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Eamonn Fitzmaurice on RTE site writes today,
In the tighter surrounds of Fr Tierney Park, Ballyshannon, Jim McGuinness's side were able to put the clamps on a Kerry forward unit who were always generally within arm's reach. But Fitzmaurice wonders if they'll be able to keep such a close eye on David Clifford, Seanie O'Shea and Co at Headquarters.
According to my research Croke Park measures 145m x 88, Ballyshhannon 145 x 87. Does one metre in width make that much of a difference? Have heard this openness time and time again.
https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2026/0322/1564689-fitzmaurice-donegals-defensive-decisions-key-to-decider/
bogger from meath (Meath) - Posts: 228 - 23/03/2026 13:50:16
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Replying To bogger from meath: "Eamonn Fitzmaurice on RTE site writes today,
In the tighter surrounds of Fr Tierney Park, Ballyshannon, Jim McGuinness's side were able to put the clamps on a Kerry forward unit who were always generally within arm's reach. But Fitzmaurice wonders if they'll be able to keep such a close eye on David Clifford, Seanie O'Shea and Co at Headquarters.
According to my research Croke Park measures 145m x 88, Ballyshhannon 145 x 87. Does one metre in width make that much of a difference? Have heard this openness time and time again.
https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2026/0322/1564689-fitzmaurice-donegals-defensive-decisions-key-to-decider/" About 1' 6" either side, in old money. I've often thought exactly the same when I've heard that peddled out. You've answered your own question to be honest.
Passer_By (Carlow) - Posts: 548 - 23/03/2026 15:37:09
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It's always funny that the "tight pitches" are always either claimed to be in:
1. Ulster counties, because it supports the notion they play "negative" football
2. Weak counties, because it supports the notion that everyone they play will be better than them, so they want to deny the opposition space to express their ability.
As if counties knew decades in advance where they'd stand in the football landscape and designed their pitches accordingly.
As this article shows, most "common knowledge" about GAA pitch dimensions is wrong;
https://www.rte.ie/sport/hurling/2022/0511/1297395-size-matters-gaa-pitch-dimensions-irk-beyond-measure/
Cusack Park in Ennis and Dr. Hyde Park are both the maximum possible size for GAA pitches, but you hear them being called "tight" for some reason.
Similarly you never hear MacHale Park or the Gaelic Grounds being called tight, despite being among the smallest inter county fields.
CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1726 - 23/03/2026 21:11:15
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Great discussion. I have been involved with club teams in Longford and always get a lad to measure pitches in advance of championship games because of this myth of tight pitches.
BigSur (Westmeath) - Posts: 1245 - 23/03/2026 22:34:44
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Replying To CastleBravo: "It's always funny that the "tight pitches" are always either claimed to be in:
1. Ulster counties, because it supports the notion they play "negative" football
2. Weak counties, because it supports the notion that everyone they play will be better than them, so they want to deny the opposition space to express their ability.
As if counties knew decades in advance where they'd stand in the football landscape and designed their pitches accordingly.
As this article shows, most "common knowledge" about GAA pitch dimensions is wrong;
https://www.rte.ie/sport/hurling/2022/0511/1297395-size-matters-gaa-pitch-dimensions-irk-beyond-measure/
Cusack Park in Ennis and Dr. Hyde Park are both the maximum possible size for GAA pitches, but you hear them being called "tight" for some reason.
Similarly you never hear MacHale Park or the Gaelic Grounds being called tight, despite being among the smallest inter county fields." The whole thing is mostly an illusion I think. So called tight pitches just have less space between the sideline and the stand which makes is appear tight.
Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 4337 - 23/03/2026 22:38:43
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There are a lot of misconceptions about "tight pitches" all right. Some "smaller" grounds like Ballyshannon (as in smaller in terms of crowd capacity etc.) might not have as much room around the sidelines as some of the larger venues, but that doesn't necessarily mean the pitch itself is tighter.
This news story from Donegal at the time of Ballyshannon's re-opening in 2023 even refers to it as "the newly-built Croke Park size Fr. Tierney Park" -
https://www.donegallive.ie/news/gaa/1291188/new-look-fr-tierney-park-to-host-three-championship-games-this-weekend.html
Always thought that Newbridge is tight all right, and not surprised to see it listed smallest of all in that RTE story that CastleBravo put the link up for. Somewhat surprised though to see the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick near the bottom of the list as well. Maybe just goes show how having a bigger stand and terracing etc. around a pitch can make the pitch itself look bigger, just as having smaller stand etc. in a place like Ballyshannon could give the impression that the pitch itself is small too.
Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3409 - 23/03/2026 23:31:45
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It's a lie that's been peddled for years, the 'wide open spaces of croke park".
letsgosligo (Sligo) - Posts: 114 - 24/03/2026 01:13:46
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Replying To letsgosligo: "It's a lie that's been peddled for years, the 'wide open spaces of croke park"." I wouldn't call it a lie; Croke Park is one of the biggest inter county fields.
The lie is that it's unique.
CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1726 - 24/03/2026 10:10:29
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Croke Park feels different due to the height and size of the stands that surround it. That's it. It's also a faster field than most. That's it.
yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11971 - 24/03/2026 11:42:47
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