KILKENNY CALLS FOR MORE TO BE DONE TO PROMOTE BIG GAA GAMES
CIARAN KILKENNY has called for greater promotion of the inter-county season after Dublin’s damp squib with Meath on Sunday.
For a fixture that was capable of selling out Croke Park in the past, an attendance of just 21,445 for the Leinster quarterfinal was a shocking turnout and again led to calls for the Leinster Council to save GAA HQ for the provincial final only.
However, the Dublin-Offaly/ Louth-Kildare semi-finals will be played as a Croke Park double-header on Sunday week.
Dublin haven’t played Meath in a Championship game outside of Croke Park since the 1980 Leinster semi-final at Navan’s Pairc Tailteann.
Capacity
The ground’s capacity is now limited to just 11,000, though Kilkenny feels it would have been a more appropriate venue for last Sunday’s game.
“You would be disappointed with the attendance of the game,” said the Dublin star. “As players, collectively, there would probably have been a better atmosphere if the game was in Pairc Tailteann. We would have loved if the game was in Pairc Tailteann just from an atmosphere point of view.
“I know Meath are a very proud footballing county and have a serious tradition of playing football and I know they’d be seriously disappointed with the performance they put in.
“It is challenging in a sense for both sides, they retained Division Two status, it was very competitive in the first half but there definitely has to be something done in that regard. It went from a big attendance in Croke Park against Derry to 22,000 there. I don’t know what needs to be done but I think we can do a lot more to promote the games.
Season
“For me, being a school teacher and thinking of the bigger picture, as players you love to have the condensed season, you are playing games continually after each other and you have more time with the club but I think
from a promotional point of view in the GAA, the September All-Ireland finals were great for schools in terms of having a buzz there around the All-Ireland final, everyone is back from their holidays.
“I don’t know what needs to be done, I am not a decisionmaker in that regard but I do think there is more that we can do to promote the games in that sense.”
Croker will be far from full on Sunday week and Kilkenny would welcome the chance to play Offaly elsewhere.
Kilkenny was speaking as an ambassador for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic between Georgia Tech and Florida State University at the Aviva on August 24.
Celebrate
“I’d really recommend anyone goes to the match because the whole pageantry and entertainment, how they actually celebrate their game, it’s really amazing and we can learn a few things from how they celebrate their games.”
Kilkenny confirmed Pat Gilroy still has no involvement with Dublin this year despite Dessie Farrell expressing optimism around a possible return for the Championship.
“From my under- standing, he’s busy with commitments with work and family at the