GAA legend Kieran Donaghy is working with Dundalk to repair the damage done to their Oriel Park pitch during last Friday’s League of Ireland derby.
Flares on the Oriel Park pitch during the League of Ireland clash between Dundalk and Drogheda United(Image: INPHO/Nick Elliott)
Former Kerry star Kieran Donaghy says he is working with Dundalk to fix the damage to their new pitch “as quickly as possible.”
Donaghy is the business development manager with PTS Sport, the company that installed the €500,000 artificial playing surface at Dundalk’s Oriel Park ahead of last Friday’s derby with Drogheda United.
A small number of Boynesiders fans threw flares onto the pitch near the away end before and during the Premier Division game, leaving several scorch-marks.
A flare also hit a 12-year-old Drogheda fan, leaving the young boy with burns to his face.
Donaghy, who criticised those responsible for letting “themselves, their club in the league down”, explained how there was no danger of the entire pitch catching fire.
He told a story of a pitch installation at Sheffield Wednesday that was vandalised by a Sheffield United fan to explain the durability of the new artificial pitches.
“We had a situation, we did a pitch for Sheffield Wednesday, on the English FA framework a number of years ago,” he told Liveline on RTÉ Radio.
“There was a disgruntled Sheffield United fan that drove a car in there and set it on fire in the middle of the pitch.
“What fire-rated basically means is the fire won’t spread. The fire is localised to the area that is being ignited by whatever.
“So, that day we had to cut open the square underneath the car and reinstall the artificial grass.
“So we’re working with the club, we’re onto them, trying to fix this for them.
“But yeah, I suppose it is a minority and I’ve obviously played sport all my life in multiple courts, but you know this is a very small minority of the Drogheda fans that have let themselves, their club in the league down, on what was a very special night.
“And as I said, our first and foremost our thoughts with the young boy injured here and the risk to human life that is involved here as well.”
Kerry’s Kieran Donaghy scores a goal(Image: Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Cathal Noonan)
Donaghy was at Oriel Park last Friday night for the ribbon cutting by Minister for Sport Patrick O’Donovan, so he was straight onto the pitch after the game to inspect the damage.
“I know from dealing with all involved in the club that there was huge excitement around,” he said.
“I carried out an inspection on the pitch when the game was finished and all the fans had left the stadium. So I’ve seen it both in the photos and obviously up close.
“We’re already working with Dundalk on getting this fixed as quickly as possible for them. But it’s localised damage to the top of the fibres.”
He praised the stewards, officials and fire officials that worked to get the flares off the pitch as quickly as possible, and spoke of his disappointment at seeing his company’s hard work ruined by a small number of fans.
“I know how much the club have put into it. I know it was an unbelievable community there,” said the former Gaelic footballer and basketballer.
“There was a community day there a number of weeks ago where fans of Dundalk and painters and carpenters came out and they did a huge clean up of the stadium for its first home game.
“The place was looking stunning when I arrived there. It was a great day for Dundalk and the people involved in the club. It was a great day for PST Sport.
“We’ve done pitches with Shelbourne and Bray Wanderers and Shamrock Rovers, and it was great to be a part of something so special.
“So the overriding emotion was just complete disappointment that this would, would happen.
Minister O’Donovan said on Monday morning that he had paused all investment into astro pitches in the League of Ireland.
However, Donaghy pointed to the value of such facilities, saying: “A natural pitch can maybe hold teams for eight to 10 hours a week, but an artificial pitch can cater for anything from 30 to 50 hours a week.
“So the amount of teams, the amount of kids that are running around, I know Dundalk, we’re looking at a Friday night in all its splendour, but that’s used for the community in Dundalk.
“There’s school games going on, there’s other people using it, there’s academies, there’s kids right down to underage in Dundalk that are using it.
“So it’s such an important investment and that’s why the government does such good work through sports capital in investing in these community pitches, as well as what we see on Friday night when the big boys get out to play the big games.”
Want to see more of the stories you love from the Irish Mirror? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Irish Mirror as a preferred source, simply click here.