Kyne: Take Dubs out of Croke Park for All-Ireland semi-finals

Galway defender Declan Kyne says more of Dublin’s championship games should be moved out of Croke Park.

Kyne (28) and Galway lost out to Dublin in an All-Ireland semi-final at Jones Road last summer and the Clonbur club man believes home advantage played a part on the day. That was the third game between the sides last year, following the Allianz League draw in Pearse Stadium and Dublin’s win in the Division 1 final at Croke Park.

And Kyne thinks it’s unfair Dublin play the majority of their matches in the capital.

In 2018, Dublin played their Leinster semi-final and final, two Super 8 games, and the All-Ireland semi-final and final at Croke Park.

He said: “Dublin are so used to playing in Croke Park, maybe it’s a slight advantage for them. Whereas teams like us wouldn’t be playing every weekend in it. It definitely makes a difference. Maybe semi-finals should be played at a neutral venue. There are plenty of grounds around the country that could host a semi-final if the GAA wanted to go that way.

Even for the Super 8s in Croke Park it’s a big advantage for Dublin. They had two home games there last year. With the home and away games in the Super 8s there is a nice atmosphere around the home grounds.

"Last year, the games that stick in my mind are (Kildare in) Newbridge and against Monaghan in Pearse Stadium. There is huge excitement in the towns for those games and it makes for more of a spectacle.”

Just over 54,000 spectators saw Dublin beat Galway by nine points in the semi-final last year, and despite his gripe about Croke Park, Kyne acknowledges Galway fell short of Dublin in 2018, but that the gap might not be as big as people think.

“The next few months is all about trying to get up to their level. But you can’t be afraid of any team. If you go out thinking you are not good enough then you won’t beat them. We are not too far behind them. There are three or four teams fairly close to them. They can be beaten. You saw Monaghan in the league last year, they beat them. If we just improve on the small things and get used to the new rules they can be caught.”

Galway launch their Division 1 campaign at home to Cavan on Sunday, but Kyne is unlikely to feature after he picked up an ankle injury in last weekend’s FBD League final defeat to Roscommon. “I just rolled the ankle and the physio reckoned the bone bent a bit but it didn’t break, thankfully. It’s nothing too serious but it was very painful at the time. I should be okay in a week or two.”