Wexford Camogie: New venue for league game 'horrendous'
With images circulating as to the state of the pitch for the Centra Camogie League clash between Clare and Wexford at Parteen-Meelick on Saturday, a spokesperson for Wexford Camogie believed the game should not have taken place on such a "horrendous pitch".
Originally scheduled for Clareabbey in Co Clare, the change of venue for the Division 1B encounter was made just two hours in advance of the game, with Clare Camogie confirming to RTÉ Sport that the Clareabbey surface was unplayable, with the fixture then moved to Parteen-Meelick.
They also confirmed that a "memorial match between two local clubs" took place prior to the Clare-Wexford tie, which threw in at 2.30pm, 30 mins later than scheduled.
As per Camogie Association protocols, match officials undertook an inspection at the new venue, with RTÉ Sport understanding that following the check the decision was made to go ahead with the game, which Clare won by 0-15 to 0-09.
However, video and photographic imagery posted on X by Wexford journalist Dean Goodison captured heavy underfoot conditions, particularly around one of the goalmouths.
When contacted by RTÉ, Wexford Camogie chairperson Martina Donnellan, who was present on Saturday for the game, said "that on health and safety grounds the pitch was not playable on the day".
However, she was at pains to stress that said view "has nothing to do with the result of the game, or against Clare Camogie, or against the people that were on the ground on the day".
Having been involved as she says herself in camogie "all her life", she pointedly added: "I have never seen a game go out on such a horrendous pitch. We were afraid someone was going to get injured. Our goalkeeper fell five times in the goal during the warm-up. The referee had to blow the whistle a couple of times to dig the ball out of the ground, to throw it in."
Donnellan outlined her conversation with the match referee before the game, where she requested him to "inspect the pitch".
She continued: "This was, at the most, ten minutes before throw-in. His linesperson delivered the message to me because I was walking out on the pitch and he said: 'Game goes ahead, the pitch is playable, it's a bit soft inside the 20, but it's playable.'"
Image courtesy of Dean Goodison
Donnellan also went on the say that the original venue for the game should have been inspected the night before and again in the morning. To the best of her knowledge, she was "not aware" that that was done, before revealing: "The pitch was inspected when our actual kit man was parked up at the pitch when we were told it had changed. That's how late the call came.
"When we got to the pitch (in Meelick), there was a men's match on, a commemorative match."
Image courtesy of Dean Goodison
As well as on-the-pitch concerns, the Wexford chair also revealed that the "girls were asked to tog out on the bus".
Such a request only adding to the frustration on the day.
"The girls said no, This is senior county, remember. Will you share a dressing room with Clare? No.
"What happened was then the two men's teams went together in one dressing room. Clare got a dressing room down stairs. We went up a stairs to a loft area, where there was a couple of chairs left around.
"We then went out and warmed up on a hill beside the pitch, where there was cattle at the top of.
"When we came back in (after the game) there was only some hot water and some of the girls could not have a shower. It was so cold.
"All and all in my opinion it showed very little respect for girls that had sat on a bus for four hours. I heard someone say 'we were offered UL'. No we were not. Wexford does not have a 4G pitch so our girls would not be used to playing on astro-turf. There is a completely different game on astro turf, which we are not used to."
