by
Seamus Morris

It’s the new National Question – where do you stand on it? Debates will rage like wildfire, some will bark “Here we go again”, yet it will be unavoidable. Yes indeedy folks, prepare for another round of “Should Croke Park be opened up to other sports?”

The latest episode in the debate was brought to life through a report in one of the Sunday newspapers that Lansdowne Road has a nasty case of asbestos, something that had the potential to delay the restructuring of the Dublin 4 venue for a further two years. (If by this stage you have lost track of what is being built, where, and when, then don’t worry, you’re not the only one).

Scaremongering has been the order of the day in this whole episode since the early stages. Cries went out that our rugby and soccer teams would be homeless, Christ, they might even have to travel across the water and play their home matches in the UK! Stories broke of the IRFU preparing to make the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff home, of the FAI considering using Parkhead, Anfield or Old Trafford. All the while there were furtive glances and snide whispers in the direction of one organisation – the GAA.

De Scribe agrees that the whole issue of opening up Croke Park is not black and white but some sensibility appears to have been lost along the way. Before any discussion takes place, it must be acknowledged that both the FAI and IRFU have at best been negligent and at worst been pure lazy. For both organisations to sit idly by and allow the GAA be castigated for not opening up their own prime facility is an abhorrence, an unjust situation.

Two professional organisations have sat blithely by, watched an amateur association build and develop its own crowning glory, then allowed a public tidal wave of opinion place that very same organisation in the position of the bad boy. In this game, playing PR is what it’s all about - it’s a cynical battle.

The FAI is inept. There, it’s been said, duly noted. No prizes for making such a statement, but it had to be stressed. Genesis may be a watershed in the organisation’s history. It had better be, for things cannot deteriorate much further. De Scribe is a big fan of the garrison game, but is not as blinkered as many of the Olé Olé brigade may be. The organisation who had the future of soccer in this country in their hands blew it, were wasteful and pitiful. Money accrued from World Cups and major sponsorships was frittered away, we all watched, aghast, wondering had the mandarins truly taken charge of Merrion Square. Saipan proved they had.

Remember the fiasco of Eircom Park ? How many millions were wasted on that? It was embarrassing to watch. We didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The IRFU. Seen as the elitist element of the three main sporting organisations on this island. Since their inception they have been sitting on a nice little nest egg in D4, snugly located in the heart of Ross O’Carroll Kelly’s Oirland. Again, De Scribe is a big fan of the oval ball game and has attended plenty of matches in Lansdowne. But….How did an organisation with such assets as the IRFU has come to a situation where it is still playing in such a decrepit stadium as Lansdowne Road (granted, the atmosphere on big match days is great, but the facilities are inadequate. The oldest rugby ground in the world certainly exhibits its claim to fame).

Both these sporting bodies have failed their supporters. The FAI have wandered from home to home – Dalymount Park, Lansdowne Road, Tolka Park on a few occasions, and on one bizarre afternoon playing Wales in the RDS. The IRFU have stubbornly remained with Lansdowne, appearing immune to the advances of time, unaware that the other Home Unions were building new age, all seater stadia. And then there was the GAA.

Croke Park has been the biggest investment ever made in the history of the Association. Its current phase began in 1993, and will be fully complete by this year’s end. Eleven years, granted, is a long time, but when the final creation is presented, it will be seen as a fair trade off. On completion, 82,500 spectators will be accommodated in the arena. Breathtaking….

So why is the current national debate placing the GAA in the position of the fall guy, the bully boy who is depriving the rest of the country of its fun? It is as if some people expect, nay demand, that Jones’ Road be opened up, at the drop of a hat, to rugby and soccer.

Horror stories have fermented regarding this issue for years. Diehards in the GAA have spoken of the Hill being defiled by hordes of English hooligans, the Union Jack “gracing” Croker with its presence. These type of stories ignore the fact that terracing cannot be used for competitive international matches, and the chances of the FAI inviting the English national team over for a friendly are negligible. Concerns have been raised about the playing of the rugby anthem, ‘Ireland’s Call’. “Amhrán na bhFiann should be sacrosanct” shout the GAA hordes. Compromise is what we need. Necessity is, after all, the mother of invention.

It would be easier for the average Gael to accept rugby on the hallowed turf before soccer, as the rugby team represents all thirty two counties, while the soccer team recognises the partition of the island. Partition as a concept does not rest easily with the Association. Softly does it….

The reality is that common sense will prevail, financial necessity will push the gates of Croker open. It cannot be long before O’Gara, O’Driscoll, Hickey, Keane, Duff and Miller grace Jones’ Road. No longer will the stadium lie dormant for six months of the year, a gigantic burden on the coffers of the Association, serving only as a vast artefact to the GAA. Rather, when the gates are open to other sports, the stadium will be alive all year round, doing what it does best.

The French utilise Stade de France to its full potential. The Millennium Stadium offers its wares, at a price. Sydney’s Olympic Stadium is multi denominational, having no qualms about hosting any sport. Perhaps reality will now slowly loosen the grip which history has on the GAA when it comes to its greatest asset.

For that is what this debate is all about – how to merge the past and the present, making for a better future. The GAA has taken mammoth strides in the last ten years, from sponsorship to the abolition of Rule 21 and on to the very format of its major competitions. The opening up of Croker would be one final step in the modernisation of the organisation.

The history of the GAA is both its strength and its weakness. It has the capacity both to nurture and hinder. When it comes to Croke Park, the past should be used as an inspiration. All the forefathers of the GAA, from Cusack on, would surely understand the current climate, the “hand of history” that is pushing the GAA into a new era. Let the gates open, and the games, whatever they may be, begin.