Parnell Park – fortress or fiction?As the Dublin hurlers prepare to host Kilkenny in a potentially season-defining fixture this Sunday, the notion Derek Lyng’s Cats will find it harder to get a result at the Donnycarney venue than they would just down the road in Croke Park is being rolled out of the garage again.Because for some, the tight nature of Parnell Park continues to represent Dublin’s best chance of toppling a traditional hurling powerhouse. Bring them to Parnell and lock the gates. Make it uncomfortable. That kind of stuff.For others, though, that’s an outdated viewpoint best left rooted to a period when physicality was among the first names on Dublin’s team-sheet.That era has long passed as the county’s hurlers at all levels pursue a highly skills-based game in the capital’s bid to dine at hurling’s top table.Either way, the perception remains that Kilkenny are vulnerable this weekend. Should Lyng’s side lose to Dublin and Offaly beat Kildare, the Cats would run out of lives and fail to advance to the All-Ireland series. The stakes are high.It all adds to a version of events that suggests the confines of Parnell Park could be Kilkenny’s undoing. Dublin are waiting in the Donnycarney undergrowth.The reality, though, is that Dublin have never beaten Kilkenny in a championship game at Parnell Park. Indeed, they haven’t even posted a championship win over the Cats in the capital since 1941, at Croke Park.Their two most recent championship victories over Kilkenny came in 2013, at O’Moore Park in Portlaoise, and 1942 at Nowlan Park. So, chances are Kilkenny are not shaking at the prospects of playing at a venue where they consistently win.In the last three championship fixtures between the counties at Parnell Park, Kilkenny have won by a combined total of 21 points.“Kilkenny are ruthless, Parnell Park won’t hold any fears for them and they know they’ll probably have to win to stay in the championship,” says former Dublin manager Humphrey Kelleher.Dublin did go five years unbeaten at Parnell Park – failing to lose a game from the spring of 2011 until April 2016. However, the Dubs played just one championship game there during that time.Dublin hurling manager Niall Ó Ceallacháin has tended to favour playing home Leinster SHC games at Parnell Park. Photograph: Leah Scholes/Inpho And while it is true that in terms of numbers, Dublin’s results have been better at Parnell Park than Croke Park, it hasn’t quite been an impenetrable fortress.Since the inception of hurling’s round-robin format in 2018, Dublin have played 22 championship games in the capital – 13 in Parnell Park and nine at Croke Park. They have won a total of 12 matches – eight in Parnell Park and four at Croke Park. They have lost four at each venue and also drawn one at each.“I’ve always found that fortress stuff to be an urban myth,” adds Kelleher. “I’ve never believed it to be true. Galway beat Dublin in the Walsh Cup final at Parnell Park this year. Dublin have had good days and bad days there, just as they have elsewhere.”Several recent Dublin managers have juggled the venue conundrum – some favouring a move to Croke Park, others siding with Parnell Park. The balance, it seems, is a judgment over Parnell Park offering short-term gain while fully aware the silverware will ultimately be handed out in Croke Park.Since 2018, Dublin have played a total of 47 league and championship games in the capital. Of those, 30 were played in Parnell Park with a return of 19 wins, nine defeats and two draws.Seventeen were played in Croke Park with a return of five wins, 10 losses and two draws.Current Dublin boss Niall Ó Ceallacháin has tended to favour playing their Leinster SHC games at Parnell Park. Dublin have played four championship matches at the venue under his watch – winning three and losing one.Following Dublin’s win over Offaly there last year, Ó Ceallacháin said: “Personally, I think the main thing here in Parnell Park is the energy you get from the stand. The home crowd is huge.”Still, there is little doubt Dublin’s standout victory of recent times was achieved at Croke Park last June when they beat Limerick in an All-Ireland quarter-final. Since 2018, Dublin’s eight championship wins at Parnell Park have come against: Offaly (twice), Galway, Laois, Westmeath, Antrim, Wexford and Kildare. Their four championship defeats at the venue have come against Kilkenny (three times) and Galway.Dublin’s Parnell Park record since 2018 (First year of new SHC format)Total: Played 30; Won 19; Lost 9; Drawn 2Championship: Played 13; Won 8; Lost 4; Drawn 1League: Played 17; Won 11; Lost 5; Drawn 1