Meath game should be played at Croker

Comment

So after months of preparation Meath manager Mick O'Dowd will take his team down to Aughrim to kick-start their Leinster SFC campaign.

The date is the 15th June, the venue Aughrim - a small town with a lot going for it.

But is the local GAA ground suitable for a big championship match? This column believes not.

For a start there is only limited seating. At both ends of the ground there is no significant room for spectators.

That leaves just the two sides of the pitch available to hold what is sure to be a big crowd.

Meath supporters will, most likely, travel in big numbers for this game and the traffic going in and out of the town before, and especially after the game, is sure to be heavy - and slow.

Croke Park would surely be a better option. Okay the fixture might not fill the place but if it was part of a double header it would be perfectly viable.

Which brings us to another issue that has occupied our thoughts of late. Why is it that Meath have not played in a Leinster SFC game at Pairc Tailteann since 1995?

Yes you have to go back that far for a game of that significance at the Brews Hill venue. There have been All-Ireland qualifiers of course against the likes of Louth and Galway but a championship game is well, a championship game. It's different, has a much stronger drawing power.

Aughrim might be a lovely place to visit but hardly the location for a big championship game.

Jimmy Geoghegan