Donegal v Armagh Championship game

[David McKeown]

I remember being told by our club secretary a few years ago that if you were expecting a crowd of more than 60% capacity you had to make it all ticket and if you expected more than 80% you had to (except in exceptional circumstances) look for a bigger ground in the same province.  He also said this rule didn't apply in the six counties as it was a health and safety requirement rather than a GAA requirement.  Does anyone know anything about this?  If its true would it be possible for the game to move again before May

[ExiledGael]

Armagh fury over Ballybofey venue (From BBC)


Armagh chairman Kevin Brady has hit out at the decision to change back the venue for the Ulster SFC first round game against Donegal to Ballybofey.
The Ulster Council's competitions committee voted to rescind their earlier decision to play the game in Clones at a meeting on Tuesday evening.
"We don't understand what has changed since the original decision," said the Armagh chairman.
Armagh expect to get only around 8,000 tickets for the Ballybofey contest.
The Donegal ground was originally scheduled to host the 27 May match but the Ulster Council then switched it to Clones as it has a higher capacity.
Donegal officials said they were "disgusted" with that decision.
However, Donegal asked for a further vote on Tuesday night and the Ulster Council opted to rescind its earlier decision.
The Armagh chairman denied that his county was "hung up on Clones".
"What we are trying to do is to accommodate our supporters who want to go to Ulster Championship matches and particularly families," Brady told BBC Sport.
Armagh had requested 17,000 tickets for the game and the capacity at MacCumhaill Park is around the 18,500 mark.
The Armagh official also said that his county had "health and safety" concerns as a result of the venue switch as well as their unhappiness over the reduced number of tickets.
Mr Brady added that there is "nothing written in stone" about teams drawn first for Ulster Championship games having home venues.
Donegal chairman Sean Kelly had been angered at the the original decision after substantial work had been done upgrading the MacCumhaill Park venue in Ballybofey.
The Council also prefers that first round games are not made all-ticket, so that under-16s can get in free and family tickets can be made available at reduced prices.
But Donegal argued that the work done on the venue was based on being able to host major games like this one.
The Ulster final is returning to Clones and probably both semi-finals will be played at the venue.
Donegal chairman Kelly insisted that Armagh would be "made welcome" but acknowledged that he was "delighted" with the Ulster Council's decision.
"Donegal are always hard to beat in Ballybofey - there's no doubt about that. But Armagh are a tremendous side and they have proven that over the last 10 years.
"I'm happy for the people of Donegal. It's about promoting gaelic games in Donegal."

[highfielder]

lads its simple as, should we be fair to the players who train all year and give the a fair crack of the whip of should we focus on generating revenue and pandering to fans, if it is the second then the gaa football championship is a two tier organisation with money dictating advantage and we have seen in dublins case for years, i would perfer to sit outside any day and have mayo playing at home they get a ticket for a bigger venue elsewhere, remember lads do we want the teams put into the hat or do we want the balance sheet to dictate fixtures and its as simple an argument as that

[Sandy Hill]

Such a stupid decision! Playing Championship matches on home grounds was probably ok 8/10 years ago when attendances were much smaller; bringing this game to Ballybofey ensures that a lot of Armagh supporters will miss out.

"I'm happy for the people of Donegal. It's about promoting gaelic games in Donegal."

Blinkered bollox!

[Orior]

In recent years, Armagh bate Donegal in Clones, and Armagh bate Donegal in Croke Park. Bating them in Ballybofey will be a pleasant change

[dec]

lads its simple as, should we be fair to the players who train all year and give the a fair crack of the whip

Yes we should and a neutral venue achieves that.

[J70]

In recent years, Armagh bate Donegal in Clones, and Armagh bate Donegal in Croke Park. Bating them in Ballybofey will be a pleasant change

Hopefully we'll hear plenty of that kind of talk from you Armagh boys over the next few weeks!

[Rufus T Firefly]

The attendance when these side met in the first round of the Championship in 2005 at Clones was 26K +. Hopefully if Donegal do the bizzo in the League Final, anticipation will far exceed 2005. You have to be talking at least 10K missing out!

[Uladh]

Donegal have bottled it against armagh every year since 2002. as poor as armagh's form has been, the same magee, monaghan, gallagher, hegarty, mcfadden and devenney will have to do something they haven't been able to do before. they'll have to hold their nerve at the mere sight of an orange jersey...

[brokencrossbar1]

First things first, the game should be in Donegal.  No matter what the potential attendance would be, under the current rules as they were pulled out first Donegal have home advantage.  This is a matter for the Ulste Council to look at but personally I would not change it as it adds to the occassion, and also strenghtens the "local" aspect of the game which is sometimes lost with minds being drawn to the bottom line.

That being said I think it will actually work to Armagh's advantage in that it has given JK a very useful motivational tool.  I can hear the dressing room before the game "They were afraid to play us in Clones, lets ram their home advantage down their throats".  Also with Donegal doing so well at the minute, and a possible League title there for them the pressure will be very much on the home side.  Can they live with that pressure with a focused  Armagh team hyping up the tension on the field? 

I know it is a pain for the fans but lets face it a fair few boys will be looking forward to a Saturday nights drinking in different pubs up in Ballybofey

[J70]

I don't think McIver will have any problem motivating Donegal either. All he has to do is play the "Armagh think we're afraid of them" card, which along with home advantage should be all the motivation the Donegal lads need.

[corn02]

BC1 I agree in a way but as Sandy Hill said that was ok 8 /10 years ago. The popularity has grown somewhat since the early nineties when games were played in The Athletic Grounds or Ballybofey.

If it is ok for fans to miss out, what was the point in bringing the Ulster Final to Croke Park this last few years?

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

Ah sure lads, being played in Ballybofey will just give the Lurgan boys on the Morgans bar bus, more time to drink their carryouts before the match!! 

[brokencrossbar1]

corn I also agree that times have changed but as it stands the home fixture rule stands, so it should in my view be honoured until such times as it has been done away with.

J70, there is no doubt that is also the case but I think it is easier to make the charge that Donegal are afraid to play in Clones

[Fuzzman]

When's the last time Armagh played an AWAY match in the championship folks not including Monaghan in Clones?
How do they normally do when away from home?
I remember some great games in Omagh back in the 80's with the two Grimley sisters and big Houley.

Its only April but I think I can smell Orange fear already and a whole list of excuses getting ready.

"They're all out to get us brigade and we're not over the hill really"
"We've got the BEST & Biggest support in the land"

"We've got WAN All-Ireland to our name but dont think we are respected enuf"

Watch out for the Tinnies in Strabane as they guide you into Tir Connaill

Cant wait to see how Devenney does this year against that Armagh strong FB line
Donegal are a much bigger more direct team this year I believe