'We hope to give every club an opportunity to play in Cedral St Conleth’s Park' – Mick Mullen
The pitch at Cedral St Conleths Park is closed until 5 July after torrential rain fell during the double header there earlier this month
The 2025 UPMC Kildare Hurling Championships begins this weekend but after a number of games originally fixed for Cedral St Conleth’s Park were moved to Manguard Park and Conneff Park, Clane some concerns began to rumble at club level about the availability of the County Grounds for Club Championship games.
Those rumblings were quickly dispelled, however, by County Chairman, Mick Mullen as he spoke to The Kildare Nationalist while he surveyed with pride the attendance at the Meet and Greet for the senior footballers in Manguard Park in advance of the Tailteann Cup Final in Croke Park on Sunday 12 July.
“The pitch (St Conleth’s Park) is closed at the moment until the 5 July. There’s sand work and fertilizer going on just to get it back in condition for the Club Championship,” the Chairman said.
He had no concerns about the first round of the Hurling Championship being played at Manguard Park.
“Look at a pitch here in Hawkfield, it's absolutely in fantastic condition. It's a great facility and it can hold two and a half thousand people as well,” Mr Mullen told us.
“I would say we've two County Grounds now and we need to be mindful of the fact that we may not have to open the doors (of Cedral St Conleth’s Park) for the smaller attendances. The smaller games are here (in Manguard Park); it was good enough last year. We hope to give every team an opportunity to play in Cedral St Conleth’s Park. That is the aim but in the end that's down to Noel McKenna and the CCC to sort that one out,” he added.
Cedral St Conleth’s Park will reopen by hosting the Electric Ireland All Ireland Minor Football Championship Final on Sunday 6 July, something which the Co Chairman welcomed.
“We welcome Tyrone and Kerry on Sunday 6, which is another coup for us to have. We’ve had a number of high-profile matches, we had two All-Ireland Club semi-finals this year, we’ve had a number of qualifier matches as well,” Mick Mullen explained.
“It is great and it does bring in revenue as well but it also gives other people outside the county an opportunity to see the work that has been done and the work that has been developed,” he continued.
“The dressing rooms are second to none and they’re better than Croke Park now. At this stage you walk into to Newbridge and you know that there's something special in there. It's pride; you look around the place and it's Kildare GAA. Hopefully we can enhance that pride in the place and make people aware that this is Kildare GAA,” the Chairman concluded proudly.
Friday 27 June UPMC Senior Hurling Championship Preliminary Round (Extra Time and Winner on Day)
Manguard Park P1: Naas V Coill Dubh, 7.30pm Referee: Conor Daly
Conneff Park, Clane: Celbridge V Maynooth, 7.30pm Referee: Brian Kearney
Saturday 28 June UPMC Senior Hurling Championship Preliminary Round (Extra Time and Winner on Day)
Conneff Park, Clane: Ėire Óg Corra Choill V Ardclough, 5.15pm Referee: Mattie Redmond
Conneff Park, Clane: Moorefield V Confey, 7pm Referee: Paul Donnelly
UPMC Senior B Hurling Championship Group Phase
Manguard Park P1: Naas V Clane, 2pm Referee Niall Colgan
Manguard Park P2: Leixlip V Broadford, 2.30pm Referee: Eamonn Kelly
Manguard Park P1: St Laurence’s V Kilcock, 3.45pm Referee: Billy O’Connell
