A detailed view of the pitch before the 2023 GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 1 match between Louth and Cork at Páirc Tailteann in Navan, Meath. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile.
Meath GAA’s Páirc Tailteann has been announced as the winner of the prestigious GAA Pitch of the Year award.
Last winners of the title in 2021, the Navan venue edged out last year’s turf kings in Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork.
The six finalists shortlisted in the 2023 Pitch of the Year were all visited in early October by Stuart Wilson (Pitch Manager, Croke Park) and Ian McClements (Secretary NPWG). The six finalists were Brewster Park in Fermanagh, TUS Gaelic Grounds in Limerick, McGovern Park in London, UPMC Nowlan Park in Kilkenny, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, and Páirc Tailteann.
As Secretary of the National Pitch Workgroup, Ian McClements, said: “The Pitch of the Year recognises the considerable efforts that go into the preparation of our pitches on a weekly basis, sometimes in very difficult circumstances.
“All the grounds were assessed against more than 30 criteria including pitch playing quality, pitch presentation and performance as well as taking account of the resources available for management.
“The extreme weather conditions in the late summer made the preparation of pitches extremely challenging and the condition that these finalists achieved at the time of our visit highlighted the level of dedication and commitment of both the staff and volunteers involved.
“With such high standards across all grounds and scores between the winner and runner up very close it was difficult to allocate a winner and runner up but for 2023 Páirc Tailteann was considered to be the winner and Páirc Uí Chaoimh as runner up.”
The competition is sponsored by ICL, Turfcare and Campey Turfcare and the winners will receive a range of products and tools they can use on their pitch.