As if the high drama on the pitch involving Meath teams over the past week or so wasn’t enough, things took another twist prior to the Royal County’s meeting with Louth in tomorrow (Wednesday) evening’s Leinster U-20 FC Final – of course they did – with the revelation that the showdown for the Seamus Flood Cup has been moved from Parnell Park to the newly redeveloped Cedral St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge.
As anybody who watched the Leinster SHC encounter between Dublin and Wexford last Saturday will be acutely aware, large chunks of the sod at the Donnycarney venue were in a burned, bare state after being doused with what the farmer in me would be fairly sure was Glyphosate (Roundup).
Now, I don’t care if you support Meath, Louth, Dublin, The Mighty Ducks or the Craggy Island All Priests over 75s five-a-side team, what was done to the HQ of Dublin GAA was a dirty, despicable act of wanton vandalism and criminality. Hopefully those responsible can be identified and dealt with in the harshest way possible. That is to say, a lifetime ban from all GAA property and prosecution for criminal damage and loss of earnings.
It was understandable that the Dublin-Wexford match couldn’t be relocated at such short notice. Great credit is indeed due to both teams and indeed referee Michael Kennedy for making it the enthralling game of hurling it was. In fact, the desecration of the sod may have had more than initially thought to do with the Sean Currie goal. But that’s a whole other hornet’s nest we are not flying into today.
The wider ramifications of such needless destruction (not that any destruction is ever needed) are 1) Gaels of all ages are without the county’s premier venue to watch and play games, 2) Dublin GAA will naturally lose revenue (no smart comments please!!) from games not being played there, 3) As an addendum to the previous point, again, using my agricultural eye, the Brains Trust in Dublin will now be lumbered with the additional expenditure of either (i) putting down an artificial playing surface in a hurry or (ii) writing the field off for the remainder of the season and going the traditional way about reseeding a field:
- Spraying off the rest of what the vandals didn’t destroy
- Ploughing, harrowing, sowing and ring rolling what at a guess would be between four and five acres.
- At least one application of granular fertiliser (Most common compound mixture 18/6/12 – €500/tonne)
4) The possibility of it being some form of disadvantage to either team if they have never played at the alternative venue previously. Because at least some of both sides would have played on the pitch behind the church when the counties contested the same trophy at the same stage almost exactly a year ago.
May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the bedsheets of those who engaged in such villainy!
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