Galway United

[outspoken]

There was talk of stadium improvements in their bid to take over the club but the Galway FA own the ground so there's probably a limited amount that can be done for the moment. There was talk of fixing the scoreboard etc.

At the moment the ground is one of the best in the League although should we get promoted the way crowds currently are and with the larger away support we possibly could do with some additional capacity - I think at the moment it's restricted at 4,200. There's probably potential to put a small covered stand/terrace at the carpark end of the ground - this would probably mean taking a bit of space from the carpark but that shouldn't be too much of an issue but I wouldn't expect anything imminently - that's well down on the priority list.

Is the carpark not already very small? Parking must be a nightmare for bigger games.

[JC_GUFC]

Is the carpark not already very small? Parking must be a nightmare for bigger games.

Not really - there would be space to take another 3 to 4 metres I would say, in saying that maybe when the carpark is full I would think differently! I think there are about 200 spaces but it fills very quickly and generally is booked for players/sponsors etc.

There was an issue last season where a local councillor objected to people parking on the Dyke Road on match night. There is free parking at the Black Box Theatre on match day which is a 10 minute walk to the ground and probably has in the region of 500 spaces so generally it's ok - there are certainly worse grounds to try and park near.

[outspoken]

Not really - there would be space to take another 3 to 4 metres I would say, in saying that maybe when the carpark is full I would think differently! I think there are about 200 spaces but it fills very quickly and generally is booked for players/sponsors etc.

There was an issue last season where a local councillor objected to people parking on the Dyke Road on match night. There is free parking at the Black Box Theatre on match day which is a 10 minute walk to the ground and probably has in the region of 500 spaces so generally it's ok - there are certainly worse grounds to try and park near.

Noticed all the traffic cones outside the ground the last day and was wondering where people were parking. Parking is a nightmare at the likes of Oriel, Richmond, Dalymount etc. Obviously most people find their own spots they become familiar with but you'd like to think it would be factored in to more modern stadiums.

[EatYerGreens]

Not really - there would be space to take another 3 to 4 metres I would say, in saying that maybe when the carpark is full I would think differently! I think there are about 200 spaces but it fills very quickly and generally is booked for players/sponsors etc.

There was an issue last season where a local councillor objected to people parking on the Dyke Road on match night. There is free parking at the Black Box Theatre on match day which is a 10 minute walk to the ground and probably has in the region of 500 spaces so generally it's ok - there are certainly worse grounds to try and park near.

Ireland is going to have to move away from the idea that everyone is enabled to drive to and park near sports stadia though. There's some serious behavioural change required to meet the government's climate chnage targets, and not long to do it. So public transport is getting improved, and there is supposed to be a lot more cycling and walking infrastructure put in. Trip generators like ED Park should have cycle lanes and decent bicycle parking. Galway is a compact city, so no genuine reason why people shouldn't cycle more there.

[JC_GUFC]

Ireland is going to have to move away from the idea that everyone is enabled to drive to and park near sports stadia though. There's some serious behavioural change required to meet the government's climate chnage targets, and not long to do it. So public transport is getting improved, and there is supposed to be a lot more cycling and walking infrastructure put in. Trip generators like ED Park should have cycle lanes and decent bicycle parking. Galway is a compact city, so no genuine reason why people shouldn't cycle more there.

I have actually asked the club about this earlier in the season - it was actually on the back of cycling to Dalymount Park and despite Bohs promoting a few of their women's matches as 'Cycle-to' events I have struggled to find any securing bicycle parking around the ground itself.

[CorribsideSteve]

We have to figure out a way of banning vehicles from the city centre alltogether, something like a ring road would work, but Finn Harps ground will be built before that happens. The Dyke road is usually jammed solid of a Friday night with an attendance of about 1,500 and its little more than a bothrin. Galway was a town built in Mideival times with roads wide enough for a donkey and cart and it hasn't changed since the day the 1st house was built. If any city needs to be pedestrianized and made more accessible for cycling etc its Galway.

[EatYerGreens]

We have to figure out a way of banning vehicles from the city centre alltogether, something like a ring road would work, but Finn Harps ground will be built before that happens. The Dyke road is usually jammed solid of a Friday night with an attendance of about 1,500 and its little more than a bothrin. Galway was a town built in Mideival times with roads wide enough for a donkey and cart and it hasn't changed since the day the 1st house was built. If any city needs to be pedestrianized and made more accessible for cycling etc its Galway.

The problem with the Galway Ring Road is that it will only attract and generate more traffic, not less. And the idea that it will enable more space for cycling, public transprot etc will most likely prove to be mythical, as gombeen local councillors will fight tooth and claw against any changes that disadvantage drivers.

People in Ireland have no concept of the extent of behavioural change that will be required in the very near future. Transport is Ireland's second largest generator of greenhouse gas emissions. During Covid - despite everything being locked down, people stuck at home or unable to go more than 5kn, not going to work, shops closed etc - Ireland's emissions from transport fell by only 16% (2020 vs 2019). The government is committed to a 51% fall in all emissions by 2030 - that's in 8yrs time. So when you compare what happened during Covid, you see how big the challenge is. And we've only 8yrs to get there. And then after that emissions need to be driven down to zero by 2050.

[Stav]

So your team is playing Galway and you get the train from Dublin. You will not get one back after the match. Same applies to a bus. Public transport may be improving in Dublin and there were more buses on some routes 50 years ago than there are now but we have a long way to travel to make public transport a first option. Yes it would be easier and more enjoyable to get the train but the additional cost of a nights stay is not that appealing.

[pineapple stu]

The problem is that excusing actions like that won't actually address the climate change issues EYG is talking about.

I don't think we've any real intention of addressing the issues tbh. Not until it's far too late anyway. It's far too inconvenient for the present

[sbgawa]

The problem is that excusing actions like that won't actually address the climate change issues EYG is talking about.

I don't think we've any real intention of addressing the issues tbh. Not until it's far too late anyway. It's far too inconvenient for the present

Someone either comes up with an economical new technology way to reduce the hole in the Ozone or we are all Donald Ducked in the long long long long run, we arent going to make the changes off our own bat. Its like trying to get an 18 year old to drink a few pints less and start a pension scheme.
Hopefully someone does and we can go back to economical Diesel engines

[pineapple stu]

Ozone hole isn't the issue any more - which goes to show we can address things if we want to. (From wiki - "In 2019, NASA reported that the ozone hole was the smallest ever since it was first discovered in 1982")

But carbon emissions are a far bigger thing, and even if we solve the problems on time, we're dependent on the US, China, the Middle East, etc, following suit. Which they almost certainly won't

[sbgawa]

Ozone hole isn't the issue any more - which goes to show we can address things if we want to. (From wiki - "In 2019, NASA reported that the ozone hole was the smallest ever since it was first discovered in 1982")

But carbon emissions are a far bigger thing, and even if we solve the problems on time, we're dependent on the US, China, the Middle East, etc, following suit. Which they almost certainly won't

Exactly true, i still sort my rubbish etc but i do it with an acceptance that its about as useful as a chocolate fire guard, makes Eamon Ryan feel like he has a purpose in life i suppose

[EalingGreen]

So your team is playing Galway and you get the train from Dublin. You will not get one back after the match. Same applies to a bus. Public transport may be improving in Dublin and there were more buses on some routes 50 years ago than there are now but we have a long way to travel to make public transport a first option. Yes it would be easier and more enjoyable to get the train but the additional cost of a nights stay is not that appealing.

If you were to take the enviromental argument to its logical conclusion (and I'm NOT advocating that!) then even convenient and frequent trains both ways on the day etc would not be acceptable, since even that uses up carbon emissions unnecessarily.

It's a bit like holidaying at home, instead of flying abroad for two weeks etc in that away fans could just watch the game live on a stream, while only home/local fans would actually go to the stadium. That way, it would just be like La Liga, where eg fans of Atletico don't travel en masse to the Bernabeu, or Espanol to the Camp Nou, but prefer instead to watch the game in supporters clubs and bars in their own neighbourhood. And you certainly don't get big numbers even from well-supported clubs like eg Sevilla travelling the length of Spain to attend matches in Santander etc.

But I repeat, I'm not advocating banning away fans from football, merely emphasising some of the hard choices which will have to be made in combatting climate change, including by football.

[JC_GUFC]

So your team is playing Galway and you get the train from Dublin. You will not get one back after the match. Same applies to a bus. Public transport may be improving in Dublin and there were more buses on some routes 50 years ago than there are now but we have a long way to travel to make public transport a first option. Yes it would be easier and more enjoyable to get the train but the additional cost of a nights stay is not that appealing.

I know it's not really the point but there are late night buses that will take you to Dublin Airport if you're really against staying over in Galway! Obviously depending where you're from in Dublin it may be a 50 quid taxi fare from the airport so may not suit to end up there!

[EalingGreen]

I know it's not really the point but there are late night buses that will take you to Dublin Airport if you're really against staying over in Galway! Obviously depending where you're from in Dublin it may be a 50 quid taxi fare from the airport so may not suit to end up there!

Surely it would be worth the train operator's while simply to delay the last train back to Dublin or Cork etc by an hour or two, if it meant they could transport an extra couple of hundred fans?

Though presumably that would require them to be arsed about doing a proper job...

[pineapple stu]

I think your conclusion overlooks the probability that it's actually not worth their while doing that. Delaying a train an hour or two will annoy people who actually use it (compared to people who might use it), and running an additional train from Sligo (taking a PD team who actually have games in Dublin) once a month for those who don't mind getting back into Connolly at 2am mayn't be a big seller either.

A supporters' club bus is another public transport option of course.

[EatYerGreens]

Exactly true, i still sort my rubbish etc but i do it with an acceptance that its about as useful as a chocolate fire guard, makes Eamon Ryan feel like he has a purpose in life i suppose

Except you're wrong really. You recycling reduces the amount of space required in Ireland for landfill, and the fines form the EU which that entails. It also means waste is turned into useful resource on an island that has very few natural resources. On related issues - You using less energy, and especially wasting less energy, would also directly benefit you financially. It has a higher net financial benefit to you than it does net benefit to the environment (although everything obviously helps). And switching Ireland to renewable energy sources, electric vehicles etc helps Ireland. Ireland has no fossiil fuels worth talking about, so we are currently a net energy importer. That is bad for both our energy security and our balance of trade. And a lot of the energy we import is via hateful regimes like the Saudis, the Qataris and the Russians. We have enough coastline, waterways etc to be a genuinely self-sufficient country in renewable energy. And even to generate a consistent surplus which we can sell to the rest of Europe - thereby making us all better off financially, creating jobs, extra tax revenues etc. Instead of just giivng all of that over to dodgy Arab regimes.

So it's not just about minor intangible impacts for the environment. It's about saving yourself money, making your country more secure, not funding sh!heads like the Saudis and the Russians, creating domestic jobs and improving living standards for everyone in Ireland. Reject all that if you really want to.

[EatYerGreens]

If you were to take the enviromental argument to its logical conclusion (and I'm NOT advocating that!) then even convenient and frequent trains both ways on the day etc would not be acceptable, since even that uses up carbon emissions unnecessarily.

There is nothing that humanity does which doesn't have some sort of energy requirement. The issue is where that energy comes from, and how sustainable it is.

The Republic will be electrifying its rail in the coming decade or so. In the meantime, rail emits less emissions per average occupancy/passenger than cars do, so it's still significantly better than driving.

As everything humans do has some sort of impact, no-one is suggestig that everyone just sit at home and do nothing. It's about transitioning to less harmful and zero-harm alternatives.

Anyone who's genuinely interested in this, and the significant changes coming down the line for Ireland, should have a look at the National development Plan Project Ireland 2040 : gov.ie - Project Ireland 2040 (www.gov.ie)

BTW - part of the reason why Spain doesn't have a large travelling club fan tradition is because fixtures in Spain often get changed at extremely short notice to facilitate live broadcast. As I found when I was in Cordoba on my way to see a game in Granada the following day, onyl to turn on the TV that night and discover the Granada game was being played 24hrs early.

[EatYerGreens]

I know it's not really the point but there are late night buses that will take you to Dublin Airport if you're really against staying over in Galway! Obviously depending where you're from in Dublin it may be a 50 quid taxi fare from the airport so may not suit to end up there!

Have a look at strategies like 'Connecting Ireland' (for rural areas) and Bus Connects (for the 5 cities). It's all about acknowledging that buses are crap in Ireland, and coming up with significantly better future connnectivity via them.

All part of the bigger picture of climate-focused changes that are already happening, but which most people are oblivious to.

What is Connecting Ireland? - National Transport
Sustainable transport for a better city | Busconnects

Rail will have something similar once the All-Island Rail Review Strategy reports its findings at the end of this year.

Change is coming, people !

[EalingGreen]

I think your conclusion overlooks the probability that it's actually not worth their while doing that.

Im not so sure. An extra couple of hundred fans attracted by the ease of travelling would surely pay for the overtime needed to delay a train which would have been travelling the route earlier anyhow? Especially if the drinks trolly was well stocked!

Delaying a train an hour or two will annoy people who actually use it (compared to people who might use it),.

Maybe, but what choice would they have? And besides, you're only talking a handful of occasions a year i.e. the vast majority of the timetable would be unaffected by "football specials".

... and running an additional train from Sligo (taking a PD team who actually have games in Dublin) once a month for those who don't mind getting back into Connolly at 2am mayn't be a big seller either.

Maybe, maybe not. Worth a trial for a season or two, I'd have thought.

A supporters' club bus is another public transport option of course.

It's not actually, since ordinary members of the "public" couldn't/wouldn't use it; also it is in addition to other bus and train services which already exist, rather than instead of them; as well as being higher carbon-footprint than a train.