DONEGAL’S iconic GAA captain Anthony Molloy has backed fans amid fears of “extortionate” prices in Kerry.
The All-Ireland winner has even suggested a return plane trip from Donegal to Kerry so fans can jet around the sky-high accommodation costs this weekend.
When the draw for the All-Ireland senior football championship Round 1 draw was made on Bank Holiday Monday, it paired Donegal with Kerry.
It was welcomed by Donegal fans as another chance to avenge last year’s disappointing loss to Kerry in the All-Ireland Final.
But excitement turned to despair when stunned fans blasted “shocking prices” in Kerry and accused hotels of making “Las Vegas look reasonable”.
Now Anthony Molloy, the famous captain of the heroic Donegal GAA team that made history by winning the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1992, has also hit out the soaring costs.
He told the Donegal News: “Donegal fans are brilliant. At the end of the day, we are one of the best supported counties in the whole country.
“Fans are being asked to travel all the way to Killarney, unfortunately, and prices are extortionate.
“Maybe we could charter a place. If planes can fly from Carrickfinn to Dublin, why couldn’t they fly to Kerry? We could charter a plane from Carrickfinn Airport.
“I have been thinking about this. It is definitely food for thought.”
Donegal County councillor Anthony, who famously lifted the Sam Maguire Cup after defeating Dublin in the final, was recently elected cathaoirleach of Glenties Municipal District.
He said last night: “Going back 30 years ago, we would have thousands of fans going to Donegal matches.
“But there are many more fans who go to matches to support the county nowadays.
“People do realise that the prices in Kerry are out of our hands, especially in a town like Killarney that is very popular with tourists.”
Cathaoirleach Anthony Molloy pictured with his family in the council chamber in Dungloe.
Despite complaints of price-gouging, throngs of Donegal fans are expected to descend on Killarney for the All-Ireland clash on Saturday in just five days’ time.
Fans’ excitement is building – but so too is their frustration amid the accusations of rip-off prices.
Many fans took to social media to vent their disappointment at the prices. One fan wrote: “Killarney hotels are making Las Vegas look reasonable.”
Similarly, one local man, who is involved in the hospitality sector, claimed prices in Killarney were dearer than Disneyland.
He said: “Disneyland looks like a bargain compared to one night for a family in Kerry.
“We don’t want dynamic pricing or price-gouging. I saw two places in Killarney, one priced at €2,100 for the night of the Donegal match.
“But the same place on the Saturday before the Donegal game was €1,350.”
The hike from €1,350 to €2,100, week on week, is a steep 55.5% price increase.
An award-winning travel agency in Letterkenny is currently quoting only €721 for return flights from Belfast to Torremolinos in Spain, plus breakfast, for two nights this coming weekend – when fans could watch the Donegal game under the sun in any of the island’s many Irish pubs like the Irish Shamrock.
Legally, Irish hotels can set their own prices, based on supply and demand.
Hiking room rates is a controversial practice amongst the public and has been criticized as “extortionate” and “price-gouging”.
But there is no legal cap that prohibits hotels from doubling or tripling rack rates during high-demand events like match days or concerts.
An examination of costs by the Donegal News found – just 24 hours after the Round 1 draw – that a one-night stay in a classic king double room was listed on a popular booking website at €730, including breakfast, for May 23.
The price for one night soared to €1,055 to stay in the hotel’s signature suite.
Another Killarney hotel was offering rates of €149 a night for May 17, but the following weekend, when scores of Donegal families are visiting, prices were up to €309 – which is 107% dearer from one week to the next.
Some fans are choosing to boycott Killarney to instead stay in places like Limerick or Roscommon.
One said: “Saw that [about prices] and decided on a very reasonably priced four-star en route in Limerick instead.”
Another wrote: “Might overnight in Roscommon.”
While one more suggested a GAA AirBnB website: “I can’t understand how there [isn’t one]. GAA folk should make their houses available to genuine fans. It would save people a fortune.”
When Donegal and Kerry met in the All Ireland Football Final last June, Donegal TD Pearse Doherty accused Dublin hotels of “absolutely scandalous” price hikes.
The Donegal fans in Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney will be hoping for a similar result to the recent 2026 National League walloping at Croke Park.
Donegal also recorded an historic Killarney victory over Kerry in February last year for the first time since 1988.
It was a statement win for Jim McGuinness’s side in Division 1 of the National Football League.
Donegal are away to Kerry in Round 1 of the 2026 GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship on Saturday, May 23, with throw-in at 3pm.
The match will broadcast exclusively live on GAA+.