Boost for Leitrim as Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada to host Sligo Connacht SFC clash

Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada will host Leitrim's meeting with Sligo in this year's Connacht Senior Football Championship on Sunday week, April 7, after Connacht GAA announced that the game would revert back to the Carrick-on-Shannon.

The eagerly anticipated clash of the north Connacht rivals had been switched to Roscommon's Dr Hyde Park as work on a long needed new playing surface for Leitrim's County ground had been scheduled to start in the coming days.

However, with heavy rainfall in recent weeks, the Observer understands that the contractors would not be able to commence work at this stage given the heavy nature of the playing surface, which opened the door to staging the Sligo game again.

According to RTE Sport, the Connacht Connacht Competitions Control Committee (CCC) was told on Tuesday that work on the new playing surface at Páirc Seán will now not begin until after April 7.

Originally it had been hoped that work on the new playing surface could be completed in time for the 2024 Connacht Gold Leitrim Senior Championship Final, traditionally the biggest day out on the Leitrim club calendar.

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The loss of Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada will cause quite a few headaches for fixture makers over the coming months with Leitrim Cumann na mBunscol particularly hard hit later in the Summer with the county ground traditionally hosting several weeks of boys and girls primary schools finals.

Should Leitrim defeat Sligo, they would be due to face Galway at home but that game could take place outside the county if the long awaited development works finally get started.

The delay in starting the work is undoubtedly a boost for Andy Moran's high flying Leitrim squad who contest the Allianz NFL Division 4 Final this Saturday, March 30, against Laois in Croke Park.