All-Ireland SHC: Stadium director Peter McKenna has replied to criticism of the Croke Park surface in the context of the ankle injury sustained by the Clare midfielder Colin Lynch in Sunday's All-Ireland quarter-final.
McKenna attributed the hardness of the pitch directly to above-average temperatures and the Hill 16 invasion after Dublin won the Leinster football title on July 16th.
Clare manager Anthony Daly described the "concrete" surface as dangerous, citing injuries to Lynch and Niall Gilligan - though neither player was so badly injured as to be ruled out of the All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny on August 13th.
"Every guy changed his boots at half-time and still you had fellas slipping," said Daly. "It's lovely to stand on but when you try to run and turn it's dangerous. There is a good bounce of the ball and cut off the grass but it's like concrete underneath.
"Colin Lynch wasn't anyone's fault but the field. Niall Gilligan also went over near the end."
McKenna noted Daly's comments but the warm weather of late has put the ground staff in a bind.
"We are now in the warmest spell in years," said McKenna. "There has been five weeks of baking-hot weather and there has not been a single drop of rain.
"The Dublin crowd coming onto the pitch led to a compaction of the surface, which meant a fairly aggressive spiking of the pitch had to be done to deal with the level of compaction."
In the absence of heavy rain, the head groundsman for Croke Park, Robert Ellis, cannot soften the surface without some highly disruptive measures.
The process of verti-draining, whereby spikes are inserted deep into the sod, will not be employed until after the All-Ireland finals, in October, as the process shakes up the ground, leaving large holes that take time to fill.
"Just look at the British Open at Hoylake," continued McKenna. "That was played on a beach with the fairways and greens practically without any grass, yet Croke Park was extremely lush.
"The complaints are understandable and you do feel for the guys playing, but if we were to water the pitch before a match it would over-soften. In Thurles on Saturday there was a heavy downpour and this led to a very greasy surface."
McKenna is also confident of avoiding the erection of barriers around the ground, especially at Hill 16, to hinder pitch invasions.
Last Sunday the images of Babs Keating and Justin McCarthy were displayed on the big screen during a request for supporters to stay off the pitch.
"We are appealing to the crowd dynamic," said McKenna. "It's a dangerous occurrence but the real issue is player safety. We are confident that with self-policing by the public, erecting barriers can be averted.
"We also hope to avoid the shoulder-to-shoulder (security) approach."
