Pairc Tailteann a fire hazard.

Hammer Archer

No question who the toughest supporters are now. Us Meath men are taking our lives into our hands every time we go to a home game
http://hoganstand.com/meath/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=158376
But seriously, it's gotten ridiculous at this stage. Why the Meath County Board didn't improve the 60 year old stand when they had the money is beyond me. Instead they spent it on a "Centre of Excellence" in Dunganny which around 10 years after it was purchased, only has a few pitches and no dressing rooms.

Alaska1

Burn it down I say.

rpurfield

centre of portakabins archer if ya ask me.county boards a bloody joke in meath weve done nothing to develop the standard of football in the county and done nothing to develop infrastructure either.should be a plan over five or six years to completly re do pairc tailteann start with the stand now maybe in a year or two terrace the o mahoneys end and kick on from that.im following meath all over the place since i can remember and its probably the lowest ive ever seen us.that probably betrays my age too

Frank Spencer

Interesting to see the some of the same people who were mocking at the DCB's strategic plan now bemoaning the lack of action in Meath. The DCB plan while probably over ambitious and far reaching is at least something to aim for. Maybe some might be better focusing on their own counties lack of action rather than taking any opportunity to sneer more forward thinking counties. I also thought the side swipe a Leinster Rugby by the DCB was ill thought out and regrettable before that's brought up.

Lemlin

It's a very poor pitch for Meath considering the standard of their intercounty team over recent years. The people of Meath couldn't believe how modern Breffni Park was when they played in Cavan during the Summer.

Hammer Archer

rpurfield wrote: »

centre of portakabins archer if ya ask me.county boards a bloody joke in meath weve done nothing to develop the standard of football in the county and done nothing to develop infrastructure either.should be a plan over five or six years to completly re do pairc tailteann start with the stand now maybe in a year or two terrace the o mahoneys end and kick on from that.im following meath all over the place since i can remember and its probably the lowest ive ever seen us.that probably betrays my age too

Agree 100%. They really need new, younger people in charge because pretty much the same guys have been in charge for God knows how long.

Frank Spencer wrote: »

Interesting to see the some of the same people who were mocking at the DCB's strategic plan now bemoaning the lack of action in Meath. The DCB plan while probably over ambitious and far reaching is at least something to aim for. Maybe some might be better focusing on their own counties lack of action rather than taking any opportunity to sneer more forward thinking counties. I also thought the side swipe a Leinster Rugby by the DCB was ill thought out and regrettable before that's brought up.

So are we not allowed comment on decisions other county boards make when they're made public?
And you say it was "forward thinking" yet in the same paragraph that it was "ill thought out and regrettable". That makes zero sense

Frank Spencer

Hammer Archer wrote: »

So are we not allowed comment on decisions other county boards make when they're made public?
And you say it was "forward thinking" yet in the same paragraph that it was "ill thought out and regrettable". That makes zero sense

The report as a whole was forward thinking. If you read my post correctly you will see that I said the side swipe at Leinster was "ill thought out and regrettable". Illustrates my point excellently actually. Some people just want to pick out the parts that suit them to criticise without looking at the overall picture. You are allowed to comment no problem but don't be surprised when you're pulled up on your clambering to criticise one or two elements of a generally good plan when your own county board is standing still.

Hammer Archer

Frank Spencer wrote: »

The report as a whole was forward thinking. If you read my post correctly you will see that I said the side swipe at Leinster was "ill thought out and regrettable". Illustrates my point excellently actually. Some people just want to pick out the parts that suit them to criticise without looking at the overall picture. You are allowed to comment no problem but don't be surprised when you're pulled up on your clambering to criticise one or two elements of a generally good plan when your own county board is standing still.

Wait, I really don't understand. It's OK for you to criticise one part of that document but not for me? I've nothing against most of the rest of the document. I don't understand what your problem is.

ebbsy

I will be perfectly honest, it really does not mater what Pairc Tatters is like, ye will be out after your first match with Wicklow and will be probably drawn away somewhere far like Donegal in the qualifiers.

Hammer Archer

ebbsy wrote: »

I will be perfectly honest, it really does not mater what Pairc Tatters is like, ye will be out after your first match with Wicklow and will be probably drawn away somewhere far like Donegal in the qualifiers.

Good lad :rolleyes:

Obrieski

Work needs to be done on and off the field, no doubt about it. Its about time the county executive stepped aside for the good of everyone involved in the county. Brendan Dempsey (I think) was voted in as chairman a few years ago and had a whole raft of new ideas and proposals but he was gone by the next year as the county board don't like change.
I've been going to Pairc Tailteann for as long as I can remember, I've even played there a few times, but the whole setup is a joke. The only positive side of the venue is the pitch surface itself is marvellous and a credit to the groundsmen. The best thing to do would be to rip down the stand and start afresh but clearly money issues wouldn't mean this is a viable option.
If we're not careful we'll have no home stadium. The banks behind the goals are out of commission now, and the stand is deemed unsafe and a fire hazard. We'll be funnelled off into this new stadium the GAA is planning around the M50. A joke really, every county needs their home and identity, isn't that the whole point of the GAA?

DB10

I dont think Meath are in that bad of shape on the field anyway. Personally I think I would rate them 2nd best in Leinster on their day, and they could beat Dublin in a one off game there is no doubt about that.

I think the problems off the field have a affect though and I dont understand some of the expectations from their fans.

Obrieski

DB you hit the nail on the head there, you said "rate them 2nd best in Leinster on their day", however for us Meath fans, "our day" only comes around once in a blue moon. Consistency is a huge problem and Kildare have definitely overtaken us in the pecking order having beaten us twice last year.

Anyway that's besides the point, the discussion is about Pairc Tailteann and it will be interesting to see whether the county board decide to do anything about it now that the capacity has been cut so dramatically. There was well over 20,000 there last summer for the Galway match, despite what the official attendance was and with that crowd pulling potential, even if it is only once or twice a year, it should be made a priority. Even concreting behind both goals should be considered, installing a few more barriers too, as has been said elsewhere, all the atmosphere starts from the O'Mahonys end.

ebbsy

Would ye say many Meath followers will get down to Dr.Cullen park ? For sure Wickla will travel in huge numbers accross the border.

Obrieski

ebbsy, Meath fanbase usually turns out in big numbers for championship games. Remember being down in Dr. Cullen Park a few years ago when we played Wexford in Leinster Championship, absolute scorcher of day:cool:, and the place was absolutely packed. In fairness, both teams brought a big crowd down. Carlow holds about 15,000 or so (I think) after the health and safety dudes reduced their grounds too so I would expect close to a full house for the game that day

rpurfield

what needs doing in meath is two sub committees set up one with the likes of colm o rourke and gerry mcentee on to drive the football end of things and the other a fundraising/infrastructure committee to drive the development of pairc tailteann and dunganny.surely we could find half a dozen top football men and half a dozen top buisness men to sit on both in the county

maco12

Friends of mine went to Navan yesterday to see Fermanagh play the locals, and now seemly you have to buy tickets before the game, were they expecting a sell out????????

iDave

maco12 wrote: »

Friends of mine went to Navan yesterday to see Fermanagh play the locals, and now seemly you have to buy tickets before the game, were they expecting a sell out????????

All matches in PT require you to buy a ticket outside first. I believe its another Health and Safety demand but I am open to correction.

maco12

Thanks Dave, I was told they were even selling tickets for u-21 games.. its makes the idea of going to a game at last minute, offputting

iDave

maco12 wrote: »

Thanks Dave, I was told they were even selling tickets for u-21 games.. its makes the idea of going to a game at last minute, offputting

Does it?
The cabin you buy the tickets from is about 5 yards from the turnstile.

Lemlin

iDave wrote: »

Does it?
The cabin you buy the tickets from is about 5 yards from the turnstile.

So what's the point of it? Why not just allow people pay at the turnstiles as normal?

Hammer Archer

Because too many people were getting in "for free" when it was pay at the gate (make of that what you will).

Lemlin

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Because too many people were getting in "for free" when it was pay at the gate (make of that what you will).

Another indication of the standard of the ground.

I find the 'seated' area the most novel part - a bit of wood nailed to the concrete to sit on.

Hammer Archer

Lemlin wrote: »

Another indication of the standard of the ground.

I find the 'seated' area the most novel part - a bit of wood nailed to the concrete to sit on.

Try sitting on it for 4 hours straight while watching American Football back in October After 4 hours I couldn't take it anymore and had to stand for the rest of it.
As far as I know, the actual seating area itself hasn't been upgraded since the 1960s.

Lemlin

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Try sitting on it for 4 hours straight while watching American Football back in October After 4 hours I couldn't take it anymore and had to stand for the rest of it.
As far as I know, the actual seating area itself hasn't been upgraded since the 1960s.

Why has nothing been done about it though? Meath is a big county and surely some commercial sponsorship could have been brought in to help.

maco12

and it looks like asbestos in the roof..the steps must be 2 ft high, and people in for free?..what next?..Lord Lucan rides Shergar around the pitch at night?

Hammer Archer

Lemlin wrote: »

Why has nothing been done about it though? Meath is a big county and surely some commercial sponsorship could have been brought in to help.

Because in the county board's infinite wisdom (as pointed out earlier in this thread), instead of upgrading Páirc Tailteann when the money was there, they decided to set up a "Centre of Excellence" in Dunganny. I haven't seen it in a while but last time I was there, it consisted of a few pitches and portacabins for dressing rooms. Now, the CB are in financial trouble and can't afford to upgrade the stand or the grass banks behind the goals. The entire stand basically needs to be knocked down and rebuilt from scratch.

iDave

Watching American Gridiron is painful regardless of location.
As for the state of the place, well all you have to do is look at the state of Meath GAA in general and you'll see PT is a sympton not a cause

maco12

it seems to little to late,,to many "old heads" were left in charge, and due to musical chair syndrome, no fresh ideas, and now Meath are paying the penalty!

chrysagon

and finally plans made...for Dunganny... Pairc Tailteann may have to wait..

CrabRevolution

Think they're going about it the right way, fixing Dunganny will have a greater impact on more people "on the ground". Once the building is finished, Dunganny is 100% complete, while PT will take a long, expensive development over several phases to ever be called complete.

Better to have a finished training center and a stadium in progress, than 2 half finished projects.