Poll: Where should the Cork footballers play home games?
Cork had a comeback victory over Meath at Páirc Uí Rinn in the All-Ireland SFC Round 1. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Cork GAA CEO Kevin O'Donovan said this week that the long-term aim is to have the county's footballers on the same stage as their hurlers: playing in front of big crowds at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Páirc Uí Rinn has become home for the Cork footballers recently. Their All-Ireland SFC Round 1 game against Meath was played there. Had they been drawn at home in Round 2A, that game would also have been played at Boreenmanna Road ground.
"Páirc Uí Rinn is a double-edged sword for me," O'Donovan told the Southern Star's Star Sport Podcast.
"The connection we have had with supporters there, and the pitch invasions over the last couple of years, have been fantastic. Go back to the Kerry game there a number of years ago. They are special days and I’ll remember them forever.
"The flip side is that I believe Cork should have 30,000 at their football games. Building the brand and the connection with supporters, our home is SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. I want the footballers to be treated the same as the hurlers."
O'Donovan added: "Despite the connection, the fun and what Páirc Uí Rinn brings, I want Cork and Kerry in a Munster final in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh with 40,000 supporters screaming for our team. It’s a double-edged sword. I’d like to think it’s a transition phase where we are getting Cork football back to the attendances it had.
"In the short term, it has been fantastic for the team. They get more access to Páirc Uí Rinn for training and it is more of a home venue. You see Louth doing the same in Inniskeen. You see Ger Brennan talking about Parnell Park. But our vision for Cork football in the long term is bigger than that."
Where would you like to see the Cork footballers play their home games?
Vote in our poll below.
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