Some of you may know that Ireland has two unique field games – hurling and gaelic football. Both games have massive followings and they draw a fanatical attendance from all over the country during the summertime each year. The two games are by far the biggest sports in Ireland. The games are strictly amateur, and much of the attendance money gained has gone into developing the games and the sporting infrastructure around the island. The greatest achievement from decades of investment is a huge stadium in Dublin called Croke Park. It’s truly enormous. It’s the fourth largest stadium in Europe and it has a capacity of over 80,000.
For decades however, Croke Park has been strictly off-limits to the “foreign” games of rugby and soccer. No major international sporting event featuring these two games has ever happened there. The reason for this is wrapped up with the history of modern Ireland and the foundation of the Irish state.
The Gaelic Athletic Association, or GAA, is the ruling body for hurling and gaelic football. They have always been passionately devoted to promoting all things Irish (particularly Catholic Irish), and this view was hardened during the the War of Independence when in 1920, British Auxiliaries opened fire on a crowd of supporters during a match in Croke Park, killing 13 people. For a long time afterwards, no foreign games were permitted in any GAA ground in the country including, of course, Croke Park*. What’s more, members of the GAA were not even allowed to attend any games of rugby, cricket or soccer. Even though this particular restriction was repealed in the 1970’s, the ban on the use of Croke Park for “foreign games” persisted into the 21st century. Although there has always been a lingering sense of anti-Britishness within the GAA, the prevailing view among supporters of the ban was that the other sporting organisations (i.e. the FAI and the IRFU) had done nothing to deserve access to it – that they were riding on the GAA’s coat-tails, in effect.
All this changed in 2005, after a very passionate and drawn out public debate. The GAA finally agreed to open Croke Park temporarily while Landsdowne Road, the home of rugby and football on Dublin’s south-side, was being refurbished.
Tomorrow, Croke Park hosts its first ever international rugby game – Ireland versus France. It’s a sell-out (and some GAA supporters think it’s a sell-out in another way too), with an attendance that will be more than double that of any home rugby international ever played in the country.
A week or so from now, Ireland will play England in Croke Park. The Union Jack will be hoisted there, and God Save the Queen will ring out from within the stadium grounds.
It’s a bit of history alright.
* with the exception of American Football, Athletics and Australian Rules. Go figure.
Passive Impressions 
>> It’s the fourth largest stadium in Europe and it has a capacity of over 80,000.
Just a side note – you know which one is the largest in Europe?
Strahov stadium in Prague. Seats 360,000, 63,500 square meters.
It is the second largest in the world, after Indianopolis Motor Speedway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strahov_Stadium
Yes – ‘God Save The Queen’ is problematic. But in fairness, at least yous lot can come back with ‘The Soldier’s Song’. 🙂
360,000 – crimey! Do supporters use astronomical telescopes to see the players? That’s on the hill overlooking Prague, isn’t it?
Hi Ed. I guess it will be stomach churning for many here to hear about dear Mrs. Windsor and how she needs rescuing by the deity.
Mind you when it comes to pointed messages about your enemies, you can’t beat the French – ” Let us march! Let us march! May impure blood water our fields!”
I was pointing out elsewhere that since Mrs Windsor’s daughter-in-law is having ‘a hizzie in the hozzie’, that puts an end to one of her husband’s fantasies.
I’ve seen the Strahov stadium! It’s not far from the TV mast. I seem to recall that you can get up there by funicular railway. I’ve also got a Dukla pennant (not that Dukla still exist – or even played at Strahov when they still did).
Little known factoid:
The national anthem of temporarily-independent Biafra was Sibelius’s ‘Finlandia’. Feck knows why.
In 1921 in retailition to the assination of 14 high ranking British Officials by Michael Collins and his men, the British Army entered Croke park in tanks during a charity match and over the course of a full day shot dead 12 of the spectators and the captain of one of the teams, and injured countless others. Among those killed were a woman due to be married the following week, and 3 boys aged 10, 11, and 14. The crowd of approximately 70,000 on the day were locked into the ground for the whole day as the British soldiers fired indiscriminatly into them, and forced them to hold their hands above their heads for the entire ordeal. Anyone seen to be lowering their hands was shot.
One of the stands in the ground (The Hogan Stand) now bears the name of the captain of the Tipperary team who was killed on the day
Under NO Circumstances should god save the queen be ever played at croke park,… yes british crown forces did murder 15 Innocent ppl at croke park and of as yet the brits have not said sorry or compensated the people involved . the people of Ireland are still waiting on the brit to say sorry for that and many more murder which are still happening to this day from there crown force or there paramilitary side kicks … u.d.a , u.v.f and so on , and if u doubt me goggle ” pat finucan” after a canadian judge peter corry summed up his report on inquiry” the brits set up” insisting there had to be an indepenent inquiry in to the collision of crown forces in his murder , well tht was 2 years ago and no sign of it.. NO TO . GOD SAVE THE QUEEN…. I’LL BE THERE BOOING IT FOR ALL IM WORTH
please Everyone BOO it too show the queen the depth of anger at her and here forces maybe it will put her off coming here on visit in future… we dont wont u QUEEN..**** off ..