A thread to log your favourite Irish provincial stadium.
- Netwatch Dr Cullen Park
- Semple Stadium
- Fraher Field
- Pairc Ui Rinn
- Nowlan Park
- O’Connor Park
- Innovate Wexford Park
- Walsh Park
- Fitzgerald Stadium
- Clonmel.
I won’t rank them in any order
Parnell Park as you feel you’re on top of the action
Brewster Park in Enniskillen for similar reasons
Fitzgerald Stadium - the terrace all around the 3 sides really helps the atmosphere
@Fagan_ODowd can you please clarify in your initial post that you’re referring to GAA grounds only here, before @tallback or @Tim_Riggins hijack the thread.
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Now that the Rugby World Cup is coming - we can all read off the same page…
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I very much like Breffni Park in Cavan, great terraces.
Clones is magical though.
Fitzgearld stadium for me. Killarney is a great spot first of all, then as @Mac said the terrace all round, plus the mountains in the background.
Unfortunately I’ve usually only been there following the Limerick Footballers and we had fuck all luck there
Thurles is a great spot for a match but I’m a bit tired of it as we’ve played there a lot the last few years.
You never really get to anywhere new with the hurling (unless your @dodgy_keeper and going to Antrim, Mullingar and the likes) .
When the footballers were going well I used to follow them around and remember a great day out in Dr. Hyde Park (where we got hopped by Armagh) though I have little recollection of the ground itself.
Was in breffni park a few years back for the compromise rules (I know 
) and it was a nice compact little ground within handy striking distance of the town.
Ennis is another nice compact venue where you can get a decent atmosphere from a small crowd.
Cork is probably the worst, shithole of stadium way out of the city with fuck all by the way of bars etc nearby. Limerick not much better, more modern stadium the only thing going for it.
I’ve only been in Clones once and it was pissing rain that day but it always looks class on Ulster Final days when the sun is shining. A bunch of gimped up Nordies shouting and hollering abuse at the top of their voice. Magic.
Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
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St. Tiernach’s Park, Clones
Raw, uncouth, claustrophobic, gloriously atmospheric. The one thing that annoys me about it is the continued presence of the TV cameras on the wrong side of the ground, thus missing out on the backdrop of the Hill. Traffic jams, chip vans, burgers and Buckfast, air horns, the Paragon, the walk down Fermanagh Street and up the hill to the stadium. Has an edge to the atmosphere that no other venue has. The Slane of GAA venues. -
Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney
Have only been there once but it’s a good stadium with good sightlines, with a real big match feel in a great setting. Jimmy O’Brien’s pub beside the station was one of the best GAA pubs in Ireland. Closed down a couple of years though I think. -
Pairc Ui Chaoimh
Communist-type bowl structure made for a great 1980s style atmosphere even if everything else about it is nightmarish. Had the feel of a proper stadium. -
Athletic Grounds, Armagh
Old ground was a total shithole but the new ground is the model for small county grounds. Excellent atmosphere under the lights and the cathedrals in the background give a fine ambience by day. -
St. Conleth’s Park, Newbridge
The quintessential winter venue. I was raised on going to Leinster club finals and semi-finals there. It’s a handy spin from Dublin, the stadium is right in the centre of the town and has several good pubs within a couple of minutes walk. Given that it’s a small stadium you don’t need much of a crowd to create an atmosphere. The old style roof on the stand (the terraced part of the stand is my favourite spot there) makes the noise reverberate. The view of the mountains in the background creates a nice ambience. A relatively modest investment to upgrade the terracing on the far side and toilets etc. could turn it into an excellent boutique stadium. Excellent parking availability which is a nice bonus. -
Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
Functional, reasonably modern stadium. Needs a big crowd but a fine venue when full. Deserves a high place purely on the strength of it hosting the Limerick-Clare match in '96 and the Munster final in 2013. -
Cusack Park, Ennis
Terrible toilet facilities but the covered terrace creates a great noise. Sun tends to shine more than at other venues too. -
Semple Stadium
Usually rains when I go there. Worthy of a top 10 place but well overrated and the air of twee self-congratulation amongst “true hurling people” when they go there irritates. Stadium is nothing special. -
Wexford Park
A very pleasant place to watch a match and lovely drive down from Dublin. Sun has shone gloriously on my two visits there. -
Nowlan Park
Nice ground. -
Breffni Park
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St. Oliver Plunkett Park, Crossmaglen
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Pearse Stadium, Salthill
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Pairc Tailteann, Navan
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Pairc Ui Rinn, Cork
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Cusack Park, Mullingar
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O’Connor Park, Tullamore
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Dr. Cullen Park, Carlow
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Pairc Esler, Newry
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O’Moore Park, Portlaoise
Athlone, Dundalk and Ballyshannon are dilapidated shitholes.
I’ve never been to the following grounds:
McHale Park, Castlebar
Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon
Tuam Stadium
Aughrim
Healy Park, Omagh
Celtic Park, Derry
MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey
Markiewicz Park, Sligo
Walsh Park, Waterford
Fraher Field, Dungarvan
Casement Park
Brewster Park, Enniskillen
Austin Stack Park, Tralee
Pearse Park, Longford (actually I was there once when I was about four year old but not to the current stadium)
Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada, Carrick On Shannon
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Concrete shitholes one and all
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Stadiums are generally made from concrete, mate.
Bit of plastic would be nice
Plenty of plastic in rugby grounds. Also called “spectators”.
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You won’t see many of those for our national and most popular games in fairness.
Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom.
Semple.
Gaelic grounds,
PUC.
Fitzgerald Stadium,
Cusack Park.
Fraher Field.
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The good thing about the football qualifiers is that you get to go to grounds you’d never ordinarily get to visit. Variety that you don’t get with the hurling.
Was disappointed by Healy Park, Omagh a few weeks ago. The stand is decent but the rest of the ground is very poor.
Never been to Clones. Hopefully we’ll draw Monaghan away in the qualifiers at some stage. Celtic Park in (London)Derry is another one I’d like to say I went to. Only been to a few grounds in Ulster actually.
I like Pairc Ui Rinn. Small, neat little ground. Surface is fabulous and atmosphere is always good when there is a decent crowd. Ennis, despite being a kip, normally has a good atmosphere on a warm summers day. It’ll be heaving for the u21 final next week.
Suffering overkill with Thurles. Could do without playing there for a year or two and get the buzz back.
Really hate the modern Croke Park and all the gimmicks that go with it. (Loved it when I was a child when it was basic enough). Plus I normally come home from the place disappointed. Cunt of a trip home after a defeat.
We don’t play there often but I also like Nowlan Park.
In GAA the more random or remote the ground the better. Carrick on Shannon and Ballybofey would be two others I’d like to go to. Purely so I could say I went there.
brandywell
the showgrounds
neptune basketball arena
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