Hallelujah, we have struck gold!

He's already covered three games in the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh so who better than DENIS HURLEY to grade the stadium's press facilities

MORE than once during the construction phase of the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh, we expressed just one wish – that the view from the press area match that of the old stadium.

The caged gangway leading up to the crow's nest bolted to the underside of the covered stand roof was a source of wonder as a child, and it felt like a rite of passage to walk up it as a journalist for the first time. The pokey rooms weren't much to speak of, really, but the clear view of the pitch was little short of perfect.

Obviously, with a new build on a blank sheet of paper, the press facilities were always likely to be of a high standard, given how much we as a group like to complain about the slightest thing being awry, but there was still a tiny doubt.

Thankfully, on the media tour of the stadium last Wednesday morning, those fears were put to bed as we were shown what is effectively a slightly smaller replica of the Croke Park press box.

Individual desks with sockets (albeit bolted on the outside, rather than the inside, of said desks), fast and reliable wifi (the password can be revealed for a fee) and downstairs, along the tunnel, a top-of-the-range interview room and work room. We've struck gold here.

When it comes to the Cork County Board, it's easy to give a bit of a kicking, especially when they bring it on themselves. Credit must given where it's due here, though, it's a place that is a pleasure to work in, right down to the way that the rows are ‘stepped' steeply enough that someone standing up in the row in front doesn't obscure your view.

In the great tradition of the Late Late Toy Show, we'll give it nine out of ten, docking one mark for the potential of strong winds to upscuttle everything. Otherwise though, it can't be faulted.