“A convenient untruth.”
That is the take of Kildare boss Cian O’Neill on the GAA’s decision to switch their Round 3 SFC Qualifier clash with Mayo to Croke Park.
Kildare were drawn out as the home side for this weekend’s meeting with Stephen Rochford’s side. The tie was expected to take place at St Conleth’s Park but the GAA stepped in and moved it to Dublin as part of a double-header with Cavan vs. Tyrone.
O’Neill appeared on RTE News, on Monday evening, to announce it was ‘Newbridge or Nowhere’ for his side. Kildare’s footballers will be at St Conleth’s on Saturday evening, whether Mayo are there or not.
The Kildare boss was on KFM today and backed up those comments as well as revealing what his players made of the situation. O’Neill said:
“We need to hold firm on this and strengthen our resolve. All we want is due process for our players…
“This is about the guys that have been training for five or six nights a week for the last seven months.”
The GAA released a statement, on Monday, that claimed the move from Newbridge to Croke Park was primarily due to health and safety concerns. Ned Quinn, chairman of the GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee, muddied the waters by suggesting the fact that Mayo [with their large travelling fan-base] were the opponents had swayed the Croke Park switch decision.
O’Neill feels his players should not lose their rightful, home advantage because of ‘some bureaucracy or financial reasons’. Making Kildare vs. Mayo and all-ticket affair in Newbridge would see just 8,300 fans accommodated but the Kildare manager notes that the Slattery Report backs St Conleth’s for adhering to health and safety requirements. He believes season-ticket holders from both counties should be offered tickers first, with those not taken up put out on general sale. He added:
“We’ve earned the right [to play in Newbridge] by beating Derry in Derry and Longford in Longford…. Are these rules being made up as we go along?”
O’Neill was asked, by host Shane Beatty, what the Kildare panel made of the situation. He responded:
“Eoin Doyle, as captain, gauged the opinion of the players [on Monday morning]. There is a full buy-in from them.
“To a man, they all agreed that this was not on. That this was not right….
“We’re back on the pitch tonight. We’re training tonight.”
The Lilywhites, he declared, would not be compromising by moving the tie to Portlaoise or Tullamore.
Kildare will be in Newbridge on Saturday, come hell, high water or whatever else the powers-that-be can conjure up.
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