I largely concur.
Itās just a bit meh. Cork is always atmospheric. I have great memories of the walk down to the pairc in the sun in the 90s. Ennis is a cauldron. Killarney is beautiful and a novelty. The GG is a shocking stadium but itās rocking when full, I suppose tipp feel the same about Thurles.
I think it depends on the game, crowd and weather for most of them.
If you have a sunny day, capacity crowd and a cracking game Thurles is great. Close enough walk to the town and the town is hopping.
Out of all the Munster grounds, Ennis is the best. Killarney close second.
I have a handy little rinky dink for getting in and out of Thurles, so traffic is never an issue. I donāt drink on match days so Iāve no idea what the town is like. It must be over 20 years since I frequented the Park Avenue which I understand is long gone. The stadium particularly the Old Stand is well past its sell by date.
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I donāt really drink on match days either
And I like thurles the best.
I had a lovely pint bottle of cider Sunday before the game. Hadnāt had one in a whileā¦
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The Gaelic Grounds is a really terrible venue in my opinion. Very hard to generate an atmosphere there.
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good to know
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They are a tasty pre match beverage
Just the one mindā¦
Jesus I thought it was rocking for the Clare game.
I love an uncovered stand too. Something special about the view.
Iāve been to so many games in Thurles that were meh. I think the town is meh. The pubs are meh.
Cork is by far the best. The stadium is class. The walk out is iconic. Plenty pubs in the city. Great banter with the locals. Youāve none of that in Thurles
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The only redeeming feature of the GG is the open stand but if the weather is against you then it is a pain.
The back road down by the country club to bring you out through meelick and onto Barryās shop makes entry and egress for those from south east Clare very east but you would never look to go for pre match drinks when going to the Gaelic grounds.
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The open stand is class when itās full of good day.
Itās fine and has great views, but i wouldnāt get carried away.
Itās in the conversation for the greatest stand of all time.
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Believe it or not, but Sunday was my first day ever drinking at a match in Thurles. 4 Large Bottles beforehand and 3 more after before my race was run.
Traditionally I would be running back through Dr. Morris to the car on the Holycross Road at full time.
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Can we compile a list of genuinely good GAA grounds?
The Athletic Grounds in Armagh is head and shoulders the best venue in Ulster, but too small for the really big games.
Clones is special but purely for nostalgic reasons of the games played there rather than the stadium.
Breffni Park in Cavan is a very good ground
Other than that I think the stadiums lack a big of atmosphere.
Semple Stadium looks great on TV but Iāve never been to a game there.
Killarney is a nice venue too but rarely gets a full house worthy of it.
I think the midlands could really do with a 40-50k stadium, one modern stand and 3 well finished off terraces. Somewhere like Mullingar would be ideal, a good alternative venue to Croke Park for neutral Leinster games and perfect for neutral venue All Ireland championship games.
Iād also like to see a modern 25k capacity ground developed in Dungannon, something similar to the Athletic Grounds.
I think this is because they are rarely filled for a match of actual consequence. I know hurling is not your biggest interest but as an example Kilkenny vs Tipperary in a knockout in Nowlan Park in 2013, a stadium of maybe 18k capacity at the time was a genuinely special and unique event, in that it was a knockout game between two contenders in a smaller provincial ground. Iām sure there have been similar in football over the past ten years but none come to mind immediately. Maybe Kildare vs Mayo in Newbridge, but Kildare were never going to be realistic contenders
As location goes in terms of proximity to town centre and pubs, Ennis is hard to beat
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