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Openess Of Croke Park And Pitch Sizes

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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 2662531 Link
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 2662591 Link
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 2662686 Link
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: 1246 - 23/03/2026 22:34:44 2662716 Link
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: 4344 - 23/03/2026 22:38:43 2662719 Link
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: 3418 - 23/03/2026 23:31:45 2662726 Link
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 2662735 Link
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 2662760 Link
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 2662801 Link
Replying To yew_tree: "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." Yeah, that was basically my point. A pitch can look bigger or smaller depending on what surrounds it. But so-called "tight" pitches aren't always actually "tight" after all. Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3418 - 24/03/2026 15:03:15 2662892 Link
Could it be as simple as the position of the main tv camera when a game is being televised from the ground? Croke Park probably has the highest position of all so can make it look wider than others. Some grounds have the camera quite low hence making the pitch look "tighter" Maybe then subconsciously people think some pitches are tighter than others seeing as the vast majority of viewers have never actually played on most of said pitches! Onion_Sack (Dublin) - Posts: 410 - 24/03/2026 17:11:44 2662920 Link
Replying To Pikeman96: "Yeah, that was basically my point. A pitch can look bigger or smaller depending on what surrounds it. But so-called "tight" pitches aren't always actually "tight" after all." I like grounds where the stands/terracing are close to the pitch. Better atmosphere! Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 18888 - 24/03/2026 17:31:47 2662923 Link
Always like a good discussion on pitch sizes. Humphrey Kelleher has a lovely book on county pitches "A Place to Play" and it has the accurate pitch sizes and the story of the county ground. Google earth is also.vetu useful with its measuring tool. One that always amuses me is Semple stadium. There's this notion that it's a big but it's actually small. It's only 80 metres wide. Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 985 - 24/03/2026 17:40:58 2662927 Link
I think not alone is it about the dimensions in Croke Park, the surface is perfect and with a bit of moisture to the firm surface it plays extremely fast. Also with the pucturesque stands and hill terrace in the background it makes it a daunting place to try and kick scores if not used to it. I think these add to equation on why Croke Park plays a little differently to other grounds. winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 950 - 24/03/2026 18:29:41 2662937 Link
It's very easy to pick out tight pitches now with the introduction of the 40 Mt scoring arch. Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2590 - 24/03/2026 18:29:55 2662938 Link
Replying To Onion_Sack: "Could it be as simple as the position of the main tv camera when a game is being televised from the ground? Croke Park probably has the highest position of all so can make it look wider than others. Some grounds have the camera quite low hence making the pitch look "tighter" Maybe then subconsciously people think some pitches are tighter than others seeing as the vast majority of viewers have never actually played on most of said pitches!" Yes it could. Camera angles play a massive part in people's perception of pitch size. A good example would be Arsenal's old Highbury ground. The low camera angle made it look significantly shorter and narrower than other pitches, but it was in fact only 1 metre narrower and 3 metres shorter than the average at the time. The stands being close to the playing area probably added to that. On the flip side of that, Semple Stadium would be a good example as the opposite to that.... streaker (Galway) - Posts: 574 - 24/03/2026 19:33:59 2662957 Link