Dublin's GAA Stadium

Dublin is home to Croke Park, the largest sporting arena in Ireland. This massive stadium is the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and therefore holds the national league games of hurling and Gaelic football. As part of my trip to Dublin with UL's International Society, our group toured the stadium and wandered around the main floor GAA museum.

Croke Park first opened as a center for Irish sport in 1914. According to our tour guide Paddy, the original field was surrounded by heaped, crumbled rock on which spectators could sit and watch.  One of the original groundskeepers, Michael O'Cuirrin, used to maintain the grass using his flock of sheep. Nowadays, the modern stadium holds 82,000 spectators, making it the fourth largest stadium in Europe.

Our tour wound through the team dressing rooms, around the pitch, up the stands, passed the President and Prime Minister's seats, through the media room and ended in one of the corporate sponsored private boxes (valued at $50,000 per year). 

During the tour, I found the light fixture in the players' lounge really creative and unique. It is made of LED lights shaped like Gaelic footballs and hurling sliotars. The lights change colour so that the winning team can have their team colours displayed. 

There is a sadder side to Croke Park which reflects the unrest in Irish history. During the Anglo-Irish War (1919-21) between the Irish and British, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) leader Michael Collins sent his men one evening in November 1920 to assassinate fourteen members of an undercover British military unit. The following day the Dublin football team was scheduled to play Tipperary at Croke Park. Shortly after the match began armed British men entered the stadium and began shooting, killing an equivalent fourteen people including spectators and Tipperary Captain Michael Hogan. In memory, there is now an area of seating in the stadium called Hogan Stand. In a report released in 2003, it was suggested that British forces came under fire before they began shooting, but there is much controversy over the events. The date has become known as Bloody Sunday.

On a lighter note, the GAA museum was quite fun and interactive. There are lots of video clips to watch and games to play to test you Irish sports skills. There were many displays including these featured jerseys:

Below is a jersey from 1940... somehow I need to find one for myself! It was definitely my favourite.  I found out after the fact that Limerick colours are green and white, how suiting!

Okay this next picture is ridiculous.  I believe it is a women's camogie uniform from the 1920s. How are you supposed to play anything except housewife in that??

Like most museums, the GAA museum also has an ancient artifact to awe visitors. The following slab is a cast of a grave stone from the 15th century. The cover depicts the possessions of a warrior: a sword on the right with a curved stick and round ball nestled beside. In other words, a hurley and sliotar!

And it wouldn't be a sports museum without a trophy case.

Last but not least, I have physical proof that you can find GAA sports in countries like Canada and the United States. There are 18 clubs operating in Canada (of which I am assuming 17 are in Toronto - just kidding!) so you don't need to come to Ireland to experience Irish sports, although I admit it does seem to help.

All the best!

Shannon