurles after last Sunday's Munster hurling semi-final between Tipperary and Limerick.

A jubilant young man in Tipperary colours roared across the street at a group of rather despondent Limerick followers, who were equally well adorned: "Hey Horse!" he roared. "Where are ye from?" As quick as a flash came the reply: "We don't know. It was dark when we left."

As an example of repartee and dignity in defeat it could hardly have been bettered. Later, the two groups could be seen on the same side of the street with brimming glasses, discussing the course of the match.

Apart from the noise and the crush and the litter, Thurles on a Munster championship day has and atmosphere which is unmatched elsewhere. Last Sunday a paying attendance of more than 49,000 crammed Semple Stadium, yet the only negative aspect of the day, apart for some indifferent hurling, was an announcement that pick-pockets were at work on the terraces.

What is most amazing about Thurles is that, no matter who is playing, they all seem to troop back into the town and mingle in the square and the surrounding streets for hours. The good humour and banter between opposing supporters never seems to go beyond the bounds of acceptable behaviour, and if getting a drink or a meal is for the patient rather than the flustered, everybody seems to accept that this is part of the day's outing.

For that reason, it is probably a pity that this year's Munster final between Tipperary and Clare will not be played there. The main reason put forward for that is that it would give Tipperary home advantage. I have a feeling, however, that, Clare would not kick up too much of a fuss if the Munster Council suggested Semple Stadium as the venue.

As things stand, Limerick are rather miffed by the decision to play the match in Pairc Ui Chaoimh in Cork. Limerick, from a geographical point of view, is the logical place to stage a Clare-Tipperary match, but Cork always seems able to manage to muscle in and get their way in situations such as this.

On this occasion, money is at the root of the arguments. The Cork position is that, because Pairc Ui Chaoimh has more seating, the "gate" will, consequently, be greater than it would be at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick, where the Garda are reported to have been worried about severe crushing following the Clare-Cork match and have ordered a reduction in the numbers allowed into the ground.

Semple Stadium would seem, therefore, to be more suitable. It now has a much bigger capacity than either Pairc Ui Chaoimh or the Gaelic Grounds.

When Cork beat Offaly there in the All-Ireland final of 1984, the official attendance was 59,814. Even allowing for the fact that crowd control measures would now probably reduce that to about 55,000, Semple Stadium would still cater for about 10,000 more than either of the other venues.

Croke Park can be regarded as a "home" venue for the Dublin footballers, but nobody would ever suggest playing Dublin matches at neutral venues. Why then should not the Munster Council decide that, regardless of which counties are taking part, the Munster final should be played in Thurles?

For a start, the other counties in Munster are all pretty familiar with Thurles. It is also widely accepted that the Semple Stadium pitch is the best in the country.

Accessibility is also a factor here and Thurles is convenient to all the counties in Munster with the possible exception of Waterford. Thurles is also readily reached from Dublin by road and rail, and each year huge numbers travel from the capital for Munster finals.

If the Munster Council were to grasp this nettle and designate Thurles as the Munster final venue it would be then possible for the Semple Stadium people to use the revenue thus generated to improve the approaches to the stadium. A tarmacadam surface on the approaches to the ground would not go amiss, particularly on wet days when the gravel-covered surface around the stadium can quickly become a quagmire.

To be fair to the Stadium committee they continue to make improvements.

Extra revenue for Semple Stadium could also be used to compensate other counties such as Cork and Limerick for any losses that they might suffer as a result of such a decision.

Down the years I have heard devout Cork hurling followers proclaim that Thurles is an ideal location and a perfect pitch. Even the great Christy Ring is reported to have supported that point of view and Semple Stadium has been greatly improved since his day.