Antrim football boss Mark Doran has described the continued absence of a county ground in the county as ‘sad’.

A whole generation of Antrim GAA players haven’t played at Casement Park since it closed in 2013 for redevelopment works which have yet to take place. In the meantime, Corrigan Park has hosted most of the Saffrons’ home inter-county fixtures, while other club grounds such as Cargin and Portglenone were called upon this spring – often at short notice – due to resurfacing works at the Belfast venue.

“I would say there's a massive, massive frustration in Antrim over it,” Doran told Belfast Live at the 2026 Ulster SFC launch in the Manor House Hotel, Co. Fermanagh this week.

“You're driving in, and you're seeing this Casement Park (where the Antrim players still meet up before away matches), and you're going, ‘what is it?’ and you look at it now, for a county like Antrim to be sitting with no stadium. . . you can blame everybody and point a finger at everybody and it's just sad for the GAA, it's sad for Antrim people, it's sad for everybody.

“But I know even this year, just from my own view, it was a hassle, just on the Thursday the week coming up to the National League game, where are we playing this game at?

“In this day and age for a county team not to have their own pitch, I think they are the only team in Ireland that haven't their own place to call home, and that's sad.”

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