Down Club Hurling & Football

[terrifictommy]

Venues for the games always a debate.
Kilcoo - No dugouts for the teams, I've seen more subs/mentors over the line than behind it. Some day that will cause a controversial moment between players and sidelines. Wonder if the Kilcoo seniors will allow the teams to warm up properly this round.
Clonduff - Venue isn't the concern but the pitch and lack of lighting and scoreboard are. Not a great vantage point for spectators either.
Burren - we all know the parking issues

Don't get me wrong theses clubs are the best that are around and Marshall very well. But what are the real alternatives. All have the same issues surely.

[Ambrose]

Any updates on Ballykinlar? Last update from Kim Jung McAteer was that he had appointed a planning consultant from Derry.
We must have nearly cleared the Burrenbridge debt by now.

[Smurfy123]

Surely they could have put a senior and intermediate double header in newry on Friday night
And the same in Burren on Sunday at 6.30 and 8
But to put a big senior double header in Burren is madness
Now what if any of the first games on Sunday go to extra time?
There is a chance that the matches in Newcastle won't be over at 5.30 if any goes to extra time.
Getting from Newcastle at 5 to Burren at 5.30? Work that one out?
And the big game of the weekend is on Monday at 8

[johnnycool]

Any updates on Ballykinlar? Last update from Kim Jung McAteer was that he had appointed a planning consultant from Derry.
We must have nearly cleared the Burrenbridge debt by now.

Collie McGurk? Was that him?

Burrenbridge dept is now serviceable after being taken over by Croke Park, but I think there's a good few more years yet before it's cleared.

[KeyboardWarrior645]

Any updates on Ballykinlar? Last update from Kim Jung McAteer was that he had appointed a planning consultant from Derry.
We must have nearly cleared the Burrenbridge debt by now.

Collie McGurk? Was that him?

Burrenbridge dept is now serviceable after being taken over by Croke Park, but I think there's a good few more years yet before it's cleared.

What's the burrenbridge dept?

[johnnycool]

Any updates on Ballykinlar? Last update from Kim Jung McAteer was that he had appointed a planning consultant from Derry.
We must have nearly cleared the Burrenbridge debt by now.

Collie McGurk? Was that him?

Burrenbridge dept is now serviceable after being taken over by Croke Park, but I think there's a good few more years yet before it's cleared.

What's the burrenbridge dept?

debt.

[Cuan12]

County board ex have dealt with Burrenbridgr, it was a disaster but it's behind us, county negotiated a new deal  and we are servicing that debt along with other debt from Parc Esler, Ballykinlar is a new chapter in Down GAA history and while the location might not please all it's the only viable option to develop a facility to compete with our provincial rivals.
Let's not forget Tyrone have had Garvaghy over 20 yrs and look where they are, our team of the nineties blew Tyrone away, look where we are now, so forget about Burrenbridge , that's being dealt with , concentrate on what we have , last thing , keep seeing derogatory references to our county secretary and I don't think they help, constructive criticism is grand but destructive with snide remarks doesn't help.
We all want the same thing - success
Kilcoo will win championship , complacency is only thing that will beat them!!

[RadioGAAGAA]

Ballykinlar is a new chapter in Down GAA history and while the location might not please all it's the only viable option to develop a facility to compete with our provincial rivals.

No, its not.

It is a massive mistake which will become all too clear in the years ahead.

When someone is hurt or worse driving home knackered from training some night on the shite roads - it'll be seen as the utterly stupid idea that it is.



The bravest decision the county board could take is to wait... wait until land comes up that is close to the main route running from the Finn through to Hilltown. There have been at least 2 opportunities passed up over the previous 2 decades. More opportunities will come up as folks give up on farming.

[downjim]

I think it's the best option we have at this time and can only improve the lesser facilities that exist in East Down.

[thewobbler]

Ballykinlar is a new chapter in Down GAA history and while the location might not please all it's the only viable option to develop a facility to compete with our provincial rivals.

No, its not.

It is a massive mistake which will become all too clear in the years ahead.

When someone is hurt or worse driving home knackered from training some night on the shite roads - it'll be seen as the utterly stupid idea that it is.



The bravest decision the county board could take is to wait... wait until land comes up that is close to the main route running from the Finn through to Hilltown. There have been at least 2 opportunities passed up over the previous 2 decades. More opportunities will come up as folks give up on farming.

I agree.

Training several times a week in Ballykinlar will make opting out a very real proposition for anyone working in Dublin.

Challenge matches for juvenile squads against Cavan, Monaghan, Louth, Meath etc will be met with a "can you not find us a venue closer to the border?".

That's when management teams will begin to challenge any requirement from county board that Ballykinlar must be the venue for county teams.

County board then will face the dilemma of forcing the rule, or a one-breaks-it-everyone-breaks-it-problem arising.

I know everyone means well with Ballykinlar. And it has some potential as an East down training facility. But it's just too remote to serve our county the way Garvaghey or Clontibret works.

[RadioGAAGAA]

I think it's the best option we have at this time and can only improve the lesser facilities that exist in East Down.

It may be the best option at this time - but that does not mean it is a good enough option to get the go ahead - it will not justify the investment and will be a(nother) massive millstone around the neck of county finances.

Decision should have been "no options available at this time are good enough to proceed".

[RadioGAAGAA]

Challenge matches for juvenile squads against Cavan, Monaghan, Louth, Meath etc will be met with a "can you not find us a venue closer to the border?".

For any county team its in the arse end of nowhere.

For most clubs in Down its in the arse end of nowhere FFS!


Every other county in Ireland will be coming in the Blackstaff Road as that's what google maps will tell them is quickest. Only a matter of time before there is an accident on the roads.

[downjim]

Are there any other defunct pitches/schools in Down that could be taken over by Down Gaa, always thought Derrylecka had potential . What's Annsborough like these days?

[Mourne Rover]

Most people would prefer our main training complex to be in or around Castlewellan, and there's no doubt that the decision not to buy the former Castlewellan High School site when it was offered to us for a knock-down price in the 1990s was an enormous mistake. However, that opportunity is gone, and none of the other options in the immediate area have worked out, so we need to look elsewhere. Ballykinlar is eight miles from Castlewellan, a drive of roughly 15 minutes, and cannot reasonably be regarded as a remote location. While the short road from Clough to the village is narrow, there is every reason to believe that it will be upgraded. The venue itself has huge potential and there are no sign of difficult planning issues at this stage. It clearly suits the hurlers, the camogs and the women footballers well, and is particularly convenient for the major centres of population on our side of Belfast and in Downpatrick from where players have traditionally had to travel to Newry. Male footballers from the south Down clubs will face longer journeys than at present but it is difficult to see how they will be seriously inconvenienced. When we get a properly designed training centre up and running, we will be in a different era so it is a project which deserves to be endorsed.

[thewobbler]

MR you're working on the assumption that people who live in Co Down work in Co Down.

Driving from Dublin to Belfast for the occasional training session is doable. Driving from Dublin to Ballykinlar for the odd training session is doable. Driving it 3 times a week for 8 months would test the resolve of even the most committed man. Especially if they've the best part of an hour back down to Burren, warrenpoint, Newry.