Happy Days in Clones
TRIPS to Clones for Donegal fans will soon be a thing of the past – unless the county is actually drawn to play Monaghan away.
The GAA’s Director General Paraic Duffy says the new Casement Park will be the natural home of Ulster football finals and other big provincial games including semi-finals.
The Belfast venue is to become a 38,000 all-seater stadium and is due to be completed in 2016 at a cost of £76m.
The Ulster final is usually staged at Clones in Monaghan, although from 2004 to 2006 it was played at Croke Park to accommodate a larger capacity.
“It is inevitable Casement will become home of big GAA events,” said Duffy.
“It is a cause for concern for the people of Monaghan and Clones but, if Casement Park is going to be developed to the high specification which has been outlined, that will make it the premier stadium in the province.
“All the big games and Ulster finals will go to Casement – that is the truth of it.”
It is believed the redevelopment scheme at Casement Park will be a huge boost to the economy of west Belfast, creating hundreds of jobs.
The move will be welcomed by fans in north Donegal – with Belfast in easy reach in less than two hours.
But the Casement venue will be less attractive to fans in the south of the county for whom Clones was easier to reach.
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