Dublin’s Ciaran Kilkenny has admitted the atmosphere was poor at Croke Park for their Leinster SFC demolition of Meath and argued that the game should have been played in Navan.
The provincial and All-Ireland title holders opened their Championship campaign in front of empty seats with an official attendance of just 21,445.
That figure included the earlier double header of camogie league finals and meant that as the Dubs were streaking to a 16-point win, the stadium was three quarters empty.
Dublin have typically hit the road for Championship openers in recent seasons but Meath’s own Páirc Tailteann base, with a capacity of around 11,000, was overlooked, blowing the opportunity for a terrific atmosphere.
“As players, collectively, there would probably have been a better atmosphere if the game was in Pairc Tailteann,” said eight-time All-Ireland winner Kilkenny.
“We would have loved if the game was in Páirc Tailteann just from an atmosphere point of view.
"I know Meath are a very proud footballing county and they have a serious tradition of playing football and I know they would be seriously disappointed with the performance they put in.
"It was very competitive in the first-half but there definitely has to be something done in that regard. It went from a big attendance in Croke Park against Derry in the league final to 22,000 there on Sunday.
"I don't know what needs to be done but I think we can do a lot more to promote the games.
“For me, being a schoolteacher and thinking of the bigger picture....like, as players you love to have the condensed season, you are playing games continually and you have more time with the club but I think from a promotional point of view in the GAA, the September All-Ireland finals were great for schools in terms of having a buzz there around the All-Ireland final.
“Everyone is back from their holidays. Look, I don’t know what needs to be done, I am not a decision maker but I do think there is more that we can do to promote the games in that sense.”
Kilkenny was speaking as an ambassador for the 2024 Aer Lingus College Football Classic which will take place at the Aviva Stadium on August 24.
Georgia Tech will face Florida State University in an anticipated sellout and Kilkenny said the GAA can take lessons from promotion of the game.
“I’d really recommend anyone to go to the match because the whole pageantry and entertainment, how they actually celebrate their game, it’s really amazing,” said the Castleknock man.
"We can learn a few things from thow they celebrate their games."
Meanwhile, Kilkenny revealed that former All-Ireland winning manager Pat Gilroy still isn't involved with the group.
It was reported that Gilroy, who played a key role behind the scenes last year, was set to return to the backroom after missing the National League.
But while veteran players Stephen Cluxton and Michael Fitzsimons made their seasonal returns against Meath, Gilroy was a notable absentee.
"From my understanding, he's busy with work commitments and family at the moment," said Kilkenny.
As for Sunday's lukewarm performance from Dublin, Kilkenny said it was 'sloppy' at times.
“There were areas where we could improve on from the first-half, we were quite sloppy, there was a lot of turnovers between both teams,” he said.
"We were happy with elements of our performance in the second-half and happy just to get the season up and running."
