FEW PEOPLE CAN claim to know Páirc Uí Chaoimh as well as Dr Con Murphy does.
The well-known medic for Cork’s GAA teams was on duty when it opened in June 1976. Over 40 years later, he’s still going strong as the stadium returns following a significant makeover.
The home of the GAA on Leeside reopened last night with a Cork premier intermediate hurling championship game between Valley Rovers and Blarney.
However, the grand unveiling will take place this weekend when the 45,000-capacity arena hosts both All-Ireland senior hurling quarter-finals — Tipperary versus Clare on Saturday, Waterford versus Wexford on Sunday.
Ahead of its reopening, Dr Con was taken on a tour of the stadium courtesy of Centra, one of the sponsors of the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship.
“We’re very proud of this stadium. It looks fantastic. Over the years it’s been a great place for Cork people to come,” he said.
“Croke Park is the number one stadium but this is very close for us. This is our Croke Park down here and we’re going to hopefully have many happy days here. I’m sure we’ll have a lot of heartache here as well, but looking forward to it immensely.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the Cork team come out on the pitch and the welcome they’ll get. It’ll be a very special, nostalgic occasion. I hope I’m around for it.”
Can you stop reporting on this stadium now please? Yes. It’s nice but there must be hundreds of reports on it now. Overkill.
@Matt Taylor: yeah it’s a nightmare being physically forced to read articles isn’t it?
The stadium should be open to all sports now considering the amount tax payers had to pay for it
@Jamie: like the way they have already committed to doing so? RWC 2023 for example.
@Matt Taylor: prefer another Conor McGregor one?
@Cian Nolan: can you give anymore examples in the next four years?
@Jamie: ah, I see Jamie is back again bashing the GAA. when are the fair and the irfu opening up their state funded grounds to the GAA
@Jamie: Not having a crystal ball in front of me, I can’t no. I’d imagine it’d become a viable option for Munster for a European SF for example.
@Jamie: like they paid €191 million toward the construction of the Aviva?!
From early reports people are pretty happy with the results. If you can get over the lack of colour and stylish design of the stadium, what we have is a strong, safe stadium that delivers on its purpose, a major stadium in Cork. For its capacity 75 million is very good value in comparison to the 500 mill for the aviva of similar size.
Definitely major boost for Ireland’s Rugby WC bid as well.
World class not quite, major stadium.. yes
@Lad: you can’t compare the Aviva to this spruced up dog track stadium
@Lad: nice little subtle dig there
@Jamie: So why would other sports want to use a dog track then?
@Lad: because the government is after pumping so much into it for the GAA
@Lad: imagine how it would look without my taxes funding it
@Jamie: The same
@Mick Power: circa €30 million makes a massive difference why did the GAA go begging for the money then
@Jamie: de aviva will be class when it’s finished.
@Ray Laffan: so will croke park
@Jamie: You’re paying some tax fair play.
@Mick Power: I’d rather it go to something more beneficial
Ye were happy to sing Phil coulters hits in croker when ye were homeless.
@Lad: The Aviva is in a whole other league to this. This should be compared to Thomond or the Kingspan(Ravenhill).
@Ray Laffan: that’s another stadium that should be open to all sports seeing as it was mostly funded by the taxpayer too
@Jamie: it will be Jamie.
The rugby World Cup is a non runner without the generosity of the GAA.
And if Shane Ross gets us de olympics we’ll cater for all the other minority sports too.
@Jamie: STFU Jamie
Terraces are the bane of Irish society.
@Eric Djemba-Djemba: Not only terracing, but open terracing to boot!!! The Cornella el prat stadium in Barcelona (home of Español) is but one example of the kind of stadium that could have been created as opposed to this outdated 1960s/70s design. That particular stadium offers a fully covered, fully seated and ultra modern design, which when full, also has a truly fantastic atmosphere. However instead of something like that, we get a high quality main stand, an adequate, if slightly basic secondary stand and, the icing on the cake, two open ended terraces in a country where rain is not unheard of. Thumbs down to all involved!
Why wasn’t the seating colours the red and white of cork. If it’s corks pride n joy?.
Colours looks like a stadium in Norway
@Dearan Reidy:
Because the red seats fade.
@Dearan Reidy: because of the lack of symmetry between the stands (hence the dogtrack nickname it has locally). The big south stand can be seen for miles and the planning called out the requirement for neutral
Colours. A symmetrical bowel design would have been lower and they could have put whatever colour they wanted in there.
@Leo Erah: never heard of it been called that locally
Who did the subtitles for that video??
I look forward to seeing it on Sunday.
Add a wee Nally stand north side and a big Cadburys sign above south Terrace and sure it could be 1990′s Croke Park resurrected!
Nathan carter live!