National Forum

Odd Or Unusal Venues For Big Intercounty Games

(Oldest Posts First)

further to the crazy choice od inniskeen for meath v louth. has anyone anymore unusal venues over the years for big intercounty games like league quater finals or semi finals or championship qualifiers?

dickie10 (UK) - Posts: 716 - 21/05/2024 21:25:23    2546260

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Replying To dickie10:  "further to the crazy choice od inniskeen for meath v louth. has anyone anymore unusal venues over the years for big intercounty games like league quater finals or semi finals or championship qualifiers?"
Football:
1947 All Ireland final, Cavan v Kerry in Newyork.

2002 Leinster semi final and replay, Kildare v Offaly in Kilkenny.

Hurling:
1987 Munster final replay, Tipp v Cork in Killarney.

1987 All Ireland semi final, Kilkenny v Antrim in Dundalk.

Ollie2 (Louth) - Posts: 833 - 22/05/2024 07:39:22    2546281

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Replying To Ollie2:  "Football:
1947 All Ireland final, Cavan v Kerry in Newyork.

2002 Leinster semi final and replay, Kildare v Offaly in Kilkenny.

Hurling:
1987 Munster final replay, Tipp v Cork in Killarney.

1987 All Ireland semi final, Kilkenny v Antrim in Dundalk."
There have been quite a few leinster semi finals and finals in Nowlan Park. AI games too. Think the Gaelic Grounds were closed for work in 87. Dundalk is odd ok!!

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 12845 - 22/05/2024 07:52:12    2546285

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Replying To Viking66:  "There have been quite a few leinster semi finals and finals in Nowlan Park. AI games too. Think the Gaelic Grounds were closed for work in 87. Dundalk is odd ok!!"
I think you're right, Viking, about Limerick being unavailable in 1987. Apparently, the Cork-Tipp home and away agreement lapsed after the drawn Munster final in Thurles and no new arrangement had been put in place. In fact, the Tipp-Clare semi-final, which would normally take place in Limerick, was also played in Killarney that year - both the drawn game and replay.

midlands (Westmeath) - Posts: 561 - 22/05/2024 10:08:08    2546313

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good calls there. 1993 All Ireland Hurling 1/4 final , Meath v Antrim in Castleblaney
1992 League quater final Meath v Clare in Ballinasloe
2003 all ireland qualifier supposedly neutral venue Meath v Fermanagh in Clones, basically as close to
fermanagh as you can get without being fermanagh, surely breffni park was the place for that.

2005 cavan v meath neutral ground qualifier again in clones should have been pearse park longford or in mullingar or even hyde park.
2023 meath v down in neutral game in parnell park

dickie10 (UK) - Posts: 716 - 22/05/2024 10:39:09    2546321

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Wembley hosted a few GAA games back in the 50s and 60s. Not sure were any of them championship though.

shaggykev (Donegal) - Posts: 246 - 22/05/2024 10:52:39    2546331

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Replying To shaggykev:  "Wembley hosted a few GAA games back in the 50s and 60s. Not sure were any of them championship though."
They were just tournament games.

Seanfanbocht (Roscommon) - Posts: 1627 - 22/05/2024 11:00:52    2546335

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I recall Roscommon having to rapidly move a Dublin league game to Leitrim on the late morning of the game because Hyde Park was bogged.

eslinchickenmaryland (Leitrim) - Posts: 87 - 22/05/2024 11:05:48    2546338

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Replying To dickie10:  "good calls there. 1993 All Ireland Hurling 1/4 final , Meath v Antrim in Castleblaney
1992 League quater final Meath v Clare in Ballinasloe
2003 all ireland qualifier supposedly neutral venue Meath v Fermanagh in Clones, basically as close to
fermanagh as you can get without being fermanagh, surely breffni park was the place for that.

2005 cavan v meath neutral ground qualifier again in clones should have been pearse park longford or in mullingar or even hyde park.
2023 meath v down in neutral game in parnell park"
Cavan borders Fermanagh too.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 12845 - 22/05/2024 11:12:59    2546341

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Kilkenny 7-7 Cork 2-9
All-Ireland hurling final replay 1905 (played 30 June 1907). Fraher Field, Dungarvan. Fraher Field has been the venue for 4 all-Ireland senior hurling finals.

An interesting aside. Cork won the first game, but after an objection was raised about Cork keeper Daniel McCarthy being a reservist for the British Army, a replay was ordered, won by Kilkenny.

https://boldthadyquill.blog/2020/05/05/the-1905-all-ireland-final-how-a-mole-in-the-camp-cost-cork-a-championship/

Cockney_Cat (UK) - Posts: 2569 - 22/05/2024 11:49:33    2546358

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Donegal v Galway All Ireland Q/F replay 2003 Castlebar !!!!!..You couldn't make it up.

gunman (Donegal) - Posts: 1078 - 22/05/2024 11:58:10    2546361

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All Ireland Club Camogie Semi Final 2022 - Sarsfields (Galway) v Slaughtneil (Derry).............venue Gorey, Co.Wexford.

Onfor15 (Wexford) - Posts: 525 - 22/05/2024 12:45:27    2546378

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A lot of these aren't really unusual venues, more a case of "I feel the ground is unreasonably closer to one county than the other".

CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1656 - 22/05/2024 13:21:23    2546384

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Replying To CastleBravo:  "A lot of these aren't really unusual venues, more a case of "I feel the ground is unreasonably closer to one county than the other"."
I agree.

For example, there was a final of the Leinster 'B' championship in minor football (The Seamus Heaney Cup) played between Wexford and Louth last year in Aughrim, Co. Wicklow. It was a 20-minute drive for some of the lads from North Wexford, from the Kilanerin area. But if you had to come from North Louth instead, it would have been two and a half hours or more, including delays from having to travel the M50 at exactly the wrong time of day.

But I still wouldn't nominate it as an 'unusual' venue, since Aughrim is a county ground. Think the idea here is to seek examples of 'properly unusual' venues being used, like Inniskeen.

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 2324 - 22/05/2024 14:03:29    2546403

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Putting any match under 20k,,(any match under 50k really) in Croker is quite odd,, albeit not unusual.

Galway9801 (Galway) - Posts: 1796 - 22/05/2024 14:27:20    2546413

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