IT'S HARD to feel fully satisfied by the explanation from Croke Park concerning the crowd disturbances at Sunday's Leinster hurling semi-finals. On one level the announcement that the migration from the New Stand to the Hogan Stand was to keep parents and children together and save them all a long walk around the perimeter to take up spare seats on the other side of the ground was plausible, but serious issues remain.

No matter what explanation or post-hoc rationale was conjured up in the aftermath of the spectacle which disrupted the Dublin-Kilkenny match, it was bound to end up in a charge of incompetence. The profuse apologies issuing from Croke Park indicate that much is accepted, so questions concern how the problem arose, how it was dealt with, and what lessons can be learned for the future.

Firstly, it is important to emphasise that the occurrence was serious. The fact that no one was injured and no damage was done is attributable to the customary good behaviour of the crowd. Blessed as it is with supporters that never attack each other and require segregation at big matches, the GAA sometimes gives the impression of being complacent about the potential dangers of crowd disturbances.

The dangers involved in moving around 4,000 people in unscheduled directions without adequate stewarding are obvious. That the crowd largely controlled itself was a necessary factor as the consequences of any breakdown in discipline were hinted at by small incidents of unruliness that did take place.

The scenes of people crowded up against wire fencing - so alarmingly reminiscent of Hillsborough - originally looked like the outcome of some bright sparks jumping the queue which was congesting around the two small gates through which access to the Hogan Stand was being gained.

Regardless of the relevant motivation, this was dangerous and sufficient stewards should have been available to stop the breaking down of the fence. That no one was injured was again a matter of chance rather than design.

The shortage of stewards was also a factor in the spillage of spectators on to the pitch and the consequent suspension of the Dublin-Kilkenny semi-final. Although the crowd movement happened never to threaten danger, the disruption of a championship match was a heavy price to pay for administrative oversight.

Viewed from the GAA's perspective, it was explicable that the attendance was underestimated. The initial response to the methodology was slightly sceptical. A bunch of lads in a saloon bar on Friday evening could work out an average of recent years' Leinster semi-finals. Was there no more reliable indicator?

As precedent proved unreliable, more precise forecasting of the potential attendance was further frustrated by the slow pre-match sale of Hogan Stand tickets.

Fewer than 6,000 tickets were bought in advance. so there was little sign that the attendance was going to exceed the previous record for Leinster hurling semi-finals by over 20,000. Complicating this miscalculation was the promotional scheme that allowed one child free admission to the New Stand with an adult.

A fair amount has been said on this subject over the years. It has been a jolt to the Gael in recent times that he or she has not been able to bring in all 11 children over the turnstile for free, but safety and comfort requirements have cut back on this permissive attitude to crowd control.

The value of the Leinster Council's promotion is not at issue; it's just that it has to be better organised. Nicky Brennan, the Kilkenny manager and former county chairman, said after the match that children gaining free admission should be issued with tickets.

This is unarguable. Even if a there are no pre-match sales, tickets should be available from vending points before matches as is common practice at provincial venues, so that everyone has a ticket and a numbered seat when going through the stiles.

In this way, everyone knows when the stand is sold out and there are no more tickets to sell.

The explanation of how the New Stand continued to admit patrons after it had been declared full is puzzling. It was considered administratively preferable to allow the surplus crowd pass through the New Stand, onto the pitch and into the Hogan Stand, rather than direct them around to the Hogan where they could enter in orderly fashion through the turnstiles.

There were bona fide safety reasons advanced for this action - that it would have caused aggravation and potential crowd pressures to shut the gate and re-route the spectators. Yet it seems strange that it's safer to pour around 4,000 people into a restricted area, onto the pitch and through two small access points under the Hogan Stand rather than ask them to walk around the corner and use the plentiful turnstiles on Jones's Road.

Communications lapses also appear to have played a role, although the one critical communication - to stop selling Hogan Stand tickets - was effected promptly and efficiently.

In general terms, however, public relations were a disaster. Danny Lynch, the GAA PRO, is on holiday at present and he would normally have dealt with media enquiries. In his absence, there was no official explanation until yesterday at lunchtime.

Leinster Council chairman Jim Berry said afterwards: "The way we handled it was a bit of an embarrassment. There will have to be an inquiry to find out what happened and to make sure it won't happen again.

Asked about the decision to allow continued access to an already full New Stand, he replied, "I can't answer that one".

In other words, the Leinster Council who were Sunday's tenants were quite unaware that - according to yesterday's official statement - "it was decided in the interests of safety to continue to allow people entry to the ground with the purpose of transferring the surplus people to the vacant seats on the Hogan Stand"

"Crisis" is used loosely to describe any acute situation. In the end, Sunday mercifully turned out to be, for the most part, an orderly resolution of a problem that isn't likely to arise again.

Decisions on all-ticket matches will presumably be made on more conservative grounds than before and children gaining free admission will require tickets. The nuts and bolts of matchday logistics will be tightened.

If all this happens, Sunday will have been worth it. There are potentially heavier prices to pay for such a lesson than a 10-minute hold-up in a championship match.