Antrim Hurling

[north aontroim gael]

Dunsilly looks good but its very much a small scale facility. It doesn't look like in could accommodate a county final.  There doesn't appear to be any spectating facilities or car-parking and if the only access to the site is through that narrow tunnel any sort of a crowd at all will be a nightmare / safety issue (I'm not familiar with the site so this may not be the case).

[theskull1]

Main safety issue would be crowds crossing roads ... it doesn't look set up for much more than training games which is very disappointing  ... it could have and should have been a real hub for the county, but as the saying kinda goes ..........what the power brokers don't want, they get

[Usain]

Main safety issue would be crowds crossing roads ... it doesn't look set up for much more than training games which is very disappointing  ... it could have and should have been a real hub for the county, but as the saying kinda goes ..........what the power brokers don't want, they get

It looks like changing rooms are on one side of the tunnel and pitches on the other. That would present a problem for matches with players having no separate route to the field from supporters.

I had hoped it could be used for hosting games but doesn't seem to be judging by these pics. Still a very useful facility to have all the same.

[NAG1]

Main safety issue would be crowds crossing roads ... it doesn't look set up for much more than training games which is very disappointing  ... it could have and should have been a real hub for the county, but as the saying kinda goes ..........what the power brokers don't want, they get

It looks like changing rooms are on one side of the tunnel and pitches on the other. That would present a problem for matches with players having no separate route to the field from supporters.

I had hoped it could be used for hosting games but doesn't seem to be judging by these pics. Still a very useful facility to have all the same.

This is exactly the issue which caused the delay to the project going ahead. It has also restricted the usability of the site in general. If it is to be developed in any way other than a training facility other options for entrance and exiting will need to be explored (I'd imagine this has already been done though)

[johnneycool]

Jez lads be glad you'll have something like that for all its faults.

In Down the county hurlers and footballers are still begging, stealing and borrowing from the clubs, schools and so forth for facilities with big money being lost on a non event in Bryansford village that isn't going to happen.

[Hectic]

Its a real shame that the foresight was not there to have something that could comfortably cater for 5000 ish - that would handle most finals and National League games as well.  I suppose maybe in their defence they were working on the basis of Casement being ready but at the same time Casement will be too big for County finals, semi finals etc and Antrim is perfectly located to be reasonably accessible for most teams in the county.  'Sure hindsight is always a wonderful thing' is generally what you hear when you raise anything at the higher levels regarding these type of projects.

[Hectic]

Jez lads be glad you'll have something like that for all its faults.

In Down the county hurlers and footballers are still begging, stealing and borrowing from the clubs, schools and so forth for facilities with big money being lost on a non event in Bryansford village that isn't going to happen.

An element of truth there alright but at the same time if you are going to do a job you might as well do it right at the same time.

[imtommygunn]

It has been planned for years though and when planning there would probably have been an assumption that either there would be, or there would soon be, a casement park.

[Milltown Row2]

Jez lads be glad you'll have something like that for all its faults.

In Down the county hurlers and footballers are still begging, stealing and borrowing from the clubs, schools and so forth for facilities with big money being lost on a non event in Bryansford village that isn't going to happen.

was going to say that! Its a start and ones complaining here that nothing was being done or it was too slow!!! Christ lets get our county teams a place to train and in a central place where no one is going to far out of their way to get to, parking and the likes of the other stuff can still happen but lets take it for what it is at the moment...

I'm sure people who work within their own clubs when trying to find funding, planning permission and the rest have come across this a lot

[btdtgtt]

Absolutely delighted to see the progress at Dunsilly.
Well done to those past & present who put the hard work in.
Hopefully that facility will make logistics easier for county teams to prepare and result in increased appetite to play for Antrim.
As for hosting Club & County games - there is no point thinking of foresight - to all concerned in planning Casement was going to take care of that.
And I for one hope it still will be the case.
Like Dunsilly - better late than never.

[Na Glinntí Glasa]

Thats what was granted in 2013

Construction of GAA centre of partication to include 12 changing rooms canteen fitness suite physio retail and associated admin.space. Site works including construction of a new tunnel though railway embankment 94 car and 3 bus spaces and boundary treatment and new boundary fencing.

In 2015 St Comgalls Antrim applied for
Retention of area of hardstanding for use as a temporary car park to serve adjacent pitch approved under planning permission T/2008/0718/F

thats currently pending in the planning service

I use this site for my work to look at planning applications etc http://www.geopii.com/planning/ zoom in where the site is at Dunsilly and click on the icons. it lists below what was approved/applied for etc and you can see the drawings as well through Planning ni - go to Public Access for Planning Applications - view planning application online via Publicaccess website - then in the search box put in 'T/2008/0718/F'

you can see all the documents and drawings that was applied for

[theskull1]

'Sure hindsight is always a wonderful thing'

A real get out of jail free card is that one. Plenty of voices at the time when it was first muted, stating this Ulster Council led Casement redevelopment would not suit Antrims needs but those perspectives were simply  ignored. Dunsilly's design/layout should have had a level of contingency (in terms of how it would be used) built into it IMO.

I repeat again ... who would want to watch a national league game OR a county final in a 30K+ stadium where we'd be lucky to get 3-4 thousand?

[doodaa]

For all the failings of the Derry County Board they did get Owenbeg right.
Great facility for both county and club teams.
The one downside to Owenbeg is that at big club/ county matches is the parking along that main Derry line. Ideally they need another exit/ entrance to the main carpark as it is a major bottle neck when everyone leaves. Credit to the stewards though, they are a massive help.

RE; Casement I think they would be better to just improve what was there (new changing rooms and a revamp of the existing stand would be two issues that I would have noted on my visits there) and develop a more central facility like Dunsilly. Im not aware of the logistics of the Dunsilly site but its probably about as central as you are going to get in Antrim with more chance of getting the casual/ neutral supporter in through the gate. I know myself as a North Derry man id go watch a county final in Dunsilly but probably wouldn't if it was in Belfast. Parking/ travel time/ security of the car are all factors I consider when going to a match. Same reasons im not a big fan of Celtic Park.

[btdtgtt]

Will Casement go ahead?

Yes I believe so.
In some shape or form - we'll see what in time.
But there's too much to lose for some people for it not to go ahead.

[Antrim Coaster]

The county own a few acres of land at Ballygrooby which was originally earmarked to develop a training facility before the Dunsilly project.

Might be an idea to develop an Owenbeg type of county ground at that location, beside the M2 which is handy to most GAA people in the county.

Obviously the cost would prohibit this at the present time, but maybe something to consider for the future.