Mickey Feeling Harte Done By

It may be Easter, but Tyrone manager Mickey Harte hasn't exactly been a happy bunny this week. Fresh from his latest failed disciplinary crusade (this time regarding the actions of Tommy McGuigan), Harte has now been left furious at the Ulster Council's decision to play the USFC first round clash between Tyrone and Armagh at Clones.

He has made it pretty clear in recent weeks that he wished for the game to be played in Croke Park, and in today's Irish News he lambasts the selection of the Ulster Venue.

"To say I am disappointed at the removal of our first round Ulster Championship game from Healy Park to Clones, is somewhat of an understatement.
The positive impact of such an event on the GAA in both counties, the province of Ulster and the Championship in general would have been immense. It is also a glorious opportunity for families to embrace the experience together in comfort and something that would not be possible if their team was lucky enough to be there later in the summer."

To say that the above reasons for playing the match at HQ are somewhat lightweight might also be classified as an understatement. Families embracing the experience in comfort? Seriously!

A stronger reason for moving this game to Dublin (although Harte hasn't used it in public) might be that Tyrone have an excellent record in Croke Park. Call me cynical, but their record at Healy Park has been less than impressive, and an early season game in Croker would suit them nicely.

At their home venue in Omagh, Tyrone lost an USFC opener to Derry in 2006, and drew with Down last year. Clones meanwhile is widely regarded as a "home" venue for Armagh, and they have been close to invincible there for ten years now. These are likely to be the real reasons why Harte was so vociferous about staging the game at Croke Park.

The Ulster Council justified the decision to move the game to Clones by citing its greater potential for attendance compared to Healy Park:

"The anticipated attendance is significantly in excess of the 18,500 all ticket capacity of Healy Park. St Tiernach's Park, Clones provides an all ticket capacity of 33,000. There will be up to 10,000 seated family tickets available for this fixture."

It's hard to disagree with the Ulster Council's decision. This is a first round Ulster Championship game after all, and hardly warrants the opening of what would be a half-empty Croke Park. Clones will have to do - as it has always done.

It looks like the Tyrone management and players might just have to wait until August before setting foot on the hallowed Jones' Road turf.