Who Has The Worst County Grounds?

kencoo

Being from kildare i reckon we are the winner here. Following the team around Ireland for the past number of years i always think ill stumble across a worse ground but have not so far (apart from Meath/Navan maybe). Are there worse?

DEFTLEFTHAND

Waterford's Walsh Park isn't great. They deserve something better.

slievenamon fella

fraher field isnt much better

aidan24326

Louth's ground in Drogheda is pretty crap.

cormac halpin

Kildare.

Colm R

It depends on what you would expect for a county a ground. Kildare could possibly justify a bigger ground, but not much considering the proximity of Croker.

Some grounds are small or medium size but very comfortable. Ballybofey, Omagh and Tullamore for example.

There are grounds are big but very uncomfortable - Pairc Ui Chaoimh for example.

Considering every county hosts league intercounty league matches, and in general, these same grounds host large club games, there are two things every ground should look at:

Seats (and terracing) need to be safer and comfortable. With some exceptions, this would not require a full rebuild.

Toilets: Some (probably most) counties still think its just men that go to games, and all they need is a wall. Toilets should be big, spacious, and child and woman friendly. In fact, you could argue that there should be toilets where adults can only enter accompanied by Children.
And womens toilets should have as many cubicles as space will allow.
And contract cleaners should be employed on match day.

Even washing your hands in Croker at games early in the league season is uncomfortable - the aviva has warm water.

cormac halpin

Colm R wrote: »

Even washing your hands in Croker at games early in the league season is uncomfortable - the aviva has warm water.

Well there's a first world problem if ever I heard one.

Hammer Archer

Drogheda is appalling. Thankfully haven't been there in a good few years.
Newbridge is pretty bad as well as is our own Pairc Tailteann, especially the stand.

bruschi

Colm R wrote: »

In fact, you could argue that there should be toilets where adults can only enter accompanied by Children.

that has to be one of the strangest things I have ever read on any forum.

TBP

Colm R wrote: »

It depends on what you would expect for a county a ground. Kildare could possibly justify a bigger ground, but not much considering the proximity of Croker.

Some grounds are small or medium size but very comfortable. Ballybofey, Omagh and Tullamore for example.

There are grounds are big but very uncomfortable - Pairc Ui Chaoimh for example.

Considering every county hosts league intercounty league matches, and in general, these same grounds host large club games, there are two things every ground should look at:

Seats (and terracing) need to be safer and comfortable. With some exceptions, this would not require a full rebuild.

Toilets: Some (probably most) counties still think its just men that go to games, and all they need is a wall. Toilets should be big, spacious, and child and woman friendly. In fact, you could argue that there should be toilets where adults can only enter accompanied by Children.
And womens toilets should have as many cubicles as space will allow.
And contract cleaners should be employed on match day.

Even washing your hands in Croker at games early in the league season is uncomfortable - the aviva has warm water.

You're fond of your bit of comfort. Bring a few cushions and a flask of warm water and you'll be grand.

Colm R

bruschi wrote: »

that has to be one of the strangest things I have ever read on any forum.

I've seen it in the States - allows parents to bring children to the toilets which are less crowded and less intimidating for small kids. Might sound strange but makes a venue more family friendly.

TBP wrote: »

You're fond of your bit of comfort. Bring a few cushions and a flask of warm water and you'll be grand.

Erra, I'll be grand as I've no kids to worry about. I admire people who I see week in week out struggling with an army of children at games. I just think our grounds could do a little bit more to help them out.

patmac

The worst pitch has to be the Hyde in Roscommon, so bad that most of the top games including the County Final have been moved to Kiltoom.

The_Kew_Tour

Pairc ui Chaoimh is pretty ****.

meriwether

Ye shoudl have seen Galway before Pearse was built - the county ground was in Tuam.

It was an unprecedented hell hole.

Mary McAleese came one year foir the Connaught Final. Apparently (and this is quite believable) the toilet facilities she was expected to her were absolutely disgusting

iDave

Most county grounds, actually most Irish stadiums are a mess. Its a national embarrassment. Croke Park, Aviva and Thomand are the only stadiums built to any decent international standard but all 3 are still in locations that dont allow for the them to be symetrical in design and so have an unfinished look with no room to expand.
We still think in this country archtiecturally bereft terracing with no roof and maybe one side with seating is acceptable.
We dont live in a dry country and for some reason its still acceptable to build wide open terracing with no roof.
We need to build multi purpose stadiums in urban areas, all seated or maybe at least with the half seating, half standing set up you have in Germany. They can then be used for county finals, national leagues, provincial finals, LOI, provincial rugby, U21 U18 internationals, minor/U21 championship etc.

Syferus

patmac wrote: »

The worst pitch has to be the Hyde in Roscommon, so bad that most of the top games including the County Final have been moved to Kiltoom.

Eh? The Hyde hosted football championship matches this year than any other ground in the country not called Croke Park.

This year's county final was only moved because Pearses requested it be switched to Kiltoom (in effect giving Brigids home advantage) because the two clubs were right beside Kiltoom. It had absolutely nothing to do with the 'pitch'.

beggars_bush

Syferus wrote: »

Eh? The Hyde hosted football championship matches this year than any other ground in the country not called Croke Park.

This year's county final was only moved because Pearses requested it be switched to Kiltoom (in effect giving Brigids home advantage) because the two clubs were right beside Kiltoom. It had absolutely nothing to do with the 'pitch'.

the pitch in the Hyde is poor.
it is no longer even
it is a 'summer pitch', and is one of the few surfaces in the country not ungraded in recent years to a 'prunty' or sand based pitch
probably why so few players get injured on it

I would add Salthill - the wind. And the money wasted by giving the Connollys the building contract.

Stevecw

Wicklow for me. Aughrims stand is definitely the worst for a county grounds in the country.

Rasheed

beggars_bush wrote: »

the pitch in the Hyde is poor.
it is no longer even
it is a 'summer pitch', and is one of the few surfaces in the country not ungraded in recent years to a 'prunty' or sand based pitch
probably why so few players get injured on it

I would add Salthill - the wind. And the money wasted by giving the Connollys the building contract.

Yes, the Hyde isn't the best pitch in the county alright but there was arguments between the club and county board about the Hyde too, it's nit altogether to do with the surface.

Ash.J.Williams

In Wicklow we have Aughrim, when proper teams have to play us at home the media often hype it up "galway travel to the lions den" etc..because Aughrim is in the middle of nowhere it's seen as an advantage that teams need to travel there....however we usually get hammered anyway

Stinicker

The seating in Pairc Ui Chaoimh is atrocious. No leg room at all shocking.

kencoo

I agree that Hyde Park is pretty poor in fairness..... After a small bit of rain the pitch seems to get waterlogged and boggy. From a spectators point of view it’s not great either.... the turnstiles open up into wide expanse of grass from what I remember... you march across the mud to what seems to be a covered stand but that actually turns out to be just a 5 foot “roof” on top of a terrace....lovely....

There are a good few grounds that may be small but well laid out, good pitch, reasonable facilities for their size. (I.e. Portlaoise). It feels that some of the grounds don’t seem to have any money spent for whatever reason. Kildare’s excuse is that we are/were building a new stadium so why bother throwing good money after bad. That cant be the same for every poor ground is it?

purplepanda

iDave wrote: »

We need to build multi purpose stadiums in urban areas, all seated or maybe at least with the half seating, half standing set up you have in Germany. They can then be used for county finals, national leagues, provincial finals, LOI, provincial rugby, U21 U18 internationals, minor/U21 championship etc.

Such stadiums need to be designed properly from the ground up for multi use for Hurling & Football, Soccer & Rugby.

Croke Park was a bad view for soccer games & I assume also Rugby, fans towards the front of the stands, especially behind the goals had a limited view of the matches due to the smaller pitch sizes further away.

It might be possible to build a multi purpose GAA, Rugby, Soccer stadium but the sight lines for spectators need to be addressed.

Similar problems exist with multi purpose Athletic / Football stadiums, although some of the newer builds such Stade de France have movable stands for different events to deal with this issue.

All these extra features would add to the cost of a new stadium.

tippman26

pairc ui chaoimh is the worst by a long way.facilities are a disgrace and the big problem is it gets close to 2 sell outs a year.the tunnels underneath the stands are a deathtrap at ht and after matches.toilets are very poor and now they even let the men go outside piss in a fenced off area because of the problem of lads doing it aginst the walls in the tunnels. several times the blackrock terrace has been unable to take the crowd and people were force to sit behind the goal(mainly cork v kerry,cork v tipp,remember eoin kellys goal in 08) i remember goin to the tipp clare matches of the late 90s early 00's down there in the uncovered stand and how someone wasn't killed or seriously injured in the tunnels is a mystery.at least now it isn't as packed but it is still a deathtrap

maroondog

beggars_bush wrote: »

the pitch in the Hyde is poor.
it is no longer even
it is a 'summer pitch', and is one of the few surfaces in the country not ungraded in recent years to a 'prunty' or sand based pitch
probably why so few players get injured on it

I would add Salthill - the wind. And the money wasted by giving the Connollys the building contract.

Stewart's built Pearse Stadium I think you'll find. One of the Connollys was heavily involved raising money for the stadium alright. How do ya make out money was wasted?

Back before Pearse Stadium was redeveloped from its then very poor state, Galway didn't have a decent ground for holding big matches. Tuam stadium was falling apart 10 years ago when games were switched, I can't imagine it's improved.

Salthill is a problem on windy days for playing matches, cant really do much about that thou. A lot of people from north Galway don't like cos it involves travelling further and complaint about lack of parking.

Chavways

Cusack Park

theoneeyedman

maroondog wrote: »

Stewart's built Pearse Stadium I think you'll find. One of the Connollys was heavily involved raising money for the stadium alright. How do ya make out money was wasted?

Back before Pearse Stadium was redeveloped from its then very poor state, Galway didn't have a decent ground for holding big matches. Tuam stadium was falling apart 10 years ago when games were switched, I can't imagine it's improved.

Salthill is a problem on windy days for playing matches, cant really do much about that thou. A lot of people from north Galway don't like cos it involves travelling further and complaint about lack of parking.

Pearse stadium would be grand if it wasn't in salthill. It's location makes it inaccessible. Very poor parking and you have to drive through the city. Added to this the wind tunnel effect leads to poor games, usually the game of two halves. I've never seen a decent game played there. Contrast that to tuam...yes it was crumbling but it should have been redeveloped rather than Pearse. It is steeped in history and is located in the heart of football country .
The Hyde is a tremendous monument to the mismanagement of Roscommon GAA affairs over the last 20 years....an absolute kip! Contrast it to the likes of Tullamore or Longford .....lovely appointed grounds IMO

Clonmel1000

Eoin Kellys goal was in 08 not 07

Tom Joad

Have to agree re Hyde Park - really dislike going to matches there. Also Casement park in Belfast - hate going to matches there - oh and Pairc Tailtean in Navan is pretty grim..

Best for me are Enniskillen, Longford and Clones...

Fr Tod Umptious

Chavways wrote: »

Cusack Park

If you are talking about Ennis then I am in total agreement with you.

Syferus

kencoo wrote: »

I agree that Hyde Park is pretty poor in fairness..... After a small bit of rain the pitch seems to get waterlogged and boggy. From a spectators point of view it’s not great either.... the turnstiles open up into wide expanse of grass from what I remember... you march across the mud to what seems to be a covered stand but that actually turns out to be just a 5 foot “roof” on top of a terrace....lovely....

There are a good few grounds that may be small but well laid out, good pitch, reasonable facilities for their size. (I.e. Portlaoise). It feels that some of the grounds don’t seem to have any money spent for whatever reason. Kildare’s excuse is that we are/were building a new stadium so why bother throwing good money after bad. That cant be the same for every poor ground is it?

Err, that's the warm-up pitch. If you want to avoid it you can ago around the roads to either side of the grass. If it's a stand you want why the hell are you coming through the terrace entrance

You're blaming a ground for your own mistakes.

Always_Running

patmac wrote: »

The worst pitch has to be the Hyde in Roscommon, so bad that most of the top games including the County Final have been moved to Kiltoom.

Must be something with the inter county soil in Connacht because McHale,Pearse stadium isn't much better.

Morte

tippman26 wrote: »

pairc ui chaoimh is the worst by a long way.facilities are a disgrace and the big problem is it gets close to 2 sell outs a year.the tunnels underneath the stands are a deathtrap at ht and after matches.toilets are very poor and now they even let the men go outside piss in a fenced off area because of the problem of lads doing it aginst the walls in the tunnels. several times the blackrock terrace has been unable to take the crowd and people were force to sit behind the goal(mainly cork v kerry,cork v tipp,remember eoin kellys goal in 08) i remember goin to the tipp clare matches of the late 90s early 00's down there in the uncovered stand and how someone wasn't killed or seriously injured in the tunnels is a mystery.at least now it isn't as packed but it is still a deathtrap

Also because the toilets and shop are next to the entrance you've a chokepoint in a tiny tunnel where two crowds are trying to push against each other in a confined space.

ProudDUB

bruschi wrote: »

that has to be one of the strangest things I have ever read on any forum.

No its not. In countries that are better at planning & designing places where large numbers of people congregate, they are able to understand the concept that sometimes a father may want to bring his young daughter to a game, or a woman her young son. The lone father can not enter the ladies toilets & and his daughter may feel uncomfortable going in by herself. Likewise, a woman can not enter a mens toilet, and her young lad may feel uncomfortable going in by himself.

So the powers that be put in a family bathroom that is unisex and specifically for people with children. It is also monitored by a bathroom attendant so that no one can enter it who shouldn't be. They are very common in US airports, stadiums, train stations etc etc. God forbid we ever do something so that is so forward thinking, or just plain common sense here !

cournioni

Aside from Drogheda which is undoubtedly the worst, I've played in Celtic Park, Clones, Pairc Tailteann and Breffni Park and Breffni's pitch is the worst out of that lot. Very soggy when there is any rain at all. Clones was the best pitch but I liked Celtic Park the best because it's a tight little ground is very neatly done up.

ciarriaithuaidh

There are a lot of poor county grounds to be fair...Cusack park in Ennis is poor. Both Waterfords grounds are poor enough. Páirc uí Chaíomh, as already stated, is a nightmare to get to and the ground seems to have been designed with midgets in mind. The dressing rooms have to be seen to be believed.

Too many GAA grounds have stands with either poor elevation (Gaelic Grounds in Limerick comes to mind) or too many pillars obstructing views, or both. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that after all the money pumped into the development in Castlebar (which is a decent ground to be fair) that they persisted with a stand with a load of pillars.

In terms of the best grounds, aside from Croker, biased as I am (and I know Killarney is a nightmare for traffic), but Fitzgerald stadium is a great venue and pitch. Semple stadium is a good stadium for the spectator also.
I was impressed with the new Celtic park in Derry when I was there. Pearse Park in Longford is another nice ground. None more scenic than this anyway surely...

slievenamon fella

yes i have to agree kilarney is one of the finest stadiums in ireland and on munster final day is magnificent! dressing rooms are also first class.

Utopia Parkway

Cusack Park in Ennis is pretty awful. It was crumbling apart over 10 years ago.

Utopia Parkway

maroondog wrote: »

Stewart's built Pearse Stadium I think you'll find. One of the Connollys was heavily involved raising money for the stadium alright. How do ya make out money was wasted?

Back before Pearse Stadium was redeveloped from its then very poor state, Galway didn't have a decent ground for holding big matches. Tuam stadium was falling apart 10 years ago when games were switched, I can't imagine it's improved.

Salthill is a problem on windy days for playing matches, cant really do much about that thou. A lot of people from north Galway don't like cos it involves travelling further and complaint about lack of parking.

Pearse Stadium is easily one of the better grounds in the country once you're inside it. Unfortunately it's located right in the middle of a very built up area with feck all parking.

fasttalkerchat

Tom Joad wrote: »

Have to agree re Hyde Park - really dislike going to matches there. Also Casement park in Belfast - hate going to matches there - oh and Pairc Tailtean in Navan is pretty grim..

Best for me are Enniskillen, Longford and Clones...

Casement is a decent ground!

slievenamon fella

sadly how ever i cant see too many county boards fixin the problems that they have with thier stadiums anytime soon...they seem to be more interested in paying managers...

buck65

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Cusack Park in Ennis is pretty awful. It was crumbling apart over 10 years ago.

Talk of a redevelopment, with some units or apartments on stream again.
Clarecastle/SMB gets most of the games now.

Tom Joad

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Casement is a decent ground!

Depends on what the criteria being used - I hate going to a match there as it's awful to get to, parking is crap, I've never been to a match that could actually start on time due to people not being able to get in on time... Once you get inside it's a fine ground - never played on the pitch so can't comment on that..

I'll probably always hate Casement because I'm usually stressed to the gills by the time I get inside

Hammer Archer

Another honourable mention is Scotstown which is/was used by Monaghan for their league games. The ground itself isn't too bad, but it's located on what is basically a country lane. Had to abandon the car miles from the ground a few years back as traffic wasn't moving. Turned out a HGV was trying to come the opposite way and got stuck.

bruschi

ProudDUB wrote: »

No its not. In countries that are better at planning & designing places where large numbers of people congregate, they are able to understand the concept that sometimes a father may want to bring his young daughter to a game, or a woman her young son. The lone father can not enter the ladies toilets & and his daughter may feel uncomfortable going in by herself. Likewise, a woman can not enter a mens toilet, and her young lad may feel uncomfortable going in by himself.

So the powers that be put in a family bathroom that is unisex and specifically for people with children. It is also monitored by a bathroom attendant so that no one can enter it who shouldn't be. They are very common in US airports, stadiums, train stations etc etc. God forbid we ever do something so that is so forward thinking, or just plain common sense here !

right fair enough, but you expained it that way. what the poster said was there should be toilets where an adult can only enter if accompanied by a child. The way you explain it makes sense, they way the other poster said made it look, well...

Family toilets yes, sound like a good idea. toilets that an adult can go to accompanied by a child sounds very different, even if thats not what the poster meant.

fasttalkerchat

Tom Joad wrote: »

Depends on what the criteria being used - I hate going to a match there as it's awful to get to, parking is crap, I've never been to a match that could actually start on time due to people not being able to get in on time... Once you get inside it's a fine ground - never played on the pitch so can't comment on that..

I'll probably always hate Casement because I'm usually stressed to the gills by the time I get inside

It was great craic when Armagh played there and people parked on roundabouts... the PSNI tried to move people on to the response of "that's not how GAA matches work" eventually they gave up trying to control traffic and stood back.

nice_guy80

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

It was great craic when Armagh played there and people parked on roundabouts... the PSNI tried to move people on to the response of "that's not how GAA matches work" eventually they gave up trying to control traffic and stood back.

I heard the pitch in McHale park is barely playable this weekend

Carawaystick

Aughrim is shocking, the covered stand is about 40' in the middle of the pitch and they charge the same price for the road side whether you get under the roof or not. On the river side of the pitch the fall of the tiers is wrong and water collects at the back of the tier, where the row behind is stepping up, rather than forward to drain away. The benches are soft rotting wood that absorbs the ample rain falling in the wickla mountains and releases it back up into the seat of anyone's trousers who sits there for the next few weeks of dry weather.

https://maps.google.ie/?ll=52.853396,-6.334932&spn=0.002621,0.006008&t=h&z=18

Also Aughrim is probably the only county ground with no name, it's just Aughrim. Not that that's a bad thing, i kinda like that.

Colm R

bruschi wrote: »

right fair enough, but you expained it that way. what the poster said was there should be toilets where an adult can only enter if accompanied by a child. The way you explain it makes sense, they way the other poster said made it look, well...

Family toilets yes, sound like a good idea. toilets that an adult can go to accompanied by a child sounds very different, even if thats not what the poster meant.

Sorry, I will try and explain my posts better in future, and not come across all creepy!!

Ash.J.Williams

Carawaystick wrote: »

Aughrim is shocking, the covered stand is about 40' in the middle of the pitch and they charge the same price for the road side whether you get under the roof or not. On the river side of the pitch the fall of the tiers is wrong and water collects at the back of the tier, where the row behind is stepping up, rather than forward to drain away. The benches are soft rotting wood that absorbs the ample rain falling in the wickla mountains and releases it back up into the seat of anyone's trousers who sits there for the next few weeks of dry weather.

https://maps.google.ie/?ll=52.853396,-6.334932&spn=0.002621,0.006008&t=h&z=18

Also Aughrim is probably the only county ground with no name, it's just Aughrim. Not that that's a bad thing, i kinda like that.

that cold cold feeling of water transferring from the seat to your leg!!!!

Squidgy Black

The actual pitch in Parnell Park tends to be in tatters most days, definitely isn't up to intercounty standards.