Kildare League Fixtures 2013

It begs the question as to why a similar amount was not set aside (or sought even) at some stage in the last few years for such basic work on the ground? I don't think anyone expects state of the art facilities at county grounds but surely clean toilet facilities and safe access is not too much to ask from county boards and the GAA. The majority of clubs around the country have facilities that would put Newbridge to shame.

kickingking wrote:

How far will €60k go towards bringing St Conleth's Park up to scratch?

Does anyone know what exactly h&s have said needs to be improved and is this famous Slattery Report available to read anywhere online?

It won't be a drop in the ocean.

And sure you couldn't expect ordinary members to be allowed to read an internal Croke Park document. Transparency is a big no no.

I think we will never see a championship game again in St Conleth's, unless there's a significant redevelopment and I can't see €60k going too far. And if we remain in Division 1, we'll have very few league games in St Conleth's.. And it's fuck all to do with health & safety. It's down to money, pure and simple. And if we show up in our traditional numbers in Croke Park for these two "home" games, we are giving Croke Park the green light to ride rough shod over us forever more.

It won't bring it up to to what would be deemed adequate for championship anyway. From what I'm hearing, it might get it up to 8,000 capacity

And Ogie once that is true then we should reasonably expect not to move any future home games on the basis of reduced capacity in my opinion... Although 8,000 isnt ideal, its better than the 6,500 mentioned as the current capacity.

So what you are saying Ogie is €60,000 is worth only 1500 extra people and still not up to championship standard. We cut so bad a deal that giving up two home games still didn't get enough money to allow championship football level crowds. Jesus, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse.
The very least that should have been got from this Faustian bargain was enough to enable us to get summer football in Newbridge. What we got the was a cluster f*ck of monumental proportions.
Some one should check the chairman's background just to make sure he us not from Laois.

There should be an egm of the clubs and these amateurs taken to task then removed from their positions. Leaving them in charge for any longer is only going to adversely affect Kildare GAA.

We'll never have another championship game against most division 1, 2 or 3 teams. Fair enough, we'll still be able to host the likes of Antrim but 8000 capacity would still see Limerick brought to Portlaoise.

Kathleen O'Neill says that between the upgrading and training to stewards, capacity will increase to 9,000 which she says will be enough to host most games, including qualifiers - with the exception of Dublin and maybe one or two others. Obviously, the board reckons that if they had a capacity for 9,000 and got a Qualifier, they could make it all-ticket, even though 11 or 12,000 went to Portlaoise for the Limerick game last year.

http://www.daraghoconchuir.ie/blog.php?id=2400

Sums up everything when the lackey from croke park mentions people being able to watch Dublin twice in two paragraphs, while being condesending to Kildare saying it was positive they are happy to bring their games to Croke Park.

Quote :

Kildare rule out playing Dublin in Croke Park under Friday night lights

GAVIN CUMMISKEY

GAELIC GAMES: Kieran McGeeney’s Kildare football management have refused to facilitate the first ever Friday night league game under lights at Croke Park.

Dublin and the GAA fixtures committee were in agreement but could not convince Kildare to embrace the experiment. The fixture has instead been set for Sunday, March 10th, at 2pm. The Saturday was not viable as it clashed with Ireland’s home Six Nations match against France.

“We must open our minds more to midweek/Thursday/ Friday night matches where it is practical for the competing counties,” wrote Dublin secretary John Costello in his report to the county’s annual convention.

The GAA were also keen to trial Friday matches at headquarters, especially with a county just outside Dublin.

Dublin’s other “Spring Series” games at Croke Park have been confirmed for Saturday evenings against Cork on February 2nd, Mayo on March 2nd, Tyrone on March 16th – a double header with Anthony Daly’s hurlers facing Limerick – and Down on March 23rd.

Progress made

“There has been fantastic progress made in the past few years of the Spring Series,” said GAA communications manager Alan Milton. “It is right and proper that it continues. Obviously, the Dublin hurlers being relegated to Division Two made it difficult to make more attractive double headers but thankfully everybody involved has come to an arrangement.”

It means that new Dublin football manager Jim Gavin only has two league fixtures on the road, albeit against Kerry (February 10th) and All-Ireland champions Donegal (April 7th).

Kildare must now convince the health and safety audit committee that a reduced capacity at St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge is capable of staging Allianz national league fixtures. The committee meets this week to sign off, or reject, all county grounds ahead of 2012.

Ongoing work at St Conleth’s must be completed in time for Kerry’s visit on March 3rd.

The ground’s capacity has been reduced to 6,000, which the Kildare board agreed would not be enough to facilitate the Dublin match or Donegal on February 2nd , which is now a Croke Park double header with Dublin versus Cork.

“At the moment we have no home venue,” said a Kildare GAA county board spokesperson yesterday. “The whole ground needs renovation from the turnstiles to toilets to the stands. The emphasis is on everything.” Will it be ready in time? “Yes and no . . . I wouldn’t think so.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/1219/1224327996393.html

That last sentence is something else. Especially taken in conjunction with the earlier paragraph I've bolded. It would seem that the Kerry and Tyrone games are unlikely to be held in Newbridge.

Shambles, embarrassing, shameful, deceitful, yet not unexpected because of those in charge who continue to make wrong decisions.

surely a whole month they cud get most of the work done to pass!!wait till last min as usuall when its to late

Taken from HoganStand;

Dubs rue lost opportunity

In order to avoid a clash with Ireland's Six Nations encounter against France in the Aviva Stadium, GAA fixture-makers had mooted the idea of playing the game on Friday, March 8 but Kildare objected to that on the basis that is will pose logistical problems for their players.

The game will now be played on the Sunday.

"I thought it was an ideal opportunity to provide the Friday night. It is a fairly decent sporting weekend," Kettle told the Herald.

"It would give an opportunity to assess the warmth for it, how it would fit with supporters. I think supporters would react to it, people would be open to it.

"It's starting a weekend, no school the next day, quite a few work on Saturday. All that makes a difference."

Lilywhites chairman John McMahon explained their stance. "It was our home game and Friday night was never going to work for Kildare.

"There was no official request put to us for Friday night but that would have been our decision.

"Friday night, guys trying to get home from work. It's not just a matter of getting into the car and going up the road.

"If the throw-in is 7pm, fans have to be there for 6.55pm, but the players have to be there hours before that."

It is understood that Kildare received in the region of €60,000 to play their home league games with Donegal and Dublin at Croke Park.

Will it be ready in time? “Yes and no . . . I wouldn’t think so.”

The whole situation would be comical if it wasn't so serious.

SamMaguire wrote:

Will it be ready in time? “Yes and no . . . I wouldn’t think so.”

The whole situation would be comical if it wasn't so serious.

Don't worry;

"The emphasis is on everything".

if_in_doubt wrote:

SamMaguire wrote:

Will it be ready in time? “Yes and no . . . I wouldn’t think so.”

The whole situation would be comical if it wasn't so serious.

Don't worry;

"The emphasis is on everything".

As the saying goes, emphasis on everything leads to no emphasis at all!

Maybe a simple "no comment" might be the best answer to media queries!

if_in_doubt wrote:

SamMaguire wrote:

Will it be ready in time? “Yes and no . . . I wouldn’t think so.”

The whole situation would be comical if it wasn't so serious.

Don't worry;

"The emphasis is on everything".

And we wonder why it's taking so long to get a new sponsor on board and why the finances are the way they are.....

That article in the Times is a PR disaster. If there was at any point a time to say nothing, that was it. Whoever that was needs a Bishop Brennan style kick up the arse.

It is also very worrying that there seems to be no plan or steps to get the most important jobs done. No point concentrating on everything when certain vital jobs need doing first.

2013 looks to be starting off as 2012 finished, with constant negative stories, many of our own making. Sad days indeed.

Will it be ready in time? "Yes and No.... I wouldn't think so."

I wonder what absolute imbicile was paraded out to talk to the Irish times this time.

If it wasn't so embarrassing it would be funny.

If this were Meath, Laois or Dublin we'd be falling over ourselves , dribbling at the mouth taking the complete piss out of them in here.

What a bunch of Morons our County Board really are.

In fairness to the county board, I'm sure they're all honourable people who have the best interests of Kildare GAA at heart. However, you would have to question their competance after all that has gone on over the past year or so.

We've just stumbled from one pr disaster to another:

- The debt and the advances/loans from Croke Park.
- The disgraceful state of the county grounds.
- Home matches moving to Portlaoise/Croke Park harming the team's chances and increasing the expense for loyal supporters.
- Whatever about the rights and wrongs of it, the Seanie Johnston saga was very badly handled.
- Objecting to playing Sligo in Roscommon was another ill-advised and futile decision.
- The hurling panel being given an Elverys voucher rather than having all their playing gear provided for them which is only right.
- The u21 hurling panel not being provided with meals after training and the delay in paying their expenses.
- The prioritising of the inter county player over his club counterpart (not a problem exclusive to Kildare to be fair).

The GAA and Dublin GAA have launched a dedicated new Hill 16 Season Ticket for keen followers of the Dublin football team.

Available for €130, the ticket entitles the holder to:

- Terrace ticket to all Dublin Allianz League fixtures, Hill 16 in Croke Park

- Access to all of Dublin’s away league games in the Allianz football league

- Opening Provincial Championship fixture - Hill 16 in Croke Park - All Dublin GAA Club fixtures

- AIB GAA Club Championship Finals on St. Patrick's Day (Davin Stand, as terrace will not be open)

No inter-county fixture only version will be available. No juvenile tickets are available under this category. Pricing on Pay & Play will apply at face value for all subsequent fixtures meaning ticket holders hoping to attend an All-Ireland final should Dublin advance, must have attended 60% of league and championship games to qualify.

Also available at gaa.tickets.ie for the Spring Series are the following packages:

The 5 Match Package

€50 Adults

€15 Juveniles

€50 Terrace

Ticket for individual matches can also be purchased and cost

€13 Adult

€5 Juvenile

€13 Terrace.

****

That just landed. Pedantic maybe, and this isn't Dublin's fault at all, but if the Dublin-Kildare game is our home game, why are the GAA giving priority to the away team?

KILL BILL wrote:

Agree with you entirely there Highball, but can we be confident it will be?

As far as i am aware the money we receive for playing the 2 games in Croke Park (which is considerably more than the figures already mentioned here) will be used to upgrade the County Grounds after the league games against Kerry and Tyrone, which they are confident we will keep home advantage for. I am led to believe that the price of the work to be done is ready to go to tender..Nollaig Shona

You really need to ask that tommykeegan, I presume it's rhetorical because the dubs will always receive priority treatment against any other county, especially those in Leinster.

lilyban wrote:

KILL BILL wrote:

Agree with you entirely there Highball, but can we be confident it will be?

As far as i am aware the money we receive for playing the 2 games in Croke Park (which is considerably more than the figures already mentioned here) will be used to upgrade the County Grounds after the league games against Kerry and Tyrone, which they are confident we will keep home advantage for. I am led to believe that the price of the work to be done is ready to go to tender..Nollaig Shona

Just for your reference again...

Kathleen O'Neill says that between the upgrading and training to stewards, capacity will increase to 9,000 which she says will be enough to host most games, including qualifiers - with the exception of Dublin and maybe one or two others. Obviously, the board reckons that if they had a capacity for 9,000 and got a Qualifier, they could make it all-ticket, even though 11 or 12,000 went to Portlaoise for the Limerick game last year.

http://www.daraghoconchuir.ie/blog.php?id=2400