Croke Park
Encyclopedia
Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association
(GAA), Ireland
's biggest sporting organisation. The stadium is in the heart of the city, a 15 minute walk from the main thoroughfare O'Connell Street
.
Since 1884 the site has been used primarily by the GAA to host Gaelic games
, most notably the annual finals of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
and Senior Hurling Championship
. Music concerts by major international acts have also been held in "Croker", as it is often called by Dubliners, and it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2003 Special Olympics
. During the refurbishment of Lansdowne Road
the stadium also hosted the Irish national rugby union
and association football
teams.
Following a redevelopment programme started in the 1990s, Croke Park has a capacity of 82,300,
making it the third largest stadium in Europe. It is the largest stadium in Europe not primarily used for Soccer. It has also held the world record for largest attendance at a club/provincial rugby union
match since 2 May 2009.
The area now known as Croke Park was originally an Athletics Course known variously as the City and Suburban Racecourse and "Jones Road" sports ground, the original home of Bohemian F.C.
. It was originally owned by Maurice Butterly. From the foundation of the association in 1884 this sportsground was used by the organisation regularly for Gaelic games and Athletics. In 1896 both All-Irelands were played in the ground signifying the growing importance of the suburban plot for the ever expanding GAA. In 1901 Jones's Road hosted the IFA
Irish Cup
final when Cliftonville defeated Freebooters
.
Recognising the potential of the Jones Road sportsground a journalist and GAA member, Frank Dineen, borrowed much of the £3,250 asking price and bought the ground personally in 1908. Only in 1913 did the GAA come into exclusive ownership of the plot when they purchased it from Dineen for £3,500. Once bought, the ground became known as Croke Park in honour of Archbishop Thomas Croke
, one of the GAA's first patrons.
In 1913, Croke Park had only two stands on what is now known as the Hogan stand side and grassy banks all round. In 1917, the rubble from the Easter Rising
in 1916 was used to construct a grassy hill on the railway end of Croke Park to afford patrons a better view of the pitch, which hosted all major Gaelic football and hurling matches in the latter stages of the All-Ireland championships. This terrace is known as Hill 16
.
In the 1920s, the GAA set out to create a high capacity stadium at Croke Park. Following the Hogan Stand, the Cusack Stand, named after Michael Cusack
from Clare (who founded the GAA and served as its first secretary), was built in 1927. 1936 saw the first double-deck Cusack Stand open with 5,000 seats, and concrete terracing being constructed on Hill 16. In 1952 the Nally Stand was built in memorial of Pat Nally
, another of the GAA founders. Seven years later, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the GAA, the first cantilevered "New Hogan Stand" was opened.
The highest attendance ever recorded at an All-Ireland Senior Football Final was 90,556 at the 1961 Offaly v Down final. Since the introduction of seating to the Cusack stand in 1966, the largest crowd recorded has been 84,516.
on November 21, 1920 Croke Park was the scene of a massacre by the Royal Irish Constabulary
(RIC). The Police, supported by the British
Auxiliary Division
entered the ground, shooting indiscriminately into the crowd killing or fatally wounding 14 during a Dublin
-Tipperary
Gaelic football match. The dead included 13 spectators and Tipperary's captain, Michael Hogan
. Posthumously, the Hogan stand built in 1924 was named in his honour. These shootings, on the day which became known as Bloody Sunday
, were a reprisal for the assassination of 15 people associated with the Cairo Gang
, a group of British Intelligence officers, by Michael Collins
's 'squad' earlier that day.
, the first president of the GAA. This phase also saw the creation of a tunnel which was later named the Ali tunnel in honour of Muhammad Ali
and his fight against Al Lewis in July 1972 in Croke Park.
, after Camp Nou
in Barcelona
and Wembley Stadium
in London
. However, the presence of terracing means that for competitive soccer, the capacity is reduced to approximately 73,500, due to FIFA's statutes stating that competitive games must be played in all-seater stadiums.
The pitch in Croke Park is a Desso GrassMaster
pitch which was laid in 2002 replacing the existing grass pitch. This is a modern development in pitch design which couples natural grass with a stitching of synthetic fibres. The close proximity of the stitching and the natural grass roots growing around the stitching is what gives the pitch its stability and is the key to the success of this type of surface. The system is employed in sports venues in the Netherlands
, England
and the US
.
Since January 2006, a special growth and lighting system called the SGL Concept has been used to assist grass growing conditions, even in the winter months. The system, created by Dutch company SGL (Stadium Grow Lighting), helps in controlling and managing all pitch growth factors, such as light, temperature, CO2, water, air and nutrients.
clash with France
and possibly other matches in subsequent years requiring lighting the GAA installed floodlights
in the stadium (after planning permission was granted). Indeed many other GAA grounds around the country have started to erect floodlights as the organisation starts to hold games in the evenings, whereas traditionally major matches were played almost exclusively on Sunday afternoons. The first game to be played under these lights at Croke Park was a National Football League
Division One match between Dublin
and Tyrone
on 3 February 2007 with Tyrone winning in front of a capacity crowd of over 81,000 – which remains a record attendance for a National League game, with Ireland's Six Nations match with France following on 11 February. Temporary floodlights were installed for the American Bowl
game between Chicago Bears
and Pittsburgh Steelers
on the pitch in 1997, and again for the 2003 Special Olympics.
Up until the early 1970s, rule 27 of the GAA constitution stated that a member of the GAA could be banned from playing its games if found to be also playing association football, rugby or cricket
. That rule was abolished but rule 42
still prohibited the use of GAA property for games with interests in conflict with the interests of the GAA. The belief was that rugby and association football were in competition with Gaelic football and hurling, and that if the GAA allowed these sports to use their ground it might be harmful to Gaelic games, while other sports, not seen as direct competitors with Gaelic football and hurling, were permitted, such as the two games of American football
(one
college
game between The University of Notre Dame
and The United States Naval Academy
, and an American Bowl NFL
preseason game between the Chicago Bears
and the Pittsburgh Steelers
) on the Croke Park pitch during the 1990s.
On 16 April 2005, a motion to temporarily relax rule #42 was passed at the GAA Annual Congress. The motion gives the GAA Central Council the power to authorise the renting or leasing of Croke Park for events other than those controlled by the Association, during a period when Lansdowne Road
– the venue for international soccer and rugby matches – was closed for redevelopment. The final result was 227 in favour of the motion to 97 against, 11 votes more than the required two-thirds majority.
In January 2006, it was announced that the GAA had reached agreement with the FAI
and IRFU
to stage two Six Nations games and four soccer internationals at Croke Park in 2007 and in February 2007, use of the pitch by the FAI and the IRFU in 2008 was also agreed. These agreements were within the temporary relaxation terms, as Lansdowne Road was still under redevelopment until 2010. Although the GAA had said that hosted use of Croke Park would not extend beyond 2008, irrespective of the redevelopment progress, fixtures for the 2009 Six Nations rugby tournament
saw the Irish rugby team using Croke park for a third season.
11 February 2007 saw the first Rugby Union international to be played there. Ireland were leading France in a Six Nations clash, but lost 17–20 after conceding a last minute (converted) try. Raphael Ibanez
scored the first try in that match; Ronan O'Gara
scored Ireland's first ever try in Croke Park.
A second match between Ireland and England
on 24 February 2007 was politically symbolic because of the events of Bloody Sunday
in 1920. There was considerable concern as to what reaction there would be to the singing of the British
National Anthem
God Save the Queen
. Ultimately the anthem was sung without interruption or incident, and applauded by both sets of supporters at the match, which Ireland won by 43–13 (their largest ever win over England in rugby).
On 24 March 2007, the first association football match took place at Croke Park. The Republic of Ireland
took on Wales
in a Euro 2008 Qualifier, in which a Stephen Ireland
goal secured a 1–0 win for the Irish in front of a crowd of 72,500. Prior to this, the IFA Cup
had been played at the then Jones' Road in 1901, but this was 12 years before the GAA took ownership.
Negotiations took place for the NFL International Series
's 2011 game to be held at Croke Park but the game was awarded to Wembley Stadium
The PSNI's Gaelic football team and the Garda's Gaelic football team played each other in Croke Park for the first time on 25 November 2011.
rugby semi-final, in which Leinster
defeated Munster
25–6. The attendance of 82,208 set a new world record attendance for a club/provincial rugby union game.
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
(GAA), Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
's biggest sporting organisation. The stadium is in the heart of the city, a 15 minute walk from the main thoroughfare O'Connell Street
O'Connell Street
O'Connell Street is Dublin's main thoroughfare. It measures 49 m in width at its southern end, 46 m at the north, and is 500 m in length...
.
Since 1884 the site has been used primarily by the GAA to host Gaelic games
Gaelic games
Gaelic games are sports played in Ireland under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The two main games are Gaelic football and hurling...
, most notably the annual finals of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is a series of games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and played during the summer and early autumn...
and Senior Hurling Championship
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....
. Music concerts by major international acts have also been held in "Croker", as it is often called by Dubliners, and it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2003 Special Olympics
2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games
The 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games were hosted in Ireland, with participants staying in various host towns around the island in the lead up to the games before moving to Dublin for the events. Events were held from 21 June-29 June 2003 at many venues including Morton Stadium, the Royal...
. During the refurbishment of Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...
the stadium also hosted the Irish national rugby union
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
and association football
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
teams.
Following a redevelopment programme started in the 1990s, Croke Park has a capacity of 82,300,
making it the third largest stadium in Europe. It is the largest stadium in Europe not primarily used for Soccer. It has also held the world record for largest attendance at a club/provincial rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
match since 2 May 2009.
History
Bohemian F.C.
Bohemian F.C. , more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11...
. It was originally owned by Maurice Butterly. From the foundation of the association in 1884 this sportsground was used by the organisation regularly for Gaelic games and Athletics. In 1896 both All-Irelands were played in the ground signifying the growing importance of the suburban plot for the ever expanding GAA. In 1901 Jones's Road hosted the IFA
Irish Football Association
The Irish Football Association is the organising body for association football in Northern Ireland, and was historically the governing body for Ireland...
Irish Cup
Irish Cup
For the equivalent tournament in the Republic of Ireland, see FAI Cup.The Irish Cup is the national cup knock-out competition in Northern Irish football. Inaugurated in 1881, it is the fourth oldest national cup competition in the world...
final when Cliftonville defeated Freebooters
Freebooters F.C.
Freebooters F.C were an association football from Sandymount, Dublin, Ireland. Their highest achievement was reaching the Irish Cup final which was staged at the City and County Grounds, Jones Road, Dublin, now Croke Park. They lost to Cliftonville F.C., in the first Irish Cup final to be played...
.
Recognising the potential of the Jones Road sportsground a journalist and GAA member, Frank Dineen, borrowed much of the £3,250 asking price and bought the ground personally in 1908. Only in 1913 did the GAA come into exclusive ownership of the plot when they purchased it from Dineen for £3,500. Once bought, the ground became known as Croke Park in honour of Archbishop Thomas Croke
Thomas Croke
Thomas William Croke D.D. was the second Catholic Bishop of Auckland, New Zealand and later Archbishop of Cashel and Emly in Ireland...
, one of the GAA's first patrons.
In 1913, Croke Park had only two stands on what is now known as the Hogan stand side and grassy banks all round. In 1917, the rubble from the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
in 1916 was used to construct a grassy hill on the railway end of Croke Park to afford patrons a better view of the pitch, which hosted all major Gaelic football and hurling matches in the latter stages of the All-Ireland championships. This terrace is known as Hill 16
Hill 16 (Croke Park)
Hill 16 officially called Dineen/Hill 16 is a terrace on the railway end of Croke Park, the show piece stadium of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Dublin City, Ireland. It is considered a national icon....
.
In the 1920s, the GAA set out to create a high capacity stadium at Croke Park. Following the Hogan Stand, the Cusack Stand, named after Michael Cusack
Michael Cusack
Michael Cusack was an Irish teacher and founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association.-His Life:...
from Clare (who founded the GAA and served as its first secretary), was built in 1927. 1936 saw the first double-deck Cusack Stand open with 5,000 seats, and concrete terracing being constructed on Hill 16. In 1952 the Nally Stand was built in memorial of Pat Nally
Pat Nally
Patrick William Nally was a former member of the Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and well known Connacht athlete from Balla, County Mayo. It was Nally who suggested to Michael Cusack the idea for what would become the Gaelic Athletic Association...
, another of the GAA founders. Seven years later, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the GAA, the first cantilevered "New Hogan Stand" was opened.
The highest attendance ever recorded at an All-Ireland Senior Football Final was 90,556 at the 1961 Offaly v Down final. Since the introduction of seating to the Cusack stand in 1966, the largest crowd recorded has been 84,516.
Bloody Sunday
During the Irish War of IndependenceIrish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
on November 21, 1920 Croke Park was the scene of a massacre by the Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
(RIC). The Police, supported by the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
Auxiliary Division
Auxiliary Division
The Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary , generally known as the Auxiliaries or Auxies, was a paramilitary organization within the Royal Irish Constabulary during the Irish War of Independence....
entered the ground, shooting indiscriminately into the crowd killing or fatally wounding 14 during a Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
-Tipperary
Tipperary
Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....
Gaelic football match. The dead included 13 spectators and Tipperary's captain, Michael Hogan
Michael Hogan (sportsman)
Michael Hogan was a Gaelic footballer, and one-time Captain of the Tipperary GAA team. He was a member of the Irish Volunteers and was born in the Grangemockler area of Co. Tipperary.- Bloody Sunday :...
. Posthumously, the Hogan stand built in 1924 was named in his honour. These shootings, on the day which became known as Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1920)
Bloody Sunday was a day of violence in Dublin on 21 November 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. In total, 31 people were killed – fourteen British, fourteen Irish civilians and three republican prisoners....
, were a reprisal for the assassination of 15 people associated with the Cairo Gang
Cairo Gang
The Cairo Gang was a group of British Intelligence agents who were sent to Dublin during the Anglo-Irish War to conduct intelligence operations against prominent members of the Irish Republican Army...
, a group of British Intelligence officers, by Michael Collins
Michael Collins (Irish leader)
Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...
's 'squad' earlier that day.
Stadium design
In the 1980s the organisation decided to investigate ways to increase the capacity of the old stadium. The design for an 80,000 capacity stadium was completed in 1991. Gaelic Sports have special requirements as they take place on a large field. A specific requirement was to ensure the spectators were not too far from the field of play. This resulted in the three-tier design from which viewing games is possible: the main concourse, a premium level incorporating hospitality facilities and finally an upper concourse. The premium level contains restaurants, bars and conference areas. The project was split into four phases over a 14-year period.Phase one
The first phase of construction was to build a replacement for Croke Park's Cusack Stand. Completed in 1995 at a cost of £35 million, the new stand is 180 metres long, 35 metres high, has a capacity for 25,000 people and contains 46 hospitality suites. The new Cusack Stand contains three tiers from which viewing games is possible: the main concourse, a premium level incorporating hospitality facilities and finally an upper concourse.Phase two
Phase Two of the development started in late 1998 and involved extending the new Cusack Stand to replace the existing Canal End terrace. It is now known as The Davin Stand (Irish: Ardán Dáimhím), after Maurice DavinMaurice Davin
Maurice Davin was an Irish farmer who became co-founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was also the first President of the GAA and the only man ever to serve two terms as president.He was born in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary...
, the first president of the GAA. This phase also saw the creation of a tunnel which was later named the Ali tunnel in honour of Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
and his fight against Al Lewis in July 1972 in Croke Park.
Phase three
Phase Three saw the building of the new Hogan Stand. This required a greater variety of spectator categories to be accommodated including general spectators, corporate patrons, VIPs, broadcast and media services and operation staff. Extras included a fitted-out mezzanine level for VIP and Ard Comhairle (Where the dignitaries sit) along with a top-level press media facility. The end of Phase Three took the total spectator capacity of Croke Park to 73,500Phase four
After the 2003 Special Olympics, construction began in September 2003 on the final phase, Phase Four. This involved the redevelopment of the Nally Stand and Hill 16 into a new Nally End/Dineen Hill 16 terrace. It was officially opened by the then GAA President Seán Kelly on March 14, 2005. For logistical reasons (and, to a degree, historical reasons), and also to provide cheaper high-capacity space, the area is a terrace rather than a stand, the only remaining standing-room in Croke Park. Unlike the previous Hill, the new terrace was divided into separate sections – Hill A (Cusack stand side), Hill B (behind the goals) and the Nally terrace (on the site of the old Nally Stand). The fully redeveloped Hill has a capacity of around 9,000, bringing the overall capacity of the stadium to 82,300. This made the stadium the third-largest in the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, after Camp Nou
Camp Nou
Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....
in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. However, the presence of terracing means that for competitive soccer, the capacity is reduced to approximately 73,500, due to FIFA's statutes stating that competitive games must be played in all-seater stadiums.
Future expansion
Although the stadium has completed all four phases, there is speculation that future development will include a roof for the stadium. The Hill 16 end is unlikely to be developed further in the near future with a second upper tier (in line with the other 3 sides) due to the proximity of the railway line and the fact that there are houses immediately behind the raised wall on which the rail line runs. The GAA would have to buy some of the houses on Clonliffe Road to expand Hill 16 to anything more than a terrace. A further complication is that the railway line does not run directly parallel to the end of the pitch, which results in the terrace being smaller at the Hogan Stand side of the pitch.Pitch
Desso GrassMaster
Desso GrassMaster is a sports playing field surface composed of natural grass combined with artificial fibres. The artificial grass fibres are injected deep, and cover about 3% of the surface. While the grass is growing, the roots intertwine with the artificial fibres...
pitch which was laid in 2002 replacing the existing grass pitch. This is a modern development in pitch design which couples natural grass with a stitching of synthetic fibres. The close proximity of the stitching and the natural grass roots growing around the stitching is what gives the pitch its stability and is the key to the success of this type of surface. The system is employed in sports venues in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Since January 2006, a special growth and lighting system called the SGL Concept has been used to assist grass growing conditions, even in the winter months. The system, created by Dutch company SGL (Stadium Grow Lighting), helps in controlling and managing all pitch growth factors, such as light, temperature, CO2, water, air and nutrients.
Floodlighting
With the 2007 Six Nations2007 Six Nations Championship
The 2007 RBS 6 Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship...
clash with France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
and possibly other matches in subsequent years requiring lighting the GAA installed floodlights
Floodlights (sport)
Floodlights are broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial lights often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions....
in the stadium (after planning permission was granted). Indeed many other GAA grounds around the country have started to erect floodlights as the organisation starts to hold games in the evenings, whereas traditionally major matches were played almost exclusively on Sunday afternoons. The first game to be played under these lights at Croke Park was a National Football League
National Football League (Ireland)
The National Football League is a Gaelic football tournament held annually between the county teams of Ireland, under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The prize for the winning team is the New Ireland Cup, presented by the New Ireland Assurance Company...
Division One match between Dublin
Dublin GAA
Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Dublin GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin. The county board is also responsible for the Dublin inter-county teams...
and Tyrone
Tyrone GAA
The Tyrone County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Tyrone GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Tyrone. The county board is also responsible for the Tyrone inter-county teams....
on 3 February 2007 with Tyrone winning in front of a capacity crowd of over 81,000 – which remains a record attendance for a National League game, with Ireland's Six Nations match with France following on 11 February. Temporary floodlights were installed for the American Bowl
American Bowl
The American Bowl was a series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States between 1986 and 2005.- Overview :...
game between Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
on the pitch in 1997, and again for the 2003 Special Olympics.
Controversy on playing non-Gaelic games
There is great debate in Ireland regarding the use of Croke Park for sports other than those of the GAA. As the GAA was founded as a nationalist organisation to maintain and promote indigenous Irish sport, it has felt honour-bound throughout its history to oppose other, foreign, sports. In turn, nationalist groups supported the GAA as the prime example of purely Irish sporting culture.Up until the early 1970s, rule 27 of the GAA constitution stated that a member of the GAA could be banned from playing its games if found to be also playing association football, rugby or cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. That rule was abolished but rule 42
Rule 42
Rule 42 is a rule of the Gaelic Athletic Association which in practice prohibits the playing of non-Gaelic games in GAA stadiums. The rule is often mistakenly believed to prohibit foreign sports at GAA owned stadiums...
still prohibited the use of GAA property for games with interests in conflict with the interests of the GAA. The belief was that rugby and association football were in competition with Gaelic football and hurling, and that if the GAA allowed these sports to use their ground it might be harmful to Gaelic games, while other sports, not seen as direct competitors with Gaelic football and hurling, were permitted, such as the two games of American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
(one
Emerald Isle Classic
The Emerald Isle Classic was the first NCAA-sanctioned American college football game played on the European continent. The game was played at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, Ireland in the years 1988 and 1989...
college
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
game between The University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
and The United States Naval Academy
Navy Midshipmen football
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...
, and an American Bowl NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
preseason game between the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
) on the Croke Park pitch during the 1990s.
On 16 April 2005, a motion to temporarily relax rule #42 was passed at the GAA Annual Congress. The motion gives the GAA Central Council the power to authorise the renting or leasing of Croke Park for events other than those controlled by the Association, during a period when Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...
– the venue for international soccer and rugby matches – was closed for redevelopment. The final result was 227 in favour of the motion to 97 against, 11 votes more than the required two-thirds majority.
In January 2006, it was announced that the GAA had reached agreement with the FAI
Football Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...
and IRFU
Irish Rugby Football Union
The Irish Rugby Football Union is the body managing rugby union in Ireland. The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where Irish rugby union international matches are played...
to stage two Six Nations games and four soccer internationals at Croke Park in 2007 and in February 2007, use of the pitch by the FAI and the IRFU in 2008 was also agreed. These agreements were within the temporary relaxation terms, as Lansdowne Road was still under redevelopment until 2010. Although the GAA had said that hosted use of Croke Park would not extend beyond 2008, irrespective of the redevelopment progress, fixtures for the 2009 Six Nations rugby tournament
2009 Six Nations Championship
The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2009 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the tenth Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams...
saw the Irish rugby team using Croke park for a third season.
11 February 2007 saw the first Rugby Union international to be played there. Ireland were leading France in a Six Nations clash, but lost 17–20 after conceding a last minute (converted) try. Raphael Ibanez
Raphaël Ibanez
Raphaël Ibañez is a retired French rugby union footballer. A hooker, he was also a former captain of the France national team.-Club career:...
scored the first try in that match; Ronan O'Gara
Ronan O'Gara
Ronan John Ross O'Gara is an Irish rugby union player, playing at fly-half for both Munster and Ireland. He is the all time highest point scorer for both Munster and Ireland. In addition to his prolific point-scoring, he has captained Munster, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions...
scored Ireland's first ever try in Croke Park.
A second match between Ireland and England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
on 24 February 2007 was politically symbolic because of the events of Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1920)
Bloody Sunday was a day of violence in Dublin on 21 November 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. In total, 31 people were killed – fourteen British, fourteen Irish civilians and three republican prisoners....
in 1920. There was considerable concern as to what reaction there would be to the singing of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
National Anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
. Ultimately the anthem was sung without interruption or incident, and applauded by both sets of supporters at the match, which Ireland won by 43–13 (their largest ever win over England in rugby).
On 24 March 2007, the first association football match took place at Croke Park. The Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
took on Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
in a Euro 2008 Qualifier, in which a Stephen Ireland
Stephen Ireland
Stephen James Ireland is an Irish footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa.-Cobh Ramblers:...
goal secured a 1–0 win for the Irish in front of a crowd of 72,500. Prior to this, the IFA Cup
Irish Football Association
The Irish Football Association is the organising body for association football in Northern Ireland, and was historically the governing body for Ireland...
had been played at the then Jones' Road in 1901, but this was 12 years before the GAA took ownership.
Negotiations took place for the NFL International Series
NFL International Series
Beginning with the 2005 season, the National Football League has hosted regular season American football games held outside the United States in a series known as the International Series.-Background:...
's 2011 game to be held at Croke Park but the game was awarded to Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
The PSNI's Gaelic football team and the Garda's Gaelic football team played each other in Croke Park for the first time on 25 November 2011.
World record attendance
On May 2, 2009, Croke Park was the venue for a Heineken CupHeineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
rugby semi-final, in which Leinster
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
defeated Munster
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...
25–6. The attendance of 82,208 set a new world record attendance for a club/provincial rugby union game.
Concerts
| Concerts at Croke Park | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Artist | Tour |
| June 28, 1996 | Tina Turner Tina Turner Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the... |
Wildest Dreams Tour Wildest Dreams Tour The Wildest Dreams Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer Tina Turner. The tour supported her eighth studio album, Wildest Dreams. The tour is Turner's biggest outing to date, performing over 250 dates in Europe, North America and Australasia—surpassing her Break Every Rule Tour... |
| May 16-18, 1997 | Garth Brooks Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart... |
World Tour II |
| June 24–25 & 27, 2005 | U2 U2 U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music... |
Vertigo Tour Vertigo Tour The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, the band visited arenas and stadiums from 2005 through 2006. The Vertigo Tour consisted of five legs that alternated between indoor arena shows in... |
| May 20, 2006 | Bon Jovi Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald... |
Have a Nice Day Tour Have a Nice Day Tour The Have a Nice Day Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American rock band Bon Jovi. It took place between November 2005 and July 2006 and commenced two months after the release of their ninth studio album Have a Nice Day.... |
| June 9, 2006 | Robbie Williams Robbie Williams Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams... |
Close Encounters Tour Close Encounters Tour The Close Encounters Tour is Robbie Williams' 2006 worldwide concert tour. It kicked off in Durban's ABSA Stadium on 10 April, and ended in Melbourne on 18 December. The tour was a great success financially, with every date selling out the morning the tickets went on sale... |
| May 30, 2008 | Celine Dion Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record... |
Taking Chances Tour Taking Chances Tour Taking Chances World Tour is the ninth concert tour by Canadian singer Céline Dion, in support of her 2007 studio albums, D'elles and Taking Chances. The tour marked the return of Dion after performing her groundbreaking show A New Day... in Las Vegas for five years. The tour visited Africa, Asia,... |
| June 1, 2008 | Westlife Westlife Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one... |
Back Home Tour Back Home Tour The Back Home Tour is a world tour by Irish boyband, Westlife in support of their 9th studio album, Back Home. The band will be touring the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand.... |
| June 14, 2008 | Neil Diamond Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present.... |
|
| June 13, 2009 | Take That Take That Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter... |
Take That Present: The Circus Live Take That Present: The Circus Live Take That Presents: The Circus Live is a concert tour by reunited British boyband, Take That. The tour promoted their fifth studio album, The Circus. The tour began on 5 June 2009 in Sunderland and finished on 5 July 2009 at London's Wembley Stadium. The Circus Live is Take That's biggest tour to... |
| July 24–25 & 27, 2009 | U2 | U2 360° Tour U2 360° Tour The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. It was named for a stage configuration that allowed the audience to almost completely surround the stage... |
| June 5, 2010 | Westlife | Where We Are Tour Where We Are Tour The Where We Are Tour is a tour by Irish pop band, Westlife in support of their tenth studio album, Where We Are. The band will be touring the United Kingdom and Ireland. Further updates will be announced on a later date for other venues that they will be touring... |
| June 18–19, 2011 | Take That | Progress Live Progress Live Progress Live was the eighth concert tour by British male vocal group Take That. The tour, sponsored by Samsung, supported their sixth studio album, Progress as they visited the biggest cities in the UK and Europe. It was the first tour wherein all five original members will perform since 1995... |
| June 22-23, 2012 | Westlife | Greatest Hits Tour |
| June 26, 2012 | Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock... |
I'm with You Tour I'm with You Tour The I'm With You Tour is an ongoing 2011-2013 concert tour by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in support of their album I'm with You. It is the group's first tour since the Stadium Arcadium tour in 2006-07 and is the first to feature guitarist Josh Klinghoffer following the departure of John Frusciante... |
See also
- List of GAA stadia by Capacity
- CamogieCamogieCamogie is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women; it is almost identical to the game of hurling played by men. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and world wide, largely among Irish communities....
- International Rules
- Gaelic footballGaelic footballGaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
- HurlingHurlingHurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
- HandballGaelic handballGaelic handball is a sport similar to Basque pelota, racquetball, squash and American handball . It is one of the four Gaelic games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association...
- Sport in IrelandSport in IrelandIn Ireland many sports, such as boxing, hockey, rowing, cricket, rugby union, Gaelic football and hurling, are organised in an all-island basis, with a single team representing the whole of Ireland in international competitions...
- Stadia of IrelandStadiums of IrelandThe following is a list of sports stadiums in Ireland. Most stadiums are used for Gaelic games, association football, or rugby union. This includes stadiums in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.- See also :...
- Hill 16Hill 16 (Croke Park)Hill 16 officially called Dineen/Hill 16 is a terrace on the railway end of Croke Park, the show piece stadium of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Dublin City, Ireland. It is considered a national icon....
External links
- Croke Park Official site
- Croke Park Undersoil Heating