It has not been a good year for football in Kildare. Coming into 2024 with ambitions of pushing on to to the next level in both the league and championship, things have certainly not gone to plan for Glenn Ryan's side.
The Lilywhites would be relegated after finishing rock bottom of Division 2, losing all seven of their games in the process. As well as that, they would suffer a disappointing Leinster semi-final to Louth at Croke Park last month.
As a result of those two disappointments, Kildare will now play in the Tailteann Cup this summer. It is certainly a far cry from the stage the county were hoping to feature on, with the lack of interest in their exploits resulting in a surprising switch of venue.
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Lack of demand sees Kildare move Tailteann Cup game to tiny venue
Kildare have been without their regular home ground for over 12 months, with St Conleth's Park in Newbridge undergoing some much needed redevelopment work. That has seen them play 'home' fixtures in the likes of Kilkenny, Carlow, Tullamore, and Portlaoise during the last year or so.
However, an apparent lack of interest their upcoming Tailteann Cup home fixture has seen the game be moved to an incredibly small venue.
Their opening fixture in the competition, which will be played against Longford later this month, will now take place at the county's centre of excellence in Hawkfield. The venue holds just 1,500 spectators and is often used to host the county's hurling of ladies football games.
The GAA has approved the new venue. However, it is likely that only 80% of the ground will be open to supporters. As a result, we are set to see a maximum of 1,200 fans attend the fixture.
Clearly, the authorities in Kildare felt there would not be sufficient demand for tickets to move the game to the one of the previously mentioned venues this time around.
This is certainly a far cry from the attendances that Kildare have become accustomed to drawing for championship games, although it does sum up just how far they have fallen in recent times.
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