GAA fans fury at 700km trips for hurling and football as Dubs get 2 Croker ties
The GAA's fixture scheduling has been criticised as 'ridiculous' and 'unfair' by fans ahead of this weekend's massive series of crunch matches.
The crucial period for men's football and hurling sees eight matches in just two days, starting on Saturday and involving 13 counties from all four provinces. The biggest matches of the season to date will be played across Saturday and Sunday, with three of the 13 competing counties facing two win-or-die games.
But the GAA has been hit with accusations from supporters' that the fixture scheduling is 'crazy' and 'stupid' – prompting scheduling chiefs to issue a robust defence to the Irish Mirror.
After Donegal's Jim McGuinness last Sunday claimed it was 'unfair' to stage their match against Mayo in Roscommon, fans are now making the same point.
For example, fed-up Galway supporters must spend around 10 hours or more in a car and clock up 700 kilometres if they want to back their county's footballers and hurlers this weekend. Some say that is on top of commitments that families have given to attend matches of their local clubs to support loved ones who are also playing this weekend.
Loyal fans of Galway must travel over three hours from dedicated GAA villages like Cappataggle to make the 200-km return trip to the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick on Saturday to face Tipperary at 6.15pm in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship quarter-finals.
They will get home in Galway late at night and then they must leave early the next morning if they also want to support the county's footballers on Sunday. They will spend at least a quarter of their day in a car to make the 500-km return trip to see Padraic Joyce's side face Down at 1.45pm in Páirc Esler in Newry.
Some rival fans of Dublin criticised the decision to hand the Dubs a dream double-header in stark contrast to fans of counties like Galway and Limerick. They say the Dubs' supporters will not have to get out of their seats to cheer on the county this weekend because their heroes are in back-to-back All Ireland action in Croke Park on the same day.
The hurlers take on Limerick at 4pm on Saturday in the championship quarter-finals and the footballers face Cork at 6.15pm in their preliminary quarter-final clash. Limerick's footballers and hurlers also have two games in Croker – but their SHC quarter against the Dubs is on Saturday and their Tailteann Cup semi against Wicklow in Croker is on Sunday.
Limerick supporters say this means paying exorbitant hotel rates for overnight accommodation in the most expensive city in Ireland if they want to cheer on their county's football and hurling stars. They complain that if Dublin's two matches had been split between Saturday and Sunday, their fans could have gone home for the night.
Some fans accused the GAA's Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) of not considering travel arrangements and claimed the fixtures, including venues and times, should all be available at the conclusion of last weekend's games, not delayed for 36 hours until Monday morning. CCCC chairperson Brian Carroll was appointed in February of last year and revealed in December that planning for this season was already underway at that point.
He said: 'There is a lot of work that goes into compiling the fixtures and putting the fixtures programme together for 2025. The CCCC starts by reviewing the previous year, which included feedback from counties.' He said last Sunday that it can be 'difficult to find an ideal venue'.
But some fans have expressed their frustration, with one saying: 'Will they ever do away with these draws on a Monday morning. Games are on the next weekend, so draws should've been [on Sunday] evening and venues known no later than the next morning. Daft stuff.'
Another posted: 'I agree, totally. It's unfair on players and supporters.' One said: 'It's approximately a 10-hour round trip from Galway to Newry. They could have pushed the time out a couple of hours. It's called being reasonable.'
Some argued that Galway's match with Tipperary and Limerick's tie with Dublin should have been a double-header at Nowlan Park in Kilkenny. Another asked: 'Would it not have made more sense to have the two Limerick games on the same day, rather than both Dublin games? Expecting a lot of Limerick supporters to travel to Dublin twice in the one weekend.'
Louth fans face a five-hour return journey of over 300 kilometres for their match against Donegal in Ballybofey at 4pm on Sunday.
One asked: 'How's that fair on Louth fans who have to travel across Ireland late on a Sunday evening with work and school early Monday morning?' Another complained: 'Louth have a five-hour round trip to Donegal. It's a 10-hour round trip for the majority of Galway supporters.'
A supporter raged: 'Ridiculous fixtures. Crazy having Limerick on two separate days. Wouldn't do it to the Dubs of course. Crazy decisions.' One more said: 'Should be limerick in the double-header on Saturday, not Dublin. How stupid.'
Galway County Board chairman Paul Bellew told the Irish Mirror: 'It's unfortunate that the two matches are both on the same weekend. We've made our views clear about this. It should be a week-on, week-off schedule. We have to get on with it, but it is a challenge.
"Our strong support base covers both matches, but there's no doubt that people will have choices to make this weekend. Supporters are showing great loyalty to the county. They have been all over the country this year already. It is challenging and we are grateful for the support.'
Limerick County Board vice-chairman Frank Reidy told us: 'Limerick fans are the best in the country and many of them will say we've been long enough waiting for a match in Dublin. As for two matches on separate days, we accept that there are logistical arrangements that are set in stone around different sponsors for the Tailteann Cup.'
Amid the various speeds and differences across Ireland's network of regional and primary roads, GAA fans face several hours in the car. Cavan fans estimate a nine-hour round trip of over 600 kilometres to Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney for their All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final against Kerry. Cork football fans reckon it is a six-hour return journey of 500 kilometres to Croke Park in Dublin for their preliminary quarter against the Dubs.
Limerick fans say they face travelling five hours for the 410 kilometres to Croker and back for their matches, while Galway fans who attend both matches could potentially clock up 10 hours or more on the road. Louth fans are looking at a round trek of 300 kilometres to MacCumhaill Park to take on Donegal. Fans of Wicklow, Kildare and Fermanagh will also be hitting the road for Croke Park.
The Irish Mirror asked for a comment from the GAA and its Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC). A spokesperson listed several 'challenges associated with fixture making for two distinct sporting codes'.
He said: 'The Down v Galway game is on Sunday instead of Saturday to avoid a clash with the Galway v Tipperary hurling fixture. Down finished second in the group, and it's a home game for them in rule.
'Tipperary v Galway is traditionally played in Limerick when it's a neutral venue. The time of the hurling games is based on requests from broadcasters and to ensure both games are broadcast live. Last year, when the quarter-finals were played earlier due to TV requirements, we received a lot of negative feedback. The Donegal v Louth game is at 4 pm due to a request from the Gardaí in Donegal, who looked for a late throw-in on Sunday afternoon.
'As the Donegal International Rally is taking place this weekend, the Gardaí had concerns it would not have the capacity to police the event. The two football games are scheduled to allow for both games to be broadcast live. For Limerick, in advance of the Championship, it was agreed that the hurling quarter-finals would take place on Saturday and the Tailteann Cup semi-finals would take place on Sunday to ensure they received live TV coverage for the four games on RTÉ.
'The double header for the semi-finals in Croke Park was part of the original proposal passed at Congress for the Tailteann Cup competition, aimed at promoting the competition. It has been very successful over the past few years.'
All eight matches will be screened live across RTE and the streaming service GAA+ that replaced GAA GO.
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