Kildare fans back boycott of match over move to Croke Park
IT’S a game of ‘who will blink first?’ between GAA bosses and the Kildare county board.
In the Lilywhite County, there is near universal support for boycotting Croke Park as the venue for the round three All-Ireland football qualifier against Mayo.
Fans, businesses and public representatives all want Saturday’s game played at the 8,300-seater St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge, in accordance with the home advantage Kildare were supposed to be awarded as the first to be drawn.
“A typical league match would be worth around €220,000 to the local economy. We estimated that this was going to bring in €450,000,” Alan Shine, CEO of the Kildare Chamber of Commerce, said.
Business owners and locals feel they have been deprived of the opportunity to benefit from the event, he added.
“When you take into account the Derby Festival to be held, businesses like bars, restaurants and cafés were expecting a bumper weekend,” he said.
There is a lot of anger in the area, he said. “They feel this was going to be a fantastic event that has been snatched away by a few heads in the GAA.
“And the GAA brings a lovely atmosphere to the town. We are still optimistic that a solution can be found. The next 24 hours are crucial,” he said. He was “100pc” behind the boycott. “Of course, rules are rules and you have to play by the rules. It’s quite clear Kildare should have the home advantage.”
A decision by Kildare to cancel a press conference last night suggested efforts were ongoing to resolve the stand-off.
Broadcaster Sky Sports said it had no input into the decision to hold the game as part of a double-header in Dublin and said it will show both it and the Cavan/Tyrone game regardless of where it is played.
Former Tyrone star Owen Mulligan said “the whole of Ireland” was behind Kildare.
Gillian Murphy (27), who runs the 15,000-strong Kildare GAA Fans page on Facebook, said the vast majority of the county’s supporters back the boycott. “I held a poll on the page and, so far, 92pc back it,” she told the Irish Independent.
“The GAA seem to be making things up as they go along. It said in advance that the first team out in the draw would have home advantage.”
Ms Murphy said if Kildare were forced to play in Croke Park, they would lose their home advantage and Mayo would also gain by bringing more fans. “There is also the financial aspect to it for fans who have travelled all over the country to watch the team. Now that it’s a double-header, the price of the ticket is €25 or €30, where a single would be €15.”
Ms Murphy said she and many from the group would be at St Conleth’s Park on Saturday to show their solidarity.
Kildare TD Bernard Durkan said he believed the game should be played in Newbridge, but declined to comment on whether he supported the boycott of the game if it was held in Croke Park.
“If it was indicated beforehand that one team was going to get the home advantage, why change that? What was the point in the first place?”
The GAA has insisted the venue had to be Croke Park for health and safety reasons.
It did not respond to a request for comment last night.