"A big day for Belfast" - Antrim were right to stand their ground in venue row says Paddy Burke - Iqraa news

Antrim hurler Paddy Burke says that the footballers’ joust with Armagh on Saturday is “a big day for Belfast”.

Andy McEntee’s side will welcome the All-Ireland champions to Corrigan Park after standing their ground with the Ulster Council on their right to a home venue for the Ulster quarter-final, after the provincial body had originally fixed the game for Newry due to capacity concerns around the Belfast venue.

The game will have an odd throw-in time of 12.30pm and while Armagh will be hot favourites to advance against an Antrim side fresh from relegation to Division Four, Burke says it’s about much more than that.

“I think it will also just benefit the overall development of GAA in Belfast,” he said. “It brings excitement, similar to Davy [Fitzgerald] coming in with us.

“I think there was an open training session at the weekend and there were loads of kids out meeting the players, so it generates big interest and it's a big day for Belfast. Whatever the capacity will be, there will just be some good fanfare around it.

“I remember we played Tipperary in Corrigan Park, I think it was a charity game, in 2017 after they won the All-Ireland and the buzz about it was unbelievable.

"I still remember the buzz going out to play and hopefully the footballers will get to have a similarly big day and there are children there who get to enjoy it.

“Armagh are obviously the All-Ireland champions so that just generates an extra buzz and hopefully it helps to promote the game."

Burke was speaking in Kilkenny at the launch of the Leinster SHC, in which Antrim will have home games against Kilkenny and Dublin at Corrigan Park.

"When I started playing, we didn't really have a set home venue. We were bouncing around, playing some games in Cushendall, some in Dunloy and some in Loughgiel.

"We then made Corrigan our home pitch and they put in a stand.

“So 100 per cent from a hurling point of view, we wouldn't want to be giving up our home venue. We're really familiar with it, we really enjoy it and we've had some good results there.

"Before that, I was comfortable playing in Cushendall, the Dunloy players were more comfortable playing in Dunloy and so on.

“Corrigan definitely created a central place that we could get used to and it gives you a home venue instead of bouncing around, which doesn't give you much benefit.”

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