THE ARCHITECTS RESPONSIBLE for the Aviva Stadium have been charged with transforming Cork’s Páirc Uí Chaoimh into the second best GAA ground in Ireland.
Scott Tallon Walker – also responsible for the city’s recently-approved Brewery Quarter plans – has offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway and London and was announced on Friday as one of a number of firms that will drive the redevelopment of the Rebel County’s main ground into a 45,000-capacity over the coming two years.
Speaking to TheScore.ie, county board chairman Bob Ryan said that work on the project would begin immediately, adding that officials were working hard to ensure that fixtures in Cork will go ahead as planned throughout construction.
“Over the next few months, the team that we have put in place will get about their work of designing the stadium. They have been briefed about our requirements and it’s their job now to get that ready for planning stage.
“There was huge interest (in getting involved). We had a tender process, followed by an interview process and we were delighted that so many leading companies sought to get involved.”
Malachy Walsh and Partners, based in Cork, has been appointed as both engineering consultants and project manager, while Cunnane Stratton Reynolds and Michael Barrett Partnership will assist with planning and the quantity surveying respectively.
“There is a huge share of work involved alright – there’s no doubt about that – but this is what we’ve taken on. Matches won’t be affected in any way by the development and depending on how the planning goes, we would be hoping that construction could start before the end of the year.”
“This development will put us back on top,” Mr. Ryan concluded. “It will make sure the stadium is back to being the second stadium in the country.”
The County Board purchased nearly seven acres of land from Cork City Council last year and will re-build the main stadium as well as establishing a Centre of Excellence and floodlit facilities on the Docklands site.
Great news. Cork will now be able to hold international soccer and rugby matches.
As a Dub I’ve always liked Páirc Uí Chaoimh and its beautiful setting by the Lee. Lets hope the planners & architects come up with a design worthy of it’s surroundings.
That’s right Cork: second best stadium, second best.
Now, you wouldnt ever clean my Dublin boots would you?
Tee hee.
Total All-Ireland titles won by Dublin: 29
Total All-Ireland titles won by Cork: 37
What’s that about second best? ;)
Total all ireland titles won by Dublin in 2011-1, total won by Cork in 2011- 0
I like the clarity of Gavin’s logic.
Dublins home stadium Parnell park 10,000 thats Dublins home……. Croker is the GAAs home not home off the dubs
No no, she’s ours, capital city, heart of the nation, national stadium. One can play semantics, but sure we all know Crocker belongs to the tall mighty sons of the capital, your capital, first among equals, powerhouse of the economy, the place you really want to be – Dublin.
And that’s why 60% of the population live outside Dublin?
We can’t let you all in. There isn’t room..
And of that 60%, how many are actually Dubs who are colonising the bog counties? Bringing with them in electricity, sewerage, clean water, education, roads…. what have the Dubs ever done for us!!! :-)
@ Gavin. If you look beyond the men’s senior football championship, you’ll find that Cork won three All Ireland titles in 2011. Not bad for a below par year.
Exactly Gavin, exxaactly. Working for the good of the nation by terraforming the dark bog like non Dublin counties. It’s Dublin’s difficult work, its hard work, but by God it’s good and rewarding work.
I swear, do you know lately I nearly feel I can hear a Dublin twang coming into the cork dialect. There’s hope there yet I tell you, hope for them yet.
Ah yes, clean water. That’s why ye want to bring water in from the Shannon then! As for the Dublin twang, I put that down to the annual pilgrimage made by dub’s down to Cork for a decent pint of stout under the cover of the Guinness Jazz Festival. Sure every Corkonian knows that ye only come down to stock up on Murphy’s while trying to distract us with forced broadcasts of Fair City, Joe Duffy and Eamonn Dunphy! We then have to spend half the year trying to put our civilisation back together again. Luckily enough with the recession and better border controls at Mitchelstown we have stemmed the tide of illegal Dublin immigrants streaming into our fair county in the back of 40ft lorries.
@ swim: I had the worm, you had the hook, we cast the line and a the fish just jumped in to the boat… we got a live one!!
Let’s see you resist the thirty five thousand vat grown Joe Duffy clones we have in reserve Brian. Thats the nuclear option I’m afraid. Thirty five thousand naked Joe Duffy clones holding radio mikes advancing on that defenseless regional town you love called Cork. Don’t make us do it Brian, because im telling you – we will.
@gavin tee hee hee.
That’s a minority sport what about proper football, def second best for cork
Keane, Steve Ireland, Hurling and Football teams revolt against county board – need I say more. Come up to Croker boys, and learn not to throw out your toys.
Of course we’ll clean your boots, with something very slippery.
that’s your tongues Aleo, that there is your tongues.
good luck with that opera house baby…
jesus I’ll giggle my bad self to death.
That was the funniest row I’ve ever read. Thumbed both sides but swim won hands down. Sorry like Corkonians and all like but the Dubs like are back! Like! :-)
I hate Cork, with it’s 3 types of stout (sometimes 4/5). Where they still sell Beamish for €3. With it’s walkable city centre and relative lack of scumbags. Where a stay in a hotel includes breakfast. With it’s feckin English Market full of disgusting gourmet and traditional treats. With it’s god awful airport that takes only 10 mins from check in to departure gate. What drugs were the travel writers in yahoo and lonely planet taking when they wrote about the place last year…
Lack of scumbags? Are you having a laugh? The place is filled with trash just like every other Irish city.
Lack of scumbags???? The place is overrun with them!
Hahahahaha no scumbags in Cork city,eh? What dya call the yokes that drive up and down the Panna shouting abuse at people on the street?! But on the subject, Cork definitely needs a decent pitch…not a hope will it ever match Semple though…as much as cork folk would like to try!
It’s amazing how RELATIVE lack of scumbags goes to no scumbags in 3 simple comments. Chinese whispers anyone?
If you want to see real scumbags try O Connell street after 11pm.
Corcaigh Abu Mofo’s!
About time. The stadium had you shoved in like sardines. If you were over 5′ 2 those seats are very uncomfortable. Knees under your chin or pressing into the person in front of you. Remembering a very hot munster football final that was torture penned in like that hardly able to move.
Fantastic for Cork but if it’s only full for all Ireland games it will be a complete white elephant. Needs something like season tickets sold for all ireland and national league otherwise it might only have a decent crowd for 2 games a year. If u support a team, u should be prepared to pay for routine matches and not just glamour Munster final
That’s a good point though after the renovation, it may be able to attract more gigs and possibly be one of the stadiums for an Ireland Rugby World Cup bid.
if you think the GAA will back a rwc bid you have another thing coming
I’m not suggesting they’re going to go all out to help campaign for it but they may just be persuaded to allow their stadiums to be used for a few matches.
Well im sorry but you ask any Hurler what the best playing field in the country is and there response will be Semple stadium, and also it has a capacity of 55000… so Cork it looks like you might become third..
As someone, who is from neither Cork or Dublin the exchanges between some of the earlier contributors are quite amusing. It’s the norm for a country’s best stadium to be in the capital city. The stadium in Cork has long needed a revamp. The two best facilities in Munster at present are both in Limerick city – Thomond Park and Gaelic Grounds.
I think Semple is nicer than the Gaelic Grounds. Not as new yes but a nicer stadium. The Gaelic Grounds has a very dead feeling to it.
I agree about Thomond. Great Stadium.
It is my god given right as a dub to get a rise out of cork people.
And it’s our God given right to laugh at ya tryin… ;)
The Gaelic Grounds…HA HA!!
Semple all the way!!!
Now bring back the Siomsha Cois lee – ahh the good ol days.
It’s pointless unless it’s built up to a relatively high standard, not quite Croke Park or Aviva but up there. Majority of Gaelic grounds redeveloped over the past few years are sub standard in terms of facilties for fans and players. Good food/drink facilities, toilets, covered stands with seating and premium levels should be the norm in this day and age.
What I hope to see is gigs in cork . There is now large live music venue in the city. Would be great to be able to host huge acts in the city rather than always having to go to Dublin or limerick .
Hopefully it will bring some jobs.
Im all for this. but i live in that area and on very busy match days the place is a mess. there is no parking so people end up blocking up peoples drive ways and roads leading to the all main roads out of the city become mental. you could spend an hour going only one mile. so, although this would be brilliant for cork, i hope the architects keep this in mind. but other than that, i hope this goes ahead.
Got lost driving around corks insane one ‘system’ and found the locals were the crankiest I ever met to ask the way to hell out.
They probably thought you were from Dublin. Sorry about that.
I met a Scottish woman who lives in cork and she captured the essence of Cork for me when she said “get me the phuck out of here”. The city leads the way in many categories including by far the biggest number of village idiots. An corchaigh abu. Thumbs down if your a gobshite.
Langer!!
Scots are only happy when they are miserable, so she must love da gaff!
I noticed you said ‘lives’. She must still be there so. Why doesn’t she phouk off out of it so?
Maybe Cork will get some decent gigs now!
It’s just what we need another big fecking empty white elephant to stoke the national horn
I hope the company that will run the stadium will be far more respecting of the people that live around the stadium that those that run croke park. They have no respect for local people or amenities the ethos of community within the GAA is definitely lost of the management of Croke park.
Ah give it up lads I’d much rather be watchin Wickla in Aughrim than be posing in your fancy new stadiums
O’Byrne Park in Aughrim is a lovely spot, no doubt. Having said that, the capacity wouldn’t hold the crowds for Cork club games, let alone the County side. The stadium in Cork is a dive in its current state. You need the body proportions of a Shetland pony to get into the seats, not to mention the sinks which double as urinals on big match days. Is there anything wrong expecting some comfort and dignity given the cost of attendance.
I don’t hear anything about where the money to build this stadium will come from???
Did they get the go ahead from the Ulster Council – the real power in the GAA – for this project?
Another big GAA stadium in Munster but no games to be played in them. I wonder how much funding the gov are going to give this. Killarney, Gaelic Grounds, Pairc Ui Chaoimh and Semple stadium. All will have capacities in and around 45,000. Many of these stadiums haven’t had a capacity crowd in the last couple of years. There aren’t enough games to go around. Should Cork GAA be taking on that kind of debt in the present climate? I know the Gaelic Grounds are looking to hold concerts in the future but you also have Thomond Park doing the same.
It’s good that counties have big enough home grounds to hold games but there are not enough of them.
“I’d say you were the second best priest in Ireland, Father”……………..”the second best priest” :-)
A modernised Pairc is most welcome. Pity they have forgotten how to hurl. Remember when there was the big three? Up the premier!!
jesus great to see regional tribalism is alive and kicking! its what makes gaa THE game
STW are a great practice. hope they can pull this off. Anyone seen any plans?
Take it from a Mayo man….. DON’T DO IT!! Unless the Cork County Board recently elected a Arab prince as chairman they’re going to end up like Mayo and saddled with a debt they will never be able to pay off. And we only put in 1 stand not an entire stadium!
GAA are willing to put money into upgrading the big stadiums as they are setting things up for a new championship/ league format that will probably guarantee at least 10 big games a season as opposed to the 2/3 average that currently exists