Croke Park: Home of the GAA

Croke Park in Dublin is the biggest stadium in Ireland and is used principally for Gaelic games although in the near future it is going to accommodate both soccer and rugby during the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road. The stadium has a capacity of 82,500 and on a European scale is the third largest stadium behind the Nou Camp and the san Siro.

While Croke Park will always be associated with the history of sport in Ireland, the stadium has been witness to number important historical moments over the last 120 years. In 1920 the Auxiliary Division of the British Police entered the ground and shot 13 people dead during a football match between Dublin and Tipperary. The dead included 12 spectators and 1 player.

The GAA (Gaelic Athletics Association) bought the land that Croke Park now stands on from Maurice Butterly who owned an Athletics Course on the land. It wasn’t until 1913 that the GAA took exclusive rights to the land when they purchased it for £3,500. By 1913 Croke Park had two stands and grassy banks covered the rest of the circumference. In 1917 rubble from the 1916 rising was used to build Hill 16 which has gone down in Irish history as the most famous terrace.

By the 1920s it was evident that the capacity of Croke Park needed to be expanded. By 1936 the dual level Cusack Stand opened with 5,000 seats and In 1952 the Nally Stand was added. With terraces and stands, over 90,000 people saw the 1961 Offaly v Down final.

Dublin the 1980s the GAA began to think about redesigning the ground as the old stadium needed a face lift. The design for the new stadium was completed in 1991 and in 1997