Drogheda was kept on life support for too long

LAST week’s hastily-arranged county board meeting to confirm the collapse of the Gaelic Grounds redevelopment plan was rather aptly described as the project’s ‘funeral’ by Louth chairman, Des Halpenny.

For those who sat at the coalface of negotiations over the last 30-plus years, and more, that’s probably how it felt.

There’ll be sadness, a sense of loss and plenty of recriminations, but to paraphrase the great Socrates (the philosopher, not the Brazil soccer star), this particular ‘death’ is probably a ‘blessing’.

For the wider GAA family in Louth, the passing of this terminally-ill plan is undoubtedly for the best, but it does beg the question:

Why on earth was the doomed project kept on life support for so long?

The answer, of course, is complicated, and a little bit of blame probably lies on all sides.

For longer than anyone cares to re- member, the big ‘ownership’ conundrum stymied countless attempts to revamp the Gaelic Grounds.

Without trawling through history with a fine-tooth comb, the story roughly goes as follows:

The O Raghallaigh’s club responded to an SOS call from a cash-strapped county board in the 1970s, leaving their existing base to become tenants on the North Road.

As part of that arrangement, ownership of the grounds passed to a new company, the Drogheda Gaelic Athletic Grounds Company Limited, and was then made available to the O Raghallaigh’s club on a long-term, rolling lease.

‘Improvements’ (if we can call them that), were made over the years. Most notably, the construction of the oft-maligned main stand, which was rumoured to cost in the region of half a million old punt,

leading to a £5,000 levy on clubs.

But aside from general maintenance and upkeep by the O Raghallaigh’s and county board, which ensured it remains a decent club facility, the old stadium slowly but surely grew out-dated, to the extent that for some years now, it has been unfit for purpose as a modern county ground.

Over the years several regimes tried and failed to broker a deal between the county board and O Raghallaigh’s. Until recently, it seemed.

In 2013, serious negotiations started between the club and county board and appeared to be progressing, albeit slowly.

When the old Drogheda Gaelic Athletic Grounds Company was disbanded and ownership signed over to Louth GAA, a major milestone appeared to have been reached.

O Raghallaigh’s retained their longterm lease of the grounds, but one of the terms of the lease relating to future ownership remained a big stumbling block.

Agreement could not be reached and it eventually brought the house of cards crashing down last week.

But whatever the ins and outs and rights and wrongs on the part of Louth GAA or the O Raghallaigh’s over the years, one thing is clear: Croke Park cannot walk away from this mess now - they’re in it right up to their necks.

It’s worth noting that in 2011 Croke Park pledged their support to a new stadium in partnership with DkIT on council-owned land adjacent to JJB, which has since been acquired by the college.

For the deal to proceed the GAA demanded full ownership and a guarantee that only Gaelic Games would be played at the venue.

DKIT agreed and at the 2011 Louth GAA Convention, on the back of very vocal approval from Croke Park, clubs voted overwhelming (82%) in favour of the DkIT project, over an alternative plan for Drogheda.

As the home of Louth GAA, the Gaelic Grounds was to be finally euthanised.

But less than two years later Croke Park brought it back to life one last time, approving ambitious plans for an 8,200 capacity stadium on the North Road.

So why the change of heart? They cited spiralling costs in relation to the DkIT project at the time, insisting it couldn’t be constructed for the estimated €6m, which was to be borne 50/50 by DkIT and the GAA.

Drogheda was the only show in town again, but in the final days and weeks of Paraic Duffy’s tenure at HQ he has ordered the life support to be switched off and this time, it would seem, they’re going to unplug it - just to be sure!

But with the DkIT project now a distant memory too, Louth chiefs are back to square one - or should that be square zero?

One thing’s for certain - they’ll need all the financial and moral support they can get from the powers that be.