It's been one of the most eagerly anticipated games on the domestic rugby calender - but this time for a whole different set of reasons. The clash between Munster and Leinster in the Magners League is set to take place on Good Friday - a day when pubs traditionally have remained closed and selling alcohol is forbidden under Ireland's liquor laws.

Last week a Limerick judge ruled that due to the match and the thousands of expected visitors, the city's 110 pubs could remain open on Good Friday and serve alcohol. So for the first time since 1927, Good Friday, the day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, will be a day of revelry and drinking in at least one Irish city.

According to Dave Hickey, the spokesman for the Limerick Vintners Federation and owner of South's Pub in Limerick City, rugby fans were going to get their hands on alcohol for the big match, with or without the liquor laws.

"People will make sure that on the Wednesday and Thursday before Good Friday stocks will be taken in houses, apartments, and you're driving it underground if you like," he told Deutsche Welle. "Because in the pubs, people come in and drink normally and there's control and measure. And you can't buy the atmosphere you get in a pub."

The potential loss of revenue for remaining closed during the match wouldn't have been able to be bought back either. The pub owners argued to the judge that they could lose up to 10 million euros ($13.6 million) in trade brought into the city by the sell-out match.

A win for secularism

Mayor Kevin Kiely agrees and describes the law governing pub closures on Good Friday, which dates back to 1927, as "outdated."

"We are now members of the European Union and we should be operating under European law," he said. "I don't think that we should be dictated to by religious orders. We are a modern European city and we should act like one."

In the midst of a child sex abuse scandal, the Irish Catholic Church has lost some of its moral authority in Irish society. In December, Limerick became the first city to lose its bishop over accusations that the church systematically covered up cases of pedophilia within the ranks of Irish clergy.

T-shirts on sale in the city have declared a win for secular society. "Officially bigger than the Catholic Church: Munster Rugby," one read. "Mass will now take place at Thomond Park," said another, referring to the Limerick stadium home to the Munster Rugby team.

But Brother Sylvester Mann, a Franciscan friar in the city, says the focus on money is un-Christian.

"Jesus said in his scriptures, you can't serve both God and man, so in some sense it comes down to that choice," he said. "What is more important to you on this day? Is your faith in Christ and saving mysteries of our faith more important or is it making a few extra bob [money]."

And while thus far the ruling affects just the city of Limerick and just this Good Friday, it could be a sign of bigger changes in the relationship between church and state in Ireland.

"I think if it is allowed on Good Friday, it will be allowed permanently," said Father Adrian Egan of the Redemptionist Church in Limerick. "So it will change the nature if the day long-term. It's hard to see it as a one-off."

Author: Anne-Marie McNerney (hf)
Editor: Rob Turner