GAA NEWS: The Donegal county board has defended its handling of Sunday's postponement of the county's National League Division One clash with All-Ireland champions Galway at Ballybofey.
The Donegal board came in for criticism - not least from Galway manager John O'Mahony - for the late postponement of the match. However, according to Donegal PRO Paddy Mullen, the pitch was playable until noon on Sunday.
"We are as disappointed as everyone by this," said Mullen yesterday. "We held daily pitch inspections and, even on Saturday evening, match referee Seamus McCormack walked the field and declared it would be fine. There was a ferocious downpour early on Sunday and that rendered the pitch unsafe.
"We had Ballyshannon on stand-by all week, but because of construction work going on there, the grounds staff would have needed 48 hours to make the park safe for spectators."
As a result of the postponement, next Sunday's tie between Mayo and Down will now become the first live league broadcast of the new season on TG4.The Irish language station was also hit by the weather conditions which threw the league calendar into disarray before a ball was kicked.
"We had a crew of around 24 people on site and everything was set up when the word came through that the game was off," said TG4 sports editor Ronan Ó Coisdealbha yesterday. "It was a costly start for us and also disappointing not to be able to show the All-Ireland champions."
In the only top-flight game to go ahead, Down celebrated a return to Division One with a high-scoring win against Fermanagh after that game was switched to Ballykinlar.
The visitors' preparation for the match was marred, however, by a minor road accident. "The bus driver actually slid into a ditch on his way to picking us up," said Fermanagh manager Dominic Corrigan. "There were no players involved, but it did mean that we had to wait for an alternative bus and got to the ground over an hour later than we had planned. But that is absolutely no excuse for losing the game."
Corrigan watched his side squander a lead before they were eventually over-run by a Down side inspired by former Fermanagh forward Shane King, who set the standard with seven points.
"He certainly had every reason to be pleased with his performance. I think Shane made up his mind to switch to Down quite a while ago, even prior to John Maughan's departure. So in that sense, his display was out of my hands," said Corrigan.
"Mind you, that didn't make it any easier to watch. We played some good football in places but the result was disappointing. But it is early days yet."
In Division Two, the Gaelic Grounds in Armagh was one of the few places not affected by the weather and former Crossmaglen manager Joe Kernan got his inter-county managerial career off to a positive start.
"I was fairly satisfied," he said yesterday. "It's actually a long time since Armagh has beaten Louth and it was one of those awkward local derbies. Expectations in this county are immense, but it will take time, we are working towards the championship and the players are getting to know us. Promotion is our aim in the league and it is great to have a series of competitive matches to look forward to."
The one blight on Armagh's day was the dismissal of midfielder John McEntee. "The referee indicated that it was for striking and that will carry the month (suspension). We accept the decision with no problem, but I was disappointed that the other player involved appeared to lie down and then get up without a bother after John was sent off. But, overall, it was a good start."
In Croke Park yesterday, Éire Óg of Carlow were presented with the AIB club of the year award. A cheque of €6,350 was presented to the club. The Ulster winners were Clonduff (Down), while Adare (Limerick) were the Munster representatives and Cummann Naomh Mhuire (Sligo) the Connacht choice. Each club received a development grant of €1,270.
