GAELIC GAMES:THE DEBATE surrounding pitch invasions in Croke Park looks set to continue with county boards now waiting to see how the GAA executive deals with a letter from Kilkenny seeking an apology after some of their supporters were accosted immediately after the All-Ireland hurling final.
Kilkenny sent a formal letter to Croke Park last week and have yet to receive an official response, with their county secretary, Ned Quinn, following the line taken by the Kerry County Board in criticising pitch presentations.
The immediate argument against this approach, which was trialled after the All-Ireland Ireland minor final won by Armagh, is that only those in the Hogan Stand have a clear view of the trophy ceremony.
“My interpretation of our meeting (which led to a letter being sent into Croke Park) is that future presentations should remain in the Hogan Stand and people are allowed on to the pitch,” said Quinn.
“It is part of our tradition and we do accept injuries can occur, but this only seems to be a problem when supporters are met with resistance when entering the field.”
After the GAA plan to present the Liam MacCarthy Cup on a podium on the pitch was quickly abandoned after a small group of Kilkenny fans slipped through the security on September 6th, the association did not resist the wave of Kerry followers seeking access to the pitch on September 20th.
Their argument against invasions is the increase in the number of cases of damages sought by supporters allegedly injured during the traditional pitch incursions and that they represent a serious health and safety issue.
“It seemed to occur in an orderly fashion for the football final and was done well,” Quinn continued. “It is part of the tradition of every club final and big game and should be retained.”
Many county boards allow access to the field of play for supporters, mainly children, at half time during championship games.
This is particularly evident at Parnell Park in Dublin and O’Moore Park in Portlaoise, but was recently banned at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The GAA are yet to reveal what their future policy will be regarding the issue.
Meanwhile, Galway boss Joe Kernan expects to announce his management team later this week as he prepares to bring the side to the United States for the final of the FBD League against New York.
The former Armagh boss has been busy in the past couple of week building his management team. He will have his first game in charge on Sunday week in New York.
“Some of the people are in place and I hope to have the management team finalised at the end of the week,” said Kernan.
Meanwhile, the senior women’s football final between Cork and Dublin was watched by one in four television viewers in Ireland on Sunday afternoon.
It had an average of 169,000 viewers throughout the match which was shown live on TG4, peaking at 230,000. This makes it TG4’s third most popular programme of 2009 to date, behind only the live coverage of the hurling and football league finals.
Finally, 288 children from all over the country togged out yesterday in Croke Park for the Vhi GAA Cúl Day Out.
The children were the winners of a competition which was open to the 82,500 children who attended GAA Cúl Camps during the summer.
Yesterday, the 288 children were able to realise their dreams to train and play a match at GAA headquarters, with Anthony Daly and Colm O’Rourke – as well as other hurling, football, camogie and handball stars – there to work with the children on the day to help them develop their skills and reinforce their passion for the game.
