"If the government doesn’t support it, it’s dead in the water,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“We have to take so many steps before we can start anything, so rather than rushing into it we are taking our time. We are looking first of all if we do go for planning permission which would cost x amount of money,” he said.

"You can’t build it without government money, but the question is, if you don’t build it and you just replace what’s there, that’s going to take a big chunk of money as well, and you’re talking millions as well. So the question is which one is more feasible, which one makes more sense, a revamp or a redevelopment, and they are both sizeable figures.

“Whatever way, we have given everybody in the county and the country notice that the Stadium does need help. We can’t financially fund that. Our main thing is putting teams together to compete in competitions. Currans [Centre of Excellence] is more important to us than anything else, and there are a lot of other moving parts coming at us.

“If the government didn’t support Cork or Croke Park or the Aviva none of them would have been built either. We’re taking small steps, we’re trying to get all our ducks in a row. We can’t afford to borrow to build the stadium. We don’t want our hands tied because what we do is games promotion within the county.

“The days of people sitting on concrete blocks are gone, facilities are the way forward. In 1937 or ’38, Fitzgerald Stadium was the number two stadium in Ireland and the only money that has gone into it [since] is the fundraising money that was made locally, with some support from the Munster Council and a minimal amount of money from Croke Park, but there has to be a better way.

“There is an issue in the stadium in Killarney and we can’t hide from it. There are walls to be replaced, the spectator facilities have to be replaced, there are holes in the roof. But like I said, we won’t be borrowing money for the Stadium. We can only afford with what we get and do what we can with it.”