ANTRIM’S ‘Corrigan or Nowhere’ threat has had little impact on the Ulster Council who insist that their Ulster Championship clash against Armagh cannot be played at the 4,000-capacity West Belfast venue.
The Saffrons were drawn out of the hat first for the April 12/13 quarter-final but the Ulster Council has ruled that their current home does “not meet the required health and safety standard to accommodate this fixture”.
Therefore the game – as was previously agreed by the Antrim County Board and the provincial board – will be played at a neutral venue, possibly Down’s Pairc Esler or Derry’s Owenbeg.
“Home venues for senior inter-county championship games are subject to the approval of the relevant CCC, and they must be in compliance with health and safety standards,” read an Ulster GAA statement.
“Corrigan Park has a certified capacity of 4,000. The minimum number of tickets required to accommodate this fixture (including, players charter, match officials, multi-sponsors, media, season tickets etc) will exceed the venue capacity.
“Therefore, Corrigan Park does not meet the required health and safety standard to accommodate this fixture.
“Ulster GAA met with Antrim GAA officials last month to review the situation in detail, and those discussions remain ongoing.”
The Antrim players aren’t for turning. Paddy McBride said the Saffron camp was united in their resolve not to play the game if it was moved from Antrim soil.
“We spoke as players already and we just said that we sacrifice too much as players to just lie down so, if it’s not going to be where it’s meant to be, then we’ll not play it,” McBride told the BBC.
“It wasn’t even deliberated on, it wasn’t debated. We just said: ‘This is what we’re standing for’ and we’re sticking with it.”
Manager Andy McEntee agrees. Armagh’s season-ticket sales, or the fact that the Orchard county could bring 10,000 or more fans to any Championship fixture is not Antrim’s concern, he says.
“As far as we’re concerned there’s no problem at all,” said McEntee.
“Antrim were drawn out of the hat first which means we have home venue. Somebody is suggesting that we can’t have home venue but as far as we’re concerned we want the game going ahead in Corrigan.
“It’s up to us to look after Antrim GAA and, as far as we’re concerned, we came out of the hat first, end of story.”
Antrim’s stance is understandable and, you could argue, admirable. The Saffrons were heavily beaten by current All-Ireland champions Armagh in the Ulster Championship preliminary round in 2023 at the Athletic Grounds. To bridge the gap between the counties they need every advantage they can muster so giving up home venue is a luxury they cannot afford.
On the flip side, Armagh GAA is on the crest of a wave. The Athletic Grounds was sold out for last weekend’s League clash with Tyrone and the Orchard county faithful could pack Corrigan Park out three times over on their own. Moving the game will cater for the demand for tickets.
But, as an Antrim spokesman pointed out, that’s of no concern to the ‘home’ team. Antrim are in this unenvious position because of a dozen years of inactivity over Casement Park. If the Armagh game is moved to another venue when will they ever get a home game in the Ulster Championship?
“Where does this stop?” he asked.
“The Casement debacle has been going on for years now so who’s to say that in the next five years, 10 years we’re going to have no home (Championship) games. Where does this stop? It seems there’s a lack of respect there. Just because we’re not a Division One team or challenging for All-Irelands. At the end of the day these lads are putting in a big effort and we’re being punished for something that is out of our control. We can’t do anything about the Casement Park situation.”
