Down Club Hurling & Football

[thewobbler]

Wobbler , some breaking news , Centre of Excellence will be in Ballykinlar and all your crying about distance , location etc won't change that decision.
Where else is there ?

My whinging won't change a thing. Just highlighting that a British Army museum on the site isn't much of an issue..... especially not compared to the location of the site.

[6th sam]

Central?

Perhaps geographically.

In terms of proximity to where Down people live and work, it's the middle of nowhere.

I don't disagree with the (lack of) proximity to the A1 argument. If Down are going to play matches in Ballykinlar, then its in an extremely poor position relative to the rest of Ireland.

If it were my call - I think I'd have been looking around the Annaclone/Drumgath area - and put up separate pitches for hurling much nearer the Ards contingent.


But in general, the problem is well beyond the county board - roadlinks across the county are a f**king disgrace. I've real concerns about dozens of young fellas driving to/from training in Ballykinlar several times per week.

The cumulative miles on shite roads add up. Probability of a bad accident will stack up over time.

There are members of the current Down football panel who have to travel 36 miles and 1 hour to get to newry and even Annaclone/Drumgath . The furthest clubs from ballykinlar are 27 miles away. Furthest clubs from newry/Banbridge/Annaclone  are ~ 40 miles away.
A lot of county players live in belfast and ballykinlar is closer to belfast than any other proposed alternatives . It's only 13 miles away from our Allireland champions Kilcoo .
It's only 8 miles from the "centre of the county" in Castlewellan, it's within 20 minutes of half the clubs in Down. It's close to 11 clubs who currently don't have match floodlights, opening up floodlit match venues to alleviate fixture issues .  It's only 16 miles from the ferry , compared to 32miles to the Dub where Down hurlers currently train. It has a natural soil quality and climate much more sustainable and attractive than rivals such as garvaghy and owenbeg, or other venues in Down . Positioning  of a Down centre of excellence should consider optimal cumulative travel for training for Down players, not convenience for opposition , especially since we have a well positioned Intercounty match venue in Newry. Demographic s would indicate that most  growth and potential in GAA in Down is in the north east of the county and any venue should be convenient to this area. And we are getting Ballykinlar for free with a quick turnaround. I wasn't sold on ballykinlar originally but on considering every other proposed alternative, No other venue even comes close to the benefits of Ballykinlar.  There are strong clubs and corporate potential in and around Newry but Páirc Esler already provides a superb venue and commercial focus, ballykinlar actually enables Down to spread the commercial net further by having a quality base in East Down. The time for debate is over, rather it's time for getting behind ballykinlar.  I agree with a lot of your views Wobbler but I genuinely think you're wrong on this one.

[thewobbler]

The problem here is that for as long as you continue to measures distances to Ballyk in miles instead of hours and minutes, then we will likely never agree. 27 miles to Ballyk doesn't mean 27 mins.... It means at least an hour of bendy roads, small villages, cyclists, tractors and 5-mile detours for roadworks.

[6th sam]

The problem here is that for as long as you continue to measures distances to Ballyk in miles instead of hours and minutes, then we will likely never agree. 27 miles to Ballyk doesn't mean 27 mins.... It means at least an hour of bendy roads, small villages, cyclists, tractors and 5-mile detours for roadworks.

That's what we've had to put up with for years Wobbler. The reality is that Aughlisnafin would be perfect location in terms of convenience for most , but there's nothing available, it's on top of a hill and doesn't have the soil quality ( Owenbeg  and garvaghy have problems in this regard) . A drive from South Down of a further 10 minutes from aughlisnafin is as good as we're going to get. If you can suggest an alternative available venue 10 minutes south of the Fin, providing the low lying, climatic, soil quality of ballykinlar ( even disregarding the low cost) , I'm sure East Down clubs would be prepared to make the sacrifice of venturing further south, but such an alternative doesn't exist , and we need action urgently as lack of suitable training venue continues to hold us back. Garvaghy and Owenbeg are ~30 miles from the gaa hinterlands of east Tyrone and south Derry , but they were the most suitable available locations , and the benefit of excellent facilities for training has overridden those raw geographical concerns.
I think there are plans to improve the Clough to Ballykinlar road ,which should be an additional focus for the Ballykinlar project team.

[Mourne Red]

I don't think many people have been to the place in awhile but lads you would be lucky to do clough to Kinlar in 10 minutes it's that bad a road

[6th sam]

I don't think many people have been to the place in awhile but lads you would be lucky to do clough to Kinlar in 10 minutes it's that bad a road

Google maps which errs on the side of caution indicates ballykinlar is 10 mins from aughlisnafin and 7 minutes from Clough. I accept It ain't perfect but it's as close to perfect we are going to get

[RadioGAAGAA]

I don't think many people have been to the place in awhile but lads you would be lucky to do clough to Kinlar in 10 minutes it's that bad a road

Time is one thing, the amount of blind narrow corners is another.

Parents and players racing down those roads to make training/matches on time doesn't make for a great mix.

Hopefully they can be improved - but thats far outside the county board's hands and influence.

[manwithnoplan]

So it would seem the main concern people have is that the Gaels of Down are terrible drivers, as opposed to the actual location. Less than 10mins from Clough is correct. And if you can't navigate that road safely then you should not be on the road.

[ardtole]

The road between Clough and Ballykinlar, wouldnt be any more dangerous than the roads between kilcoo and Hilltown, and Hilltown and Mayobridge.

[johnnycool]

Did Bredagh win the A feile yesterday?

They'd be favourites for the hurling one this weekend as well....

Might need to move the centre of excellence further north....

[RadioGAAGAA]

The road between Clough and Ballykinlar, wouldnt be any more dangerous than the roads between kilcoo and Hilltown, and Hilltown and Mayobridge.

What planet are you on?

The road from Kilcoo to Hilltown and on to Mayobridge is an A-road, no pinch points and is marked the whole way.

Conversely, the road from Clough to Ballykinlar might not even be graded a B-road, has only sections that are marked and has several pinch points.

[RadioGAAGAA]

So it would seem the main concern people have is that the Gaels of Down are terrible drivers, as opposed to the actual location. Less than 10mins from Clough is correct. And if you can't navigate that road safely then you should not be on the road.

Not at all - and I don't speak for "people", just myself.

The location is too inaccessible for every other county in Ireland for matches and its main virtue appears to be that it is by-and-by large equally inaccessible for most in the county.


The argument over drainage is an irrelevance IMO. These days, there are are these marvelous things called lorries and they can transport sand to a place of your choosing. Couple that with a cutting edge new invention called a digger and any field that isn't already in a bog can be well drained - even then bogs can be drained too if you've a bit of height to work with!


[and my concern is - your asking young fellas in their teens and early 20s to travel down the same shite road scores of times a year to training. Do young fellas always drive with due care and attention? I sure as hell didn't]

[Walter Cronc]

Noted few points following my question on the location of the centre of excellence. Having a quick look at the map again there. Would Loughinisland be more suitable?

On the feile that's some going for Bredagh. Surely Down are sitting on a potential gold mine with players from Bredagh, Carryduff and maybe one day East Belfast in the next 10-15 years. If those city players are integrated with the established rural clubs it could be exciting times ahead!

[Sheedy]

Noted few points following my question on the location of the centre of excellence. Having a quick look at the map again there. Would Loughinisland be more suitable?

On the feile that's some going for Bredagh. Surely Down are sitting on a potential gold mine with players from Bredagh, Carryduff and maybe one day East Belfast in the next 10-15 years. If those city players are integrated with the established rural clubs it could be exciting times ahead!

for me the ideal location is somewhere close to castlewellan, better roads and easily accessible from all areas. Ballykinlar no matter how people try to argue in favour, is in the middle of nowhere.

Bredagh, Carryduff have been strong now at underage for a few years and are starting to reap rewards at senior. It's trying to keep the players dedicated to the club and continuing into senior that sometimes the city clubs have more problems with than rural clubs,

[RadioGAAGAA]

Bredagh, Carryduff have been strong now at underage for a few years and are starting to reap rewards at senior. It's trying to keep the players dedicated to the club and continuing into senior that sometimes the city clubs have more problems with than rural clubs,

Success usually breeds success.

The youngsters will see the seniors going well and will want in on it. The chance of winning a Championship or two down the line will entice fellas to head to training rather than the pub.


Without wanting to criticise or otherwise, is there something in what Bredagh/Carryduff are doing that would be useful to the Newry clubs?