Down Club Hurling & Football

[Eartotheground]

Heard there was an attempt to find out who the hell was responible for agreeing to hand over a down payment of several hundred thousand pounds for land(without planning permission) to replace that lost by Bryansford with the sale of Newcastle.To this day the planning permission still has not been granted.The debate was strangled- only last week Sean OG was quoted that buisness should be conducted 'THE DOWN WAY'.What kind of people do we have as administraters with this sort of malpractice plunging us further into the red with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel.

I assume you mean a payment from DCB to get them to leave??? I thought this was normal?!? The county board wanted the ground for their own use (make a clondyke from its sale) and needed Bryansford out of the way. They were right to ask for a payment to move, not very gaa minded but business minded. Every club needs money to operate and they took advantage of their situation. 13, has the money been paid over yet? And what was the figure? I thought plans were approved back in October time from reading the papers??

To be honest i think everyone needs to take a step back when complaining about the sale of the ground. DCB had the right idea in selling it but the market disappeared. it is not worth the same money now we all agree but they couldnt sell it without having Bryansford sorted. If the market had not collapsed i would think most would be happy with the millions they would have got. Also it is hardly the Down boards fault for the planning process being slow.

I also wonder how many on the county board know the history of the park or the deeds.. reason i say this is because Annsley owned the pitch, he gave it to the Parish on the condition it was to be used for the furtherment of sport within the newcastle area....Somewhere along the line the Church sold it to t he GAA this was fine as it was still being used for sport now the GAA wantto sell it to a retailer that breaks the agreement writin in the deeds therefore the Annsley estate if they wished could come in and take the land back......see everyday is a school day

[13aside]

It gets better and better- what a mess!!

[When We Win]

Heard there was an attempt to find out who the hell was responible for agreeing to hand over a down payment of several hundred thousand pounds for land(without planning permission) to replace that lost by Bryansford with the sale of Newcastle.To this day the planning permission still has not been granted.The debate was strangled- only last week Sean OG was quoted that buisness should be conducted 'THE DOWN WAY'.What kind of people do we have as administraters with this sort of malpractice plunging us further into the red with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel.

I assume you mean a payment from DCB to get them to leave??? I thought this was normal?!? The county board wanted the ground for their own use (make a clondyke from its sale) and needed Bryansford out of the way. They were right to ask for a payment to move, not very gaa minded but business minded. Every club needs money to operate and they took advantage of their situation. 13, has the money been paid over yet? And what was the figure? I thought plans were approved back in October time from reading the papers??

To be honest i think everyone needs to take a step back when complaining about the sale of the ground. DCB had the right idea in selling it but the market disappeared. it is not worth the same money now we all agree but they couldnt sell it without having Bryansford sorted. If the market had not collapsed i would think most would be happy with the millions they would have got. Also it is hardly the Down boards fault for the planning process being slow.

I also wonder how many on the county board know the history of the park or the deeds.. reason i say this is because Annsley owned the pitch, he gave it to the Parish on the condition it was to be used for the furtherment of sport within the newcastle area....Somewhere along the line the Church sold it to t he GAA this was fine as it was still being used for sport now the GAA wantto sell it to a retailer that breaks the agreement writin in the deeds therefore the Annsley estate if they wished could come in and take the land back......see everyday is a school day

I dont believe this is the case. Statements like that will cause uproar around the county for no reason. There are systems in the Planning service which allow old conditions to be relaxed or re-drawn. I know this because my sister got planning for a house on a old piece of scrubland which was not to be used for anything other than allotment or something. The architect did something to get around this or used some old case arguement.

So to be honest eartotheground i think your a bit of the mark with that statement. I dont think the county board would have went down this route without taking advice from the relevent experts!!! Plus i am sure there are some people in the county board who have knowledge or waken advice from others who went down this route.

[6th sam]

Any thoughts on the selection of Downpatrick as the secondary county venue.This is a credit to the foresight of the RGU club in developing excellent premises over the last few years.The thought of Down county teams in football,hurling and camogie taking to the field in this part of the county is a major boost.The development of Newry has proved a great success,and establishing another venue in a major urban area,will hopefully have a positive spin-off ,for East Down and therefore the county as a whole.It is also more accessible to the North Down clubs,who despite great work at underage are not producing significant numbers of county players.County matches at a more convenient venue may improve the affinity of North Down players with Down GAA.

[gorm agus bui]

Any thoughts on the selection of Downpatrick as the secondary county venue.This is a credit to the foresight of the RGU club in developing excellent premises over the last few years.The thought of Down county teams in football,hurling and camogie taking to the field in this part of the county is a major boost.The development of Newry has proved a great success,and establishing another venue in a major urban area,will hopefully have a positive spin-off ,for East Down and therefore the county as a whole.It is also more accessible to the North Down clubs,who despite great work at underage are not producing significant numbers of county players.County matches at a more convenient venue may improve the affinity of North Down players with Down GAA.

I think it is great news for the county in general and this part of the county in particularAs you say it is a credit not just to the guys who are there now but those who bought this piece of land some years ago.
Logistically there is no better place in the county given the excellent parking for miles around the area and also the ground around the pitch which would allow for the developent of stand and terracing etc as would be required for a county pitch.
I dont think this is finalised yet, just that the Ulster Council would prefer it, but realistically there is no where else in the county that you could site a second county ground.
Allied to this it is the county Town and also there is the recent developments in relation the discovery that one of the founders of the GAA was a Downpatrick man. I read in todays Down Recorder that there was a night in the RGU clubrooms last weekend marking this.
Any word of when there might be movement on this development

[6th sam]

Haven't heard anything other than via the report on Kevin Bell's announcement at convention.
I agree that the local connection of John McKay is a boost.The profile of GAA in East Down has definitely waned over the years,but there are signs of a revival among a number of clubs.The staging of inter-county games in Downpatrick can only increase the profile of the GAA in the area.Having said that I would imagine that a centrally located County training ground,as per Owenbeg in Derry,would also be a priority for the county,if and when funds are available.

[johnneycool]

Heard there was an attempt to find out who the hell was responible for agreeing to hand over a down payment of several hundred thousand pounds for land(without planning permission) to replace that lost by Bryansford with the sale of Newcastle.To this day the planning permission still has not been granted.The debate was strangled- only last week Sean OG was quoted that buisness should be conducted 'THE DOWN WAY'.What kind of people do we have as administraters with this sort of malpractice plunging us further into the red with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel.

I assume you mean a payment from DCB to get them to leave??? I thought this was normal?!? The county board wanted the ground for their own use (make a clondyke from its sale) and needed Bryansford out of the way. They were right to ask for a payment to move, not very gaa minded but business minded. Every club needs money to operate and they took advantage of their situation. 13, has the money been paid over yet? And what was the figure? I thought plans were approved back in October time from reading the papers??

To be honest i think everyone needs to take a step back when complaining about the sale of the ground. DCB had the right idea in selling it but the market disappeared. it is not worth the same money now we all agree but they couldnt sell it without having Bryansford sorted. If the market had not collapsed i would think most would be happy with the millions they would have got. Also it is hardly the Down boards fault for the planning process being slow.

I also wonder how many on the county board know the history of the park or the deeds.. reason i say this is because Annsley owned the pitch, he gave it to the Parish on the condition it was to be used for the furtherment of sport within the newcastle area....Somewhere along the line the Church sold it to t he GAA this was fine as it was still being used for sport now the GAA wantto sell it to a retailer that breaks the agreement writin in the deeds therefore the Annsley estate if they wished could come in and take the land back......see everyday is a school day

Nothing surprises me anymore as the county don't own Parc Esler either and that come from a very senior man in Down GAA circles, so when Sean O'g talks about doing things the Down way, I panic a bit.


Downpatrick is a good natural ampitheatre to watch a game in but not so sure about access and parking for anything remotely resembling a big crowd, but i suppose with a bit of better traffic management of surrounding roads you might be able to shift a big crowd in decent time.

[Blue Island]

Any thoughts on the selection of Downpatrick as the secondary county venue.This is a credit to the foresight of the RGU club in developing excellent premises over the last few years.The thought of Down county teams in football,hurling and camogie taking to the field in this part of the county is a major boost.The development of Newry has proved a great success,and establishing another venue in a major urban area,will hopefully have a positive spin-off ,for East Down and therefore the county as a whole.It is also more accessible to the North Down clubs,who despite great work at underage are not producing significant numbers of county players.County matches at a more convenient venue may improve the affinity of North Down players with Down GAA.

Very good news. Obviously the bigger games will remain in Newry, but it's good to know that perhaps some national league games will be played in Downpatrick. I don't buy into this south Down/ east Down, bias, argument, or whatever you would call it, but since the loss of Newcastle as a county ground I have missed having the odd game played in the east down area.

Fair play to Downpatrick for their efforts. They might have to do a wee bit more work to some of the steeper grassed banks before they can entertain some of the bigger national league games though.

[Eartotheground]

Heard there was an attempt to find out who the hell was responible for agreeing to hand over a down payment of several hundred thousand pounds for land(without planning permission) to replace that lost by Bryansford with the sale of Newcastle.To this day the planning permission still has not been granted.The debate was strangled- only last week Sean OG was quoted that buisness should be conducted 'THE DOWN WAY'.What kind of people do we have as administraters with this sort of malpractice plunging us further into the red with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel.

I assume you mean a payment from DCB to get them to leave??? I thought this was normal?!? The county board wanted the ground for their own use (make a clondyke from its sale) and needed Bryansford out of the way. They were right to ask for a payment to move, not very gaa minded but business minded. Every club needs money to operate and they took advantage of their situation. 13, has the money been paid over yet? And what was the figure? I thought plans were approved back in October time from reading the papers??

To be honest i think everyone needs to take a step back when complaining about the sale of the ground. DCB had the right idea in selling it but the market disappeared. it is not worth the same money now we all agree but they couldnt sell it without having Bryansford sorted. If the market had not collapsed i would think most would be happy with the millions they would have got. Also it is hardly the Down boards fault for the planning process being slow.

I also wonder how many on the county board know the history of the park or the deeds.. reason i say this is because Annsley owned the pitch, he gave it to the Parish on the condition it was to be used for the furtherment of sport within the newcastle area....Somewhere along the line the Church sold it to t he GAA this was fine as it was still being used for sport now the GAA wantto sell it to a retailer that breaks the agreement writin in the deeds therefore the Annsley estate if they wished could come in and take the land back......see everyday is a school day

I dont believe this is the case. Statements like that will cause uproar around the county for no reason. There are systems in the Planning service which allow old conditions to be relaxed or re-drawn. I know this because my sister got planning for a house on a old piece of scrubland which was not to be used for anything other than allotment or something. The architect did something to get around this or used some old case arguement.

So to be honest eartotheground i think your a bit of the mark with that statement. I dont think the county board would have went down this route without taking advice from the relevent experts!!! Plus i am sure there are some people in the county board who have knowledge or waken advice from others who went down this route.

to make myself clear on this point i'm not having a dig at the county board but its a fact that not many people know and no matter about planning it still does not take away from the fact that the annsley estate will have the final say on St Patricks park

[13aside]

Did a well timed rumour(Down gaa related) before convention began on Sunday help scupper the hopes of a certain candidate getting one of the top posts on the CB?

[Bitta-Banter]

Will Div 3 start early in 2010?i seem to remember it starting early for 2009,that correct?how much earlier?

[gorm agus bui]

Did a well timed rumour(Down gaa related) before convention began on Sunday help scupper the hopes of a certain candidate getting one of the top posts on the CB?

A clue please.Which post and we'll work out the rest hopefully?

Would it be the the chairman's post. Was wondering when I read Kevin Bells outburst re the 125 celebrations was he having a pre election dig at John Devenney?

[13aside]

Let me first say that i wish the new co.chairman and his committee the best of luck for the immediate and long term in their quest to bring the glory years back to Down,but pardon me if i'm wrong but didn't a South Down weekly that ive just read tonight have at least two blasts at the new man at the top.Not to rake over old ground but the author may just still be carrying someof the   baggage he loosely mentions   himself ? (OUCH!!)

[gorm agus bui]

Let me first say that i wish the new co.chairman and his committee the best of luck for the immediate and long term in their quest to bring the glory years back to Down,but pardon me if i'm wrong but didn't a South Down weekly that ive just read tonight have at least two blasts at the new man at the top.Not to rake over old ground but the author may just still be carrying someof the   baggage he loosely mentions   himself ? (OUCH!!)

That wouldn't be the old Hilltown mafia now?

[Pangurban]

Who owns Pairc Esler