Páirc Uí Chaoimh

Páirc Uí Chaoimh (Irish pronunciation: [ˈpˠaːɾʲc iː ˈxiːvʲ]) is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in the Ballintemple area of Cork in Ireland,^[1] where major hurling and Gaelic football matches are played. It is the home of Cork GAA. The stadium had an original capacity of about 50,000, however, this capacity has been progressively reduced because of safety regulations to the current figure of 43,500 [Covered Sean McCarthy Stand - 9,500, Uncovered Stand - 10,000, Sideline Seating - None, Blackrock End Terrace - 12,000, City End Terrace - 12,000 and Wheelchair Area - 50].^[2]

The stadium annually hosts the finals of the Cork senior hurling and senior football championships. It also frequently hosts games in the National Hurling League, National Football League, Munster Hurling Championship and Munster Football Championship.

Behind Croke Park, Semple Stadium and the Gaelic Grounds, Páirc Uí Chaoimh has the largest capacity of any Gaelic Games stadium.

History

History of the Area

Sports meetings were frequently held on the area now occupied by Páirc Uí Chaoimh even before the establishment of the Gaelic Athletic Association. By the late 1890s the Cork County Board were allowed by the Cork Agricultural Company, the leaseholders of the land, to enclose a portion of the site for the playing of Gaelic Games. The county board built their own stadium on the land. The Cork Athletic Grounds opened in 1904 and hosted All-Ireland finals, Munster finals and National League games. Some developments took place over the years, however, by the 1970s the Athletic Grounds were in poor condition and a new plan was drawn up.

Stadium Built

In 1974 the ground was completely demolished to make way for a totally new stadium. It was an ambitious plan, one that the GAA had never embarked on before. Páirc Uí Chaoimh was to be the new name for the GAA's first custom-built stadium. The modern bowl-shaped stadium features one covered stand, an open-air stand and two terraces behind each goalpost. The main stand is named after Sean Mac Carthaigh, Cork's second president of the GAA. The stadium itself is named after Pádraig Ó Caoimh, a native of Roscommon, this Irish War of Independence veteran became secretary of the Cork County Board at 21, and he began a 35-year stint as General-Secretary of the GAA barely a decade later.^[3] Páirc Uí Chaoimh was officially opened on June 6, 1976^[4] by Con Murphy, then president of the GAA. On the opening day the Cork hurlers played Kilkenny while the Cork footballers took on Kerry. [[File:Pairc Ui Choaimh.jpg|

Criticism

In 2005 the Cork County Board took the decision to replace all wood bench seats with plastic bucket seats in both the covered and open stands. Due to the shape of the new bucket seats, overall legroom has been reduced substantially with many complaining of being unable to sit in the seat entirely. In response, the Cork County Board went ahead with cutting the tops off the back of each seat to marginally improve the legroom.

Future

In October 2007 the Cork County Boards announced plans to redevelop Páirc Uí Chaoimh into a state-of-the-art 60,000-seat sports and concert venue in conjunction with the Cork Docklands redevelopment which is estimated to cost over €30m.^[5] If these plans get the go-ahead, Cork would have the second largest stadium in the country behind Croke Park, which has a capacity of 82,300. The Cork stadium would be bigger than Aviva Stadium (51,000), while also outstripping other Munster GAA venues.

Approved Redevelopment

In June 2010, Cork City Council have voted in favour of the proposal to make 6.82 acres (27,600 m²) of land next to Páirc Uí Chaoimh available for the redevelopment of the stadium.^[6] As part of the Re-development a new Centre of Excellence will be built along with ancillary all-weather pitch and a 400-space car park and a dining facility.^[7]

The stadium is expected to have an increased capacity of 60,000 when completed

First Aid and safety

For all major games, there are dedicated first aiders and ambulance personnel available in the event of any medical emergency in the Stadium. St John Ambulance, Cork City First Aid and Ambulance Division work in conjunction with the HSE to provide this free service. If you or someone with you is taken ill, contact a steward, member of the Gardaí or a uniform first aider immediately.

Records

The record attendance at Páirc Uí Chaoimh was 49,961 for the 1985 Munster Final between Cork and Tipperary.

See also

• List of GAA Stadiums by Capacity
• Stadiums of Ireland

References