Kildare want Croker as temporary home for league matches

St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge is currently undergoing redevelopment and will not be open until the end of 2024 at the very earliest.

18 June 2023; Kevin Flynn of Kildare in action against Ciaráin Murtagh of Roscommon during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 3 match between Roscommon and Kildare at Glenisk O'Connor Park in Tullamore, Offaly. Photo by Daire Brennan/Sportsfile

Kildare are keen on using Croke Park as their home venue for next year's Division 2 of the Allianz National Football League.​ 

While the fixtures for the league are still being decided on, it appears some provisions are being made for Kildare’s league games to be played in Croke Park. This will be a part of double bills with Dublin’s Division 1 games on Saturday evenings.

St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge, Kildare's current home ground, is currently undergoing redevelopment and will not be open until the end of 2024 at the very earliest.

Kildare have played their home matches in a variety of grounds including championship games in Nowlan Park in Kilkenny and O’Connor Park in Tullamore.

Earlier this year, Kildare manager Glenn Ryan spoke on how Dublin footballers have an unfair advantage because their familiarity with the ground and the pitch.

"It’s meant to be a neutral venue, they say – it’s not." 

"There’s the familiarity that Dublin have with here, that no other team gets a chance, and it does benefit them."

Former Mayo manager James Horan spoke on the Irish Examiner football podcast saying there's a "bias there that favours Dublin", echoing Ryan’s views.