The Louth GAA has chosen Inniskeen as the location for their home match in the senior football championship against Meath due to its best fit in the region to cater the event. This indicates that Ger Brennan’s team will compete in Monaghan for two of their three group stage matches, as Farney County will have the home-field advantage in round two against Louth. Due to the lack of an appropriate venue in Louth to accommodate the expected match audience, the Wee County will begin their first home round by crossing the border to play in Monaghan on the weekend of May 25th-26th.
St Mary’s in Ardee has been Louth’s venue for league games in recent years, despite its limited capacity of approximately 2,800 individuals. A health and safety study regarding Inniskeen Grattans’ estimated capacity, which is anticipated to range between 7,000 and 7,500, is nearing completion. As a result, the match is predicted to sell out. Louth secretary Bob Doheny expressed their preference to keep the fixture as local as possible and felt Inniskeen was the right choice.
Inniskeen, which is just 18 kilometers from Ardee and 16 kilometers from Dundalk, is also where Louth’s midfielder Tommy Durnin competes for his club football. Doheny added that since they already have a good relationship with Inniskeen, it was deemed the most suitable venue.
Despite eagerly awaiting the construction of their new ground in Dundalk, the Louth footballers commonly select Páirc Tailteann in Navan for championship matches, including for the previous year’s All-Ireland group stage match against Cork. However, with both Louth and Meath favoring their odds of progressing from Group Four, the Wee County was not willing to give Navan the honor of hosting the meeting against Colm O’Rourke’s team. Following their second match in Monaghan, Louth will compete against Kerry in a neutral venue for their final group game.