Clare ready to give Cusack Park one last hurrah before revamp

The dust will have barely settled from the staging of its final contest when the bulldozers arrive through the gates of Cusack Park.

Truth be told, developer Patrick Keogh will be glad of the opportunity to finally commence renovation work at the Ennis ground, the proposed redevelopment of Clare’s flagship venue having twice been stalled over the past month.

Clare and Limerick lock horns in the Munster U21 hurling decider at Cusack Park on Thursday, July 30, with the heavy machinery arriving on site the following Saturday morning, Clare County Board chairman Michael McDonagh yesterday confirmed.

The Clare executive took the decision last month to prematurely postpone the €2.3m Cusack Park redevelopment in order to secure home advantage for the senior hurling and football qualifier double-header, as well as the Munster U21 semi-final against Waterford.

The result of the latter fixture was not expected to fall in the Banner’s favour so when Donal Moloney’s young charges scored a superb 0-23 to 1-18 victory over Waterford, the executive were forced into a second postponement.

“This will definitely be the last game at Cusack Park. The developers will be moving in on Saturday, August 1 to begin work on the main stand,” said McDonagh.

“Patrick Keogh, the developer, is a good GAA man and he has been accommodating towards us in every way he could. He had no issue with us putting back the start date for work.”

Capacity for the Munster U21 hurling final has been set at 14,800 and the Clare chairman is predicting a sell-out.

“The Clare hurling public are massively proud of this U21 team given they weren’t given much of a chance in the semi-final. That is why we are looking at a sell-out. I would urge all supporters to get there tickets as early as possible so not to be left disappointed.”

McDonagh added: “The redevelopment will be complete in eight months. It hasn’t been discussed as of yet where the bulk of clubs games will go later this summer.”

The capacity of Cusack Park will rise to 20,000 upon completion of the project.