Coveting thy neighbour's stadium
By Ciaran Heaphey
Much has been made and said about the £20 million allocation to
the GAA by Charlie McCreevy in the 26-County Budget. Fair enough,
the derisory amount given to disability organisations is an
absolute disgrace. And the welfare increases were a disgrace and
in all other fields it proved to a budget for the wealthy and
advantaged in our society.
But here I'll deal only with the sporting side of things. The
fact is that the money came from lottery funds, of which so much
has to be spent on sport. It is no secret McCreevy is a GAA man
through and through and makes no apologies for this, as he stated
recently on Questions and Answers.
There has been some consternation among other sports over the
allocation and the West Brits in Dublin 4 no doubt are not too
pleased. Rugby should be played in the all-new revamped Croke
Park; soccer as well, they say. Let's look at the facts.
The GAA applied some time ago for state funding and grants for
their project to make Croke Park a £141 million state-of-the-art
all-seater stadium for the new millennium. The GAA is a
highly-organised sporting body organised in virtually every
parish and community throughout the 32 Counties. Its games are
unique to this island. Its popularity unparalled by other sports
in Ireland. Its role has inspired a sense of pride in the culture
and games of Ireland. It deserves £20 million for the rebuiding
of Croke Park.
d what about other sports using this facility when it is
finished? Again let's look at the facts: The FAI has just come
out of the international team's most successful period ever. The
amount of money squandered on God knows what is criminal. We've
had Euro `88, Italia `90 and USA `94. They've had sponsorship, TV
rights, gate receipts, kit sales and promotions. Why no national
soccer stadium? Why try to hang on to the coat tails of the GAA,
who have shown they can get their act together? Why no
application for grants for assistance like the GAA did? Rugby,
the same. What's wrong with Lansdowne Road anyway? I wouldn't
fancy the Hoo Ra Henrys of Dublin 4 gracing the green fields of
Croke Park anyway.
No, I think the message should be sent out loud and clear from
the GAA that Croke Park will be a fine national stadium in which
to parade our Gaelic games, and Gaelic games only.
Club championship roundup
Erin's Isle of Dublin clinched the Leinster Football Championship
at Navan on Sunday with a powerful display over Kildare's Clane.
The Dubs' full back and full forward lines and their ability to
deal with the elements proved too much for the Kildare team.
Corofin of Galway went through to the Connacht Final after
beating Allen Gaels. In hurling Clarecastle of Clare got the
better of Limerick's Patrickswell in Thurles by a 2-11 to 0-15
margin.
Cork football, going through a bit of a bad patch recently, got a
bit of a boost after County Champions Castlehaven defeated the
Laune Rangers of the Kingdom in the Munster Football semi-final.
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