The GAA has released a statement regarding its decision to move the round three football qualifier between Kildare and Mayo from Croke Park to St. Conleth's Park in Newbridge.
It's said that the game was originally scheduled for Croke Park due to "serious concerns around the health and safety of patrons attending the fixture" by the CCCC. Those concerns have since been allayed due to "upgraded match-day and traffic management plans involving extra stewarding and Gardaí".
The citing of these concerns by the CCCC is certainly eyebrow-raising. Speaking on OTB AM on Tuesday morning, CCCC chairman Ned Quinn said the committee's main motivation in moving the game was to ensure that as many spectators as possible would be able to attend to game. It was not until late in the interview that Quinn said: "The risk would be that people would get involved with other spectators - that's the risk. I wouldn't describe it as crowd trouble but there could be animosity shown to people who had tickets, if they couldn't get tickets and were claiming they were regular supporters of Kildare."
GAA statement on Kildare vs Mayo
The GAA can confirm that the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round Three meeting of Kildare and Mayo will take place in St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge on Saturday evening at 7.00pm.
Following discussions with the Kildare County Committee and An Garda Síochána in recent days, upgraded match-day and traffic management plans involving extra stewarding and Gardaí will be put in place to cater for the large crowds expected at the venue before the game.
The GAA wishes to point out that the decision by the CCCC to fix the game for Croke Park originally was based on serious concerns around the health and safety of patrons attending the fixture. The CCCC has received assurances that these issues will be adequately addressed.
The original capacity of 8,200 remains in place.
Both Kildare and Mayo County Committees will receive 1,500 tickets each for club distribution. The remainder will be used to meet the needs of players, season ticket holders and sponsors.
The GAA can also confirm that the meeting of Cavan and Tyrone will now take place at Brewster Park, Enniskillen.
Tickets purchased for the Croke Park double-header fixture will not be valid for these games and a refund process from the point of purchase has been put in place.
Supporters without tickets are urged not to come to St Conleth’s Park on Saturday.
Tickets for the new fixtures will be priced at €20/£18 (adults) and €5/£5 (juveniles).
