13 hours ago
GAA fans brand lack of public transport to Croke Park this weekend as ‘a slap in the face'
All roads lead to Croke Park this weekend for the All-Ireland quarterfinals with three Ulster teams in the mix.
On Saturday, Tyrone will play Dublin and Donegal will compete against Monaghan before Armagh take on Kerry on Sunday afternoon.
But fans of current All-Ireland champions are lamenting the limited transport available for the big weekend of sport, despite the Orchard County reaching this stage of the tournament for the fourth year in a row.
Paul Kelly from online fan page 'Armagh Fan 1889' described 'the lack of preparation' for championship games as disappointing.
'We've faced this same scenario every year," he said.
'If previous experience is anything to go by, then Translink have no excuse but to have been better prepared. It's extremely busy every year, they should expect it to be busy.'.
'We can see that special trains are running for other events over the next few weeks, including concerts and other sporting events. This is a total disregard for GAA fans, not just in Armagh but Tyrone too.'
Translink told the Belfast Telegraph that one special bus service will operate from Armagh, Lurgan, and Newry on Sunday.
The transport provider confirmed that no additional rail services will be available and that no extra services have been arranged for Tyrone fans heading to Dublin on Saturday.
Mr Kelly said other fans of Armagh, which is known for drawing large crowds of supporters, have branded the public transport offering as 'totally unacceptable'.
He also pointed out that bus services aren't very inclusive for wheelchair users or those with young families due to limited space and a lack of toilet facilities.
'Standard Ulster Bus [vehicles] can accommodate 54 seats, but they have no toilet facilities. They also don't stop between the pickup location and the final destination. How is that any good for families with kids who, speaking from experience, need the toilet every 10 minutes?' Mr Kelly added.
'Trains can accommodate disabled customers and wheelchair users. Buses cannot.
"This is totally unacceptable and a slap in the face to GAA supporters in Armagh.'
Bus tickets went live online on Thursday and were priced at £22 for children and £36 for adults.
It provoked a strong reaction from fans who hit out at the 'rip off' cost.
Mr Kelly, who is an admin of the fan page, acknowledged Translink has listened to GAA supporters 'to a certain extent' by putting on three extra buses this weekend.
But he said the public transport provider has 'effectively put them off at the same time by pricing them out' as he asked 'how can those prices be justified?'.
Armagh and Tyrone will come face-to-face if both clubs win this weekend.
Mr Kelly is pleading with Translink to be ready to step up for fans of both teams to avoid a repeat of the same issues.
A spokesperson for the company said, 'This is an extremely busy weekend across our network, with numerous events and concerts, and all our available resources are in use.
'We have also recently increased our offer with fifteen Enterprise services in each direction Monday to Saturday and eight each way on Sundays and hourly X1 coach services to Dublin between 5am to 9pm'.
