ARMAGH MANAGER JAMES Daly isn’t best pleased with the decision to switch throw-in time for Saturday’s TG4 All-Ireland ladies senior football semi-final against Dublin.
The Ladies Gaelic Football Association and both competing counties explored the option of playing their game as a curtain-raiser to Saturday’s men’s replay between Dublin and Mayo at Croke Park.
That request was refused and the ladies game goes ahead at Parnell Park – but three hours earlier than originally scheduled.
With the Dublin-Mayo Croker clash throwing in at 5pm, the ladies tie will now get underway at 2pm.
But Daly insists that more consideration should have been shown by Croke Park officials before they confirmed replay details for GAA HQ.
Daly has revealed that the rescheduled fixture at Parnell Park has created logistical issue for Armagh.
“We had a girl who was in England with work, she was flying home early on Saturday morning,” he explained.
“That’s not a big deal but all of a sudden the game is at 2 o’clock and it’s a major deal.
“She can’t come home on Saturday morning now, she has to come home on Friday night.
“We had to pay for flights to get her there.
“You can change coaches, meals and those sorts of things but it’s the preparation for it…we’re in an All-Ireland semi-final as well.
“Why does our game have to be bumped out there for you to play?
“This was announced within an hour of the (Dublin-Mayo) draw.
“There’s no such thing as a look at the schedule, to see if there is anything else going on. They just barge in but I’m used to it.”
Daly admits that he has been taken aback by the publicity generated by the fixtures clash.
“I can’t believe the amount of attention it’s got,” he said.
“It’s not only the fact that we didn’t get to Croke Park, it’s that our game was bumped because the men decided to have their game at 5.
“If they had their game at 2, we could still have had ours at 5.
“Croke Park would be full even if the game was played at 9 o’clock on Saturday morning, that’s my gripe.
“The excuse then is that they can’t play that many games in a short period of time at Croke Park and you’re like, come on.
“Just say no. Don’t come up with an excuse, just say we don’t want you there. Of course, they can’t say that.”