Dublin chief disappointed by 'disingenuous' GAA statement over Kerry game
Dublin chairman Mick Seavers has hit back at the GAA for suggesting fans of the county’s senior football team were to blame for long delays in getting into Croke Park for last Saturday week’s Division 1 clash with Kerry.
Seavers described as “disingenuous” the statement made by the GAA that the queues were a result of Dublin supporters not arriving in good time for the match, which was the main bill in a triple-header including the All-Ireland intermediate and junior football finals.
The GAA statement to the42.ie website last Monday read: “At games involving the Dublin football team, we often find that supporters arrive extremely late to the ground. This unfortunately was the case last Saturday evening.
“Despite the turnstiles being open from 2.15pm, only a third of supporters with tickets for the Cusack Stand had actually gone through the turnstiles before 6.45pm.
“There was queuing at the Cusack (Stand) turnstiles last Saturday as a result of the very late arrival of supporters who arrived in very large numbers within 30 minutes of the Dublin v Kerry throw-in.
“While there were certainly enough turnstiles open and no safety risk to any match goer, there were delays on the night for supporters.”
Encouraging supporters to try and arrive in the stadium an hour before throw-in, the statement concluded: “It is an area we will work on with Dublin supporters’ groups to get the message out to arrive in good time for the next Dublin match (v Monaghan) here in Croke Park on 8 February, which will be at 7pm.”
In his match programme notes for Sunday’s Dublin-Laois Allianz Hurling League Division 1, Group 2 game in Parnell Park, Seavers took the opportunity to counter the claims made by the GAA.
“I have to say I was very disappointed with the statement from Croke Park earlier this week, which blamed the long queues experienced last Saturday night on Dublin supporters arriving late for the Kerry game.
“From talking to a lot of them this week, I have been told many turnstiles were closed and there were huge issues with scanning machines, resulting in long delays.
“These people had arrived in plenty of time, as did many Kerry supporters, so I think it was disingenuous to blame them when punctuality was clearly not the issue.
“In my experience, the Dublin supporters are the best in the country and their support for their county is unparalleled.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
