Dublin and Meath may clash in Thurles

There is now a possibility that Thurles may become the venue for Dublin against Meath should they meet in the Leinster football championship semi-final.

Concerns about the resurfacing of the Croke Park pitch have resulted in the Leinster Council making minor adjustments to their championship fixtures.

It appears likely, however, that neither of the Leinster football semi-finals will be played at Croke Park, and that the second one - which could feature Dublin and Meath - may have to be moved outside the province.

Last November Central Council announced that Croke Park would not be available before mid-June, and the Leinster Council subsequently fixed their football semi-finals for the weekend of June 15-16th.

The adjusted fixtures sees the first semi-final being played on the 16th, and the second semi-final moved back to the 23rd.

The re-seeding process at Croke Park has yet to begin, with delays over January and February because of the heavy equipment set up on the pitch to lift the roof on to the new Hogan Stand.

The pitch remains almost entirely covered with sand and, with just over 10 weeks before the June deadline, the Leinster Council are playing it safe by allowing an extra week before expecting to move into Croke Park.

The first semi-final features the "weaker" half of the draw, and will involve Wicklow, Laois or Offaly against Kildare, Longford or Louth. If Croke Park is not available by June 16th then that game can still be accommodated at a Leinster venue, most likely Portlaoise, which has a capacity of around 32,000.

The second semi-final on June 23rd will feature Carlow, Westmeath or Meath against Dublin or Wexford - with the expectancy of it being a Meath-Dublin clash.

If Croke Park is still not available that game is almost certain to be moved to Thurles, which can cater for around 55,000.

"Up until last week, the information we were getting was that Croke Park were still confident that the pitch would be ready by the 23rd of June," said Michael Reynolds of the Leinster Council. "The first semi-final was always flexible in that it could still be played at another Leinster venue.

"Realistically, though, if Croke Park was not available for June 23rd then it's no secret that Thurles would be the only alternative for the game between Meath and Dublin. Of course, you never know what will happen, but it being the championship one would expect Meath and Dublin to progress."

Already, the Leinster Council have set both hurling semi-finals for Thurles, to be played as a double bill on June 9th instead of the traditional venue of GAA headquarters.

Questions do remain, however, on the likelihood of Croke Park being ready by June 23rd. The re-seeding process is complicated, although once set in motion it will only require a short number of weeks before completion.

"New grasses will take a while to settle," according to Ian Keogh, one of the project managers working on the Croke Park redevelopment. "And it's only common sense to say that it is better to give it all the time you can.

"But this type of pitch construction is very modern, and once the seeding is done you are only talking about a short number of weeks. This type of rye grass is specifically created for sports surfaces and it will be one of the best playing pitches anywhere."

If there is any further delay in the start of the seeding process (scheduled to start on May 10th) and the growing period of four-five weeks then the Leinster Council will be forced to look towards Thurles, although final decisions will only be made closer to the necessary date.