Venue shortage means Dublin play opener with Meath at training ground

Having to use St Clare’s (DCU) underlines the surprising lack of suitable alternatives in the capital.

Thu, 19 Jan, 2023 - 07:20

Cliona Foley

DUBLIN have been forced to host Meath in the surprisingly ‘off-broadway’ venue of their training ground for the plum tie of Lidl NFL’s opening round this weekend because Parnell Park is unavailable due to surface damage.

When Meath hosted this fixture a year ago (after their historic first senior All-Ireland) it attracted an unprecedented women’s NFL crowd in Pairc Tailteann.

When Dublin subsequently hosted the Royals in the 2022 Leinster Championship at Dublin GAA’s HQ it also attracted a bumper crowd but Parnell Park is not available for this eagerly anticipated re-match as it is recovering from some heavy traffic in the past 10 days.

Having to use St Clare’s (DCU), where Dublin ladies train, underlines the surprising lack of suitable alternatives in the capital.

“There’s been a number of O’Byrne and Walsh Cup games in Parnell Park in the last 10 days which resulted in some damage to the pitch and it was frozen over the last few nights so it simply wasn’t available to take our game on Saturday,” a spokesperson for Dublin LGFA said.

“Like most ladies’ teams in the country we don’t own a pitch. On this occasion, Dublin GAA weren’t able to facilitate our match but this isn’t men versus women or a lack of support because Dublin GAA are fantastic supporters of Dublin Ladies Football.”

It is understood that some mid-week colleges’ games, fixed for Parnell, were called off.

Dublin ladies’ have previously hosted some NFL games in St Clare’s (DCU) but nothing of this profile or public interest.

Dublin GAA does not have an elite training centre and, apart from Parnell Park, the county’s only other GAA ground with a stand is St Peregrines’ club which does not have dug-outs.

St Clare’s does not have a stand but it has a railed pitch with dugouts and an artificial pitch as a back-up which is important given the weather forecast and the presence of live TV.

The game was moved to Saturday (5:15) to facilitate live coverage from TG4 which is covering 13 live games this season, including Mayo v Kerry (Jan 28), Cork v Dublin (Feb 6) and Cork v Kerry (March 17).

But this location highlights the LGFA’s continued dependence on the GAA for venues and the problems often encountered.

Of the venues confirmed so far this weekend only three games are at county GAA grounds: Galway v Donegal (Tuam on Saturday), the Division Two clash of Laois v Monaghan (O’Moore Park) and the Division Three clash of Kildare versus Down (Newbridge).

Cork’s tough opener against Mayo is being played in Connacht’s Centre of Excellence on Sunday (1:30).

Meath forward star Emma Duggan said: “We presumed it (the game) would be in Parnell Park but a pitch is a pitch, we’ll play anywhere.

“Dublin is always a massive challenge for us and we’re always really excited for it so we’re not going to get too bogged down on where it is. Both teams have to play on the same pitch.”

Meath return with a new manager (Davy Nelson) and have lost Emma Troy and Aoibheann Leahy (gone travelling) but expect to have Vikki Wall and Orlagh Lally back from the AFLW at some stage of the season, possibly even for the late stages of the league.

Duggan poured hot water on a report that the IRFU, using the bait of its new professional women’s contracts, has begun the process of recruiting Wall to play rugby.

After adapting quickly on her debut season with North Melbourne Wall was at home at Christmas and reportedly visited the IRFU training venue in Abbotstown but she also went on Meath’s team holiday to Gran Canaria in the New Year and has since returned to Australia.

“I briefly saw the report, I can confirm Vikki's not going to play rugby," Duggan said. “She’s a very spontaneous person. She could go off and do anything, but she's just about getting the hang of one sport along with another one.”

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