REALLY TERRIbLE ExPLAnATIon

Louth Gaels Furious Over Tv Snub

Continued from Page 1

Mickey Rooney and his team do trojan work out there and it’s insulting to everybody at the club to say that the venue is unsuitable for TV cameras. There were journalists from Cork covering the game in Ardee on Sunday and they were very complimentary about the facilities in Ardee. It seems to me that RTE are being cheapskates here and trying to use Ardee as a scapegoat. I contacted RTE weeks ago looking for an explanation as to why we hadn’t featured and I was assured there was no issue. They said they were prioritising Dublin and Derry in the early rounds but that Louth would get a fair shake going forward. That hasn’t happened and we want to know why.

“Ardee has a limited capacity and it was a sell out so there were plenty of Louth supporters including elderly people who were unable to watch.

Cllr Corrigan Welcomes Positive Progression towards additional Louth Tourism Staffing

SINN FEIN Councillor Edel Corrigan at the March monthly council meeting thanked Director Tomas McEvoy and his team for the “vast amount of work being carried out in the Louth Strategic Economic Department.”

Cllr Corrigan said “it is evident from the monthly report that there is a vast amount of work being done by the department specifically on Tourism Development for the county.”

Cllr Corrigan queried as to whether there were any plans to move forward with appointing a full time Tourism Officer for County Louth to support all this great work and welcomed comments from the Chief Executive that additional staff in this department was being considered and proposals/ plans on how to support this position were being looked at.

Cllr Corrigan said “to have a full time dedicated Tourism Office for Louth would be a fantastic addition to Louth the Land of Legends. This county has so much to offer and a lot of exciting opportunities ahead with Brigid 1500 events, Visit Louth and Sea Louth experiences, Tain Trail, Carlingford, Boyne Valley and many more areas of interest in Louth.”

“It’s unfair that RTE can’t even show a couple of minutes highlights from the game especially given the fact we are doing so well and that we were told when we were in division three and four that RTE mainly concentrate on showing coverage from teams in division one and two. We are the only side in the top two tiers who haven’t been featured at all on the Sunday Game. As chairman I am here to speak up for the supporters and I’m looking for answers from RTE as to why they are ignoring us. What is their problem with us?,” asked Fitzpatrick.

Ardee St Mary’s chairman Mickey Rooney was similarly enraged with RTE’s comments about DEFY Pairc Mhuire stating that it was very unfair to point the blame at his club.

“RTE never approached us at all with regards to putting cameras in the ground. TG4 were here before and they were delighted with the facilities and how they were treated yet for some reason it’s not ok for RTE? I didn’t hear Joanne’s comments on Sunday night as I wasn’t watching the Sunday Game but I was told what she said afterwards and I was very disappointed. We are all volunteers here and we have got Pairc Mhuire in great shape and comments like that make us look bad. It sounds like a weak excuse to me and I hope that the Louth GAA board request answers from RTE as well as an apology,” stated Mickey.

RTE responded to the Dundalk Leader with a short statement on the matter.

“With so many games across football and hurling in the leagues it is simply not possible to be present with cameras at every game. Yesterday’s game featured on RTÉ radio and online and the key game against Dublin will feature next weekend.