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County grounds has to be in either Dundalk or Drogheda. Makes sense with the population density. Can attract bigger crowds and the roads are already designed for high traffic demands. Dunleer Couldnt cope with a big cpunty game. Then you also have both towns having train stations and regular buses in and out of dublin. Easy for travelling support. Time to sell the rats pitch and build a new facility to accomodate a county ground and the rats club on the outskirts of drogheda while still being within the rats catchment. Am sure the hospital would be interested in purchasing the land. BluenYellow (Louth) - Posts: 128 - 25/10/2017 21:55:32 2058006 Link 0 |
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To be fair I think the men in place do want to progress this and have. I am in no way saying the county board are perfect but we have to appreciate there is only so many hours in a day, only so much one man can drive. We don't exactly have guys jumping to help out and spearhead initiatives in our county. This is evident from the tiny amount of fundraising and lack of candidates for roles in our county. The same guys are having to do all the work and they are then taking all the blame. We are spread too thin on the administrative side and we fall short in plenty of departments. I don't buy this blaming county board for all our woes to me it's the same as the team who hangs their manager or committee instead of owning up to their own short comings. I'll hold my hand up and say I'd love to help but I don't. For me at the minute club and local community is more important. I mean our County Treasurer is at the end of his tenure and has publicised his time coming to an end so no one could be mistaken and yet no one stood against him or even put themselves forward for the assistant role. Like this says it all the man has done a brilliant job pulling our counties finances together while still keeping up with the modern gaa as best as possible with one of the smallest pots in the country and little to no fundraising external or internal. He has publicly said he will take it as a personal failure if the development hasn't proceeded by the time he completes his role and yet supposedly the county board don't want to drive it forward? WheresDeBallBag (Louth) - Posts: 458 - 25/10/2017 23:55:26 2058031 Link 0 |
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That would be a brilliant solution assuming the right price can be achieved on sale and appropriate land purchased. Do you think this is something the O Raghelighs would agree on? There would have to be a willingness for this on idea alone. A development like this would take time and money sunk in it early on so it wouldnt be something that could be strung along like "show us what you got and we'll see" they'd have to be either all in or out. I don't agree that the county grounds has to be one of the towns. The road network in Drogheda is deplorable and train stations the other side of the town. Dundalk in DKIT was ideal as road network from M1 and existing parking made it easy to facilitate any crowd. However bus and train station are well out of reach. The current standard of our public transport means private coach hire services are definitely the main mode of mass transport for the gaa supporters. Second only too cars and other private transport. Train station isn't all that important in my eyes. However if public transport must be a factor, relative to rest of the country Dunleer is on the main Dublin Belfast bus route and the proximity of Drogheda train station to Dunleer is more than reasonable. Who knows if there was a county ground there Irish rail might put a train station there. Obviously any worthwhile redevelopment/development would encompass its own parking areas and I assume this would be part of the guys, who favour it, idea of Dunleer. I'm pretty sure you can get from the M1 to the football pitch in Dunleer without going through the town itself so enough parking built along with the continued use of the industrial estate it would tick the boxes in my eyes. As I said the lads in Dunleer would have to be willing to purchase as much of the surrounding land as they can to make it work but if they could I now agree with the lads it would be a perfect spot. I'm surprised the lads in Dunleer haven't thought of this and suggested it would be a serious boost to their town. WheresDeBallBag (Louth) - Posts: 458 - 26/10/2017 00:17:52 2058033 Link 0 |
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Apologies WheresDeBallBag, I am not blaming the County Board for anything. If anything this current county board have pushed it on more than the previous ones that were there. All I am saying it would be great to see some light and the end of a very very long tunnel. A county grounds that we all could be proud off. Lets be fair here, the Gaelic Grounds have run its course and is a miserable place to go. in 2018 we have 3 big counties coming to drogheda and who have decent county grounds. It would be great if work just started on a grounds we all could be proud off. The County Board have to be commended for the facility in Darver as it surly has to be the best Center of Excellence in the Country. The playing surface down there is second to none and no matter when you go there it is clean and very well presented, so hats off to all involved there. I was at a game there last weekend and great to see the new scoreboard being worked on. Also your comment on only a few officers doing all the work, I will agree 100% with you there, but a few GOOD ones is better than a too many bad ones. sharpey (Louth) - Posts: 193 - 26/10/2017 11:49:08 2058108 Link 0 |
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Are you having a laugh, the main pitch in Darver is appalling for a so-called County standard pitch, it isn't a patch on the surface in the Clans or Gaels. Darver is a massive white elephant but its there now, so we're stuck with it. It is nice to see a proper scoreboard going up, a basic concrete/galvanised shed on each side of Pitch 1 would be great to provide some shelter for fans and make it a semi suitable place to hold matches that would draw any sort of crowd. The comments about the current county board are spot on. The current chairman and treasurer (and the previous chairman) are the first officials to want to progress the County Grounds since the late Terry Maher. However, with all the will in world, they wont get anywhere due to us having 0 cash, no appetite within the county to put in the work required to fundraise and no imaginable plan for redeveloping Drogheda that will meet the needs of the Rats. Hon D Lu (Louth) - Posts: 126 - 26/10/2017 12:50:08 2058133 Link 0 |
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Sorry Sharpey, picked you up wrong. I do feel that any plan for the Gaelic Grounds is a square peg in a round hole and we will regret it in the future. I agree about the few good men but I wish we could find a few more to go up a gear.
WheresDeBallBag (Louth) - Posts: 458 - 26/10/2017 13:08:23 2058145 Link 0 |
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Forget about Dunleer or canvassing for same. Doesn't have the road network in the immediate surrounds to cope with a crowd of for argument sales 5000 +. Surely to God, if Leitrim, Offaly, Antrim, Fermanagh, Sligo, Cavan, Monaghan etc have grounds to be proud of and which can accomodate a home championship match if required, Louth can deliver same within the next 5 years. I for one do not blame the county board and once on forums such as this that word(blame) is being used, nothing will be achieved. It requires visionaries / prominent Louth business to get on board, formulate a plan, raise the finances and deliver. No reason in wide earthly world that this is impossible which seems to be the case. Larry Goodman, Martin Naughton, Pearse Lyons......we need you. Expect a call from the county chairman to enlist your help Red2017 (Louth) - Posts: 122 - 26/10/2017 13:48:09 2058173 Link 0 |
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That's fair enough. What you are saying sounds good but is it what's happening cause we are still hearing about slow progress in Drogheda which seems like progress for the sake of progress. I take it you feel a green field site development is the only option. I think everyone else was coming from the point of view of redevelopment as that is what has been suggested to be on the table. We were just suggesting alternative sites for redevelopment as we feel O Raghallaighs is a limited site. Regarding road infrastructure we seem to have a bit of a chicken or the egg situation. The key point in picking a site for redevelopment or development would be proximity to the M1, local infrastructure would be improved to cater for the site. In our defence Dunleer has this proximity. It's not as if there is any site in Louth that have been ear marked for a stadia type development where the Council have just capped off the required services for a stadium to drop in. Dunleers proximity to an industrial estate would also ensure 3 phase elec, gas and drainage close by. I am not lobbying for Dunleer and it was not me who mentioned it first. I don't mind where it is as I only have allegiance to my club and it won't be there. I am simply using it as a real life example of ideas that fit the bill and could progress. As it stands we only have one option on the table which isn't going to attract any visionaries as it's a bad option. You talk of these men to bank roll it but we as a county need to make some decisions we can't just say we need a county ground and expect someone else to deliver. WheresDeBallBag (Louth) - Posts: 458 - 26/10/2017 14:48:19 2058206 Link 0 |
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Build a 20,000 capacity stadium in the Cooley Peninsula and call it the PK grounds after Paddy Keenan. The reason to build it here because it is furthest part into the Louth when travelling from Leinster. Plus wee have the beautiful Carlingford near by and stunning Cooley Mountains. OLLIE (Louth) - Posts: 12224 - 26/10/2017 15:53:11 2058238 Link 0 |
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Sounds fantastic Ollie. Where would be your pre match and post match locations for refreshment?
WheresDeBallBag (Louth) - Posts: 458 - 26/10/2017 16:17:18 2058250 Link 0 |
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I forgot to add in that there would be a huge bar in the clubhouse with the great Mr King from the Super Rats looking after the refreshments.
OLLIE (Louth) - Posts: 12224 - 26/10/2017 16:20:13 2058253 Link 1 |
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Congratulations all boxes checked, somebody write the man a cheque
WheresDeBallBag (Louth) - Posts: 458 - 26/10/2017 17:18:36 2058280 Link 0 |
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WheresDeBallBag show me the money. All drinks will be on me in the Bull over the long Bank Holiday Weekend.
OLLIE (Louth) - Posts: 12224 - 26/10/2017 17:40:55 2058287 Link 1 |
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Made a few enquiries you're right 2017 has turned out to be an exceptional year or as you would call it a beautiful story on the field of play for ORaghallaighs.2 adult 3 County underage competitions including the retention of the under 14 championship.also a Leinster juvenile title and beaten by my beloved Clans in their Ladies Championship.With so little space available to the club at present and less if developed there can only be one winner and that is the one with the long term lease what ever that is I have no idea.
elizabeth12 (Louth) - Posts: 21 - 26/10/2017 21:27:08 2058387 Link 0 |
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We played a final in it at the weekend & I was dreading it but Darver turned out not overly bad. It's still a shocking place for a game because if there's even a slight breeze, it's amplified ten fold down there. If the funding was available for a couple of stands around the main pitch & the parking for players was better, it could turn out a great county ground, smack in the middle of the county. Stings (Louth) - Posts: 1 - 26/10/2017 21:56:26 2058401 Link 0 |
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If you want to build a pitch with grounds just drive out by Dundalk racetrack. As the racetrack is on your right headin north all on your left is big open lovely green fields until the roundabout. 2 mins from m1, any amount of areas for proposed parking. Not the center of Louth but as the smallest county in Louth do wee need a center ??? GAAdundalk (Louth) - Posts: 641 - 27/10/2017 00:23:22 2058441 Link 1 |
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I wouldnt mind where in the county it was as long it was a good job. That would be a very good option if the site is for sale.
WheresDeBallBag (Louth) - Posts: 458 - 27/10/2017 09:59:19 2058484 Link 0 |
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Build it beside the new 5,000 seater home of the Drogs that's being touted. If we can't share a ground with them presumably we could share the ancillary services such as parking, training pitches, sewerage, and other modern infrastructure that would come with it. Ihateforums (Louth) - Posts: 103 - 27/10/2017 13:05:08 2058555 Link 0 |
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Soccer and GAA sharing is still generally a no no. I suppose the question is are we in the position for a complete new development or do we need to stick to a redevelopment for costs. I wouldn't have a clue money wise just wondering.
WheresDeBallBag (Louth) - Posts: 458 - 27/10/2017 14:52:51 2058597 Link 0 |
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Given that pre planning meetings have supposedly already been held and a full planning application is ready to be filed I don't think anything outside of the O'Raghallaigh's is even remotely on the table at the moment (or even beside the table). A lot of people have sunk a lot of hours into this project so I think it would undoubtedly be very hard for them to go to a plan B. A change in the negotiators might move things on a bit but there has to be a willingness on both sides to proceed. Greenfield construction would be massively expensive compared to what is proposed to happen. Ihateforums (Louth) - Posts: 103 - 27/10/2017 16:09:53 2058626 Link 0 |