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Newbridge or Nowhere is a name for the controversy surrounding a football match played in the 2018 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship between Kildare and Mayo at St Conleth's Park in Newbridge, County Kildare on 30 June 2018. It gave excitement to an otherwise unforgettable championship.^[1] The campaign to have the game played outside Croke Park took up headlines all across the media, whether print, radio, or TV, as well as social media.^[2] A mural outside St Conleth's Park included the words "Newbridge or Nowhere".^[1] T-shirts and flags also featured in the campaign.^[3]

Background

Sky Sports had live broadcast rights for the game.^[4] Kildare were in a bad state at the time,^[tone] with Cian O'Neill expected not to last much longer as manager.^[1] Mayo were a big enough team back then,^{[clarification needed]} with Stephen Rochford after getting them to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final in 2016 and again in 2017. Kildare came out first in the draw so were entitled to a home game after playing two away games.^[1]

Kildare's county board were in contact with the Gardaí in Newbridge, where there were concerns about health and safety, and the Irish Derby, which was also scheduled for Kildare that day.^[1] The GAA wanted Kildare to nominate a second venue.^[1] Manager Cian O'Neill said no and insisted on this "for the bones of three or four hours".^[1] The GAA took it out of Kildare's hands by announcing at 1:30 pm on the Monday after the draw was made that the game would be played at Croke Park, alongside a game between Cavan and Tyrone.^[1]

Kildare refused to play at Croke Park.^[5] O'Neill phoned Kevin McStay for advice - McStay, who was a former Mayo player, had been in charge of Roscommon that year, when they had stood up to Connacht GAA officials so they could have the 2018 Connacht Senior Football Championship final at Dr Hyde Park.^[6]

RTÉ's GAA correspondent Marty Morrissey then got O'Neill onto RTÉ News: Six One.^{[clarification needed]} O'Neill said later: "I was in work at a quarter to six and he just rang... I was just trying to put a written statement together. And I said 'I'm here in work'. He said 'Can you get into the studio in Cork?'. I didn't even know there was a studio in Cork".^[1] The GAA refused to budge. There were threats of boycotts and Kildare being expelled from the competition.^[1] Eventually the GAA gave in and allowed the game to be played in Newbridge.^[1]

Details

30 June 2018 (2018-06-30) 19:00 IST (UTC+1) Round 3	Kildare	0–21 – 0–19 (21) – (19)	Mayo	St Conleth's Park, Newbridge Referee: David Gough (Meath)
		Report		St Conleth's Park, Newbridge Referee: David Gough (Meath)

Outcome

Kildare knocked Mayo out of the championship. It was Mayo's earliest championship exit since 2010.^[7] Kildare qualified for the Super 8s by beating Fermanagh in the next game.^[8] But they finished bottom of Group 1 with no points.

Legacy

In August 2018, it was announced that St Conleth's Park was to get a facelift.^[9] An episode of Scannal was broadcast on the TV in 2021 dedicated to "Newbridge or Nowhere".^[10] The phrase "Newbridge or Nowhere" was still referenced in articles in the Irish Independent up to 2019 and 2022.^[11]^[12]