LAST UPDATE | 18 Jul 2023

LOUTH GAA HAVE admitted that Peter Fitzpatrick had resigned from his position as the county board Chairperson, before reconsidering, following the halted building progress of their stadium in Dundalk.

On Monday morning, work was due to start on the stadium beside DKIT after a ‘first sod’ ceremony with contractors, Ganson. However, those plans had to be shelved after a Saturday meeting of the Central Council of the GAA ordered progress to be halted pending a review.

It is understood now that Fitzpatrick had stood down as the Louth Chairperson with differing accounts referring to how the stadium will be financed.

However, the official Louth GAA Twitter account has stated: ‘Louth GAA are meeting Croke Park today. A delegation lead by Chairperson Peter Fitzpatrick will be discussing finances and any issues surrounding the commencement of our new stadium. Our stadium will be commencing as soon as these minor issues are resolved.’

A later tweet explained, ‘Louth GAA Chairperson Peter Fitzpatrick had tendered his resignation on Sunday night but following discussions in the last 24 hours, he has withdrawn his resignation and will lead delegation to Croke Park this afternoon.’

On Monday, another communication noted: ‘Following communication with the GAA over the weekend the launch and commencement of construction of our new stadium is postponed until early August.’

There is significant concern over a €7 million shortfall in funding for the stadium.

Louth have maintained that they can gather €14.8 million from their role in the Government Immigrant Investor Programme, albeit the money is not in their possession.

They are hopeful the rest of the money can come from a variety of means, such as GAA grants from Leinster province and Central Council, sales of seats on a long-term basis, and stadium naming rights, which have become very popular in recent years.