| Páirc an Chrócaigh | |
Croker | |
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 Interactive map of Croke Park | |
| Location | Dublin, Ireland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53°21′39″N6°15′4″W / 53.36083°N 6.25111°W /53.36083; -6.25111 |
| Public transit | Drumcondra railway station |
| Owner | GAA |
| Capacity |
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| Record attendance | 90,556 (Down–Offaly,24 September 1961) |
| Field size | 145m x 88m |
| Surface | Soil pitch[1] |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1880 |
| Opened | 1884; 141 years ago (1884) |
| Renovated | 2004 |
| Construction cost | €266 million (2004 renovation) |
| Architect | Gilroy McMahon |
| Project manager | Seamus Monahan & Partners |
| Structural engineer | Horgan Lynch & Partners |
| Tenants | |
| Gaelic Athletic Association Ireland national rugby union team (2007–2010) Republic of Ireland national football team (2007–2010) | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Croke Park (Irish:Páirc an Chrócaigh,IPA:[ˈpˠaːɾʲcəˈxɾˠoːkəj]) is aGaelic games stadium inDublin, Ireland. Named after ArchbishopThomas Croke, it is referred to asCroker by GAA fans and locals.[2] It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of theGaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Since 1891[3] the site has been used by the GAA to host Gaelic sports, including theannual All-Ireland finals in Gaelic football andhurling.
A major expansion and redevelopment of the stadium ran from 1991 to 2005, raising capacity to its current 82,300 spectators.[4] This makes Croke Park thefourth-largest stadium in Europe, and the largest not usually used forassociation football in Europe.
Other events held at the stadium include the opening and closing ceremonies of the2003 Special Olympics, and numerous musical concerts. In 2012, Irish pop groupWestlife sold out the stadium in a record-breaking time: less than 5 minutes.[5] From 2007 to 2010, Croke Park hosted home matches of theIreland national rugby union team and theRepublic of Ireland national football team, while their newAviva Stadium was constructed. This use of Croke Park for non-Gaelic sportswas controversial and required temporary changes to GAA rules. In June 2012, the stadium hosted the closing ceremony of the50th International Eucharistic Congress during whichPope Benedict XVI gave an address over a video link.[6][7]
The area now known as Croke Park was owned in the 1880s by Maurice Butterly and known as the City and Suburban Racecourse, or Jones' Road sports ground. From 1893 it was also used by theBohemian Football Club.[8] In 1891Butterly's field hosted Athletics meetings organised by the GAA.
Recognising the potential of the Jones' Road sports ground, a journalist and GAA member, Frank Dineen, borrowed much of the £3,250 asking price and bought the ground in 1908. In 1913 the GAA came into exclusive ownership of the plot when they purchased it from Dineen for £3,500. The ground was then renamed Croke Park in honour of ArchbishopThomas Croke, one of the GAA's first patrons.
In 1913, Croke Park only had one stand on what is now known as the Hogan Stand side and grassy banks all round. In 1917, a grassy hill was constructed on the railway end of Croke Park to afford patrons a better view of the pitch. This terrace was known originally as Hill 60, after a battle in theGallipoli Campaign, in whichThe Royal Dublin Fusiliers,Munster Fusiliers andConnaught Rangers fought. It was later renamed Hill 16 in memory of the 1916Easter Rising. It is erroneously said to have been built from the ruins of the GPO but was constructed the previous year in 1915.
In 1918, the GAA set out to create a high-capacity stadium at Croke Park. Following the Hogan Stand, the Cusack Stand, named afterMichael Cusack from Clare (who founded the GAA and served as its first secretary), was built in 1927. 1936 saw the first double-deck Cusack Stand open with 5,000 seats, and concrete terracing being constructed on Hill 16. In 1952 the Nally Stand was built in memorial ofPat Nally, another of the GAA founders. Seven years later, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the GAA, the first cantilevered "New Hogan Stand" was opened.
The highest attendance ever recorded at an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was 90,556 forOffaly vDown in1961. Since the introduction of seating to the Cusack Stand in 1966, the largest crowd recorded has been 84,516.
On 21 November 1920, during theIrish War of Independence, Croke Park was the scene of a massacre perpetrated by theAuxiliary Division of theRoyal Irish Constabulary (RIC). The RIC entered the ground and began shooting into the crowd, killing or fatally wounding 14 civilians during aDublin-Tipperary Gaelic football match. The dead included 13 spectators and Tipperary playerMichael Hogan. Posthumously, the Hogan Stand, built in 1924, was named in his honour. Those shootings, on the day which became known asBloody Sunday, were a reprisal for the killing of 15 people associated with theCairo Gang, a group ofBritish intelligence officers, byMichael Collins' "Squad" earlier that day.[9]
In 1924, Americanrodeo promoter,Tex Austin, staged the Dublin Rodeo,[10] Ireland's first professional rodeo at Croke Park Stadium.[11][12] For seven days, with two shows each day from 18 to 24 August, sell-out crowds saw cowboys and cowgirls from Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina and Australia compete for rodeo championship titles.[13] Canadian bronc riders such as Andy Lund and his brother Art Lund, trick riders such as Ted Elder[14] and Vera McGinnis were among the contestants.[15] British Pathe filmed some of the rodeo events.[16][17][18]
In 1984 the organisation decided to investigate ways to increase the capacity of the old stadium. The design for an 80,000-capacity stadium was completed in 1991. Gaelic sports have special requirements as they take place on a large field. A specific requirement was to ensure the spectators were not too far from the field of play. This resulted in the three-tier design from which viewing games is possible: the main concourse, a premium level incorporating hospitality facilities and an upper concourse. The premium level contains restaurants, bars and conference areas. The project was split into four phases over a 14-year period. Such was the importance of Croke Park to the GAA for hosting big games, that the stadium did not close during redevelopment. During each phase, different parts of the ground were redeveloped, while leaving the rest of the stadium open. Big games, including the annual All-Ireland Hurling and Football finals, were played in the stadium throughout the development.
The first phase of construction was to build a replacement for Croke Park's Cusack Stand. A lower deck opened for use in 1994. The upper deck opened in 1995. Completed at a cost of £35 million, the new stand is 180 metres long, 35 metres high, has a capacity for 27,000 people and contains 46 hospitality suites. The new Cusack Stand contains three tiers from which viewing games is possible: the main concourse, a premium level incorporating hospitality facilities and finally an upper concourse. One end of the pitch was closer to the stand after this phase, as the process of slightly re-aligning the pitch during the redevelopment of the stadium began. The works were carried out bySisk Group.[19]
Phase Two of the development started in late 1998 and involved extending the new Cusack Stand to replace the existing Canal End terrace. It involved reacquiring a rugby pitch that had been sold toBelvedere College in 1910 by Frank Dineen. In payment and part exchange, the college was given the nearby Distillery Road sports grounds.[20]
It is now known as The Davin Stand (Irish:Ardán Dáimhím), afterMaurice Davin, the first president of the GAA. This phase also saw the creation of a tunnel which was later named the Ali tunnel in honour ofMuhammad Ali andhis fight against Al Lewis in July 1972 in Croke Park.[21]
Phase Three saw the building of the new Hogan Stand. This required a greater variety of spectator categories to be accommodated including general spectators, corporate patrons, VIPs, broadcast and media services and operation staff. Extras included a fitted-out mezzanine level for VIP and Ard Comhairle (Where the dignitaries sit) along with a top-level press media facility. The end of Phase Three took the total spectator capacity of Croke Park to 82,000.
The1999 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the last to be held with the old Hogan Stand in place.[22]
After the 2003 Special Olympics, construction began in September 2003 on the final phase, Phase Four. This involved the redevelopment of the Nally Stand, named after the athletePat Nally, and Hill 16 into a new Nally End/Dineen Hill 16 terrace. While the name Nally had been used for the stand it replaced, the use of the name Dineen was new, and was in honour ofFrank Dineen, who bought the original stadium for the GAA in 1908, giving it to them in 1913. The old Nally Stand was taken away and reassembled in Pairc Colmcille, home of Carrickmore GAA inCounty Tyrone.[23]
The phase four development was officially opened by the then GAA PresidentSeán Kelly on 14 March 2005. For logistical reasons (and, to a degree, historical reasons), and also to provide cheaper high-capacity space, the area is a terrace rather than a seated stand, the only remaining standing room in Croke Park. Unlike the previous Hill, the new terrace was divided into separate sections – Hill A (Cusack Stand side), Hill B (behind the goals) and the Nally terrace (on the site of the old Nally Stand). The fully redeveloped Hill has a capacity of around 13,200, bringing the overall capacity of the stadium to 82,300. This made the stadium the second biggest in Europe at the time after theCamp Nou, Barcelona. The presence of terracing meant that for the brief period when Croke Park hosted internationalassociation football during 2007–2009, the capacity was reduced to approximately 73,500, due to FIFA's statutes stating that competitive games must be played in all-seater stadiums.[citation needed]
The pitch in Croke Park is a soil pitch that replaced theDesso GrassMaster pitch laid in 2002.[2] This replacement was made after several complaints by players and managers that the pitch was excessively hard and far too slippery.[2]
Since January 2006, a special growth and lighting system called the SGL Concept has been used to assist grass growing conditions, even in the winter months. The system, created by Dutch company SGL (Stadium Grow Lighting), helps in controlling and managing all pitch growth factors, such as light, temperature, CO2, water, air and nutrients.[24]
With the2007 Six Nations clash withFrance and possibly other matches in subsequent years requiring lighting the GAA installedfloodlights in the stadium (after planning permission was granted). Indeed, many other GAA grounds around the country have started to erect floodlights as the organisation starts to hold games in the evenings, whereas traditionally major matches were played almost exclusively on Sunday afternoons. The first game to be played under these lights at Croke Park was aNational Football LeagueDivision One match betweenDublin andTyrone on 3 February 2007 with Tyrone winning in front of a capacity crowd of over 81,000 – which remains a record attendance for a National League game, with Ireland's Six Nations match with France following on 11 February.[25] Temporary floodlights were installed for theAmerican Bowl game betweenChicago Bears andPittsburgh Steelers on the pitch in 1997, and again for the2003 Special Olympics.
| Date | Performer(s) | Opening act(s) | Tour/Event | Attendance | Revenue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 June 1985 | U2 | In Tua Nua,R.E.M.,The Alarm,Squeeze | The Unforgettable Fire Tour | 57,000 | First Irish act to have a headline concert.Part of the concert was filmed for the group's documentaryWide Awake in Dublin. | |
| 28 June 1986 | Simple Minds | Once Upon A Time Tour | Guest appearance byBono | |||
| 27 June 1987 | U2 | Light A Big Fire,The Dubliners,The Pogues,Lou Reed | The Joshua Tree Tour | 114,000 | ||
| 28 June 1987 | Christy Moore,The Pretenders, Lou Reed,Hothouse Flowers | |||||
| 28 June 1996 | Tina Turner | Brian Kennedy | Wildest Dreams Tour | 40,000 | $1,510,000 | |
| 16 May 1997 | Garth Brooks | World Tour II | ||||
| 18 May 1997 | ||||||
| 29 May 1998 | Elton John &Billy Joel | Face to Face 1998 | ||||
| 30 May 1998 | ||||||
| 24 June 2005 | U2 | The Radiators from Space,The Thrills,The Bravery,Snow Patrol,Paddy Casey,Ash | Vertigo Tour | 246,743 | $21,163,695 | |
| 25 June 2005 | ||||||
| 27 June 2005 | ||||||
| 20 May 2006 | Bon Jovi | Nickelback | Have a Nice Day Tour | 81,327 | $6,414,434 | |
| 9 June 2006 | Robbie Williams | Basement Jaxx | Close Encounters Tour | |||
| 6 October 2007 | The Police | Fiction Plane | The Police Reunion Tour | 81,640 | $11,837,425 | Largest attendance of the tour. Guest appearance by Bono. |
| 31 May 2008 | Celine Dion | Il Divo | Taking Chances World Tour | 61,746 | $8,650,493 | Largest attendance for a solo female act |
| 1 June 2008 | Westlife | Shayne Ward | Back Home Tour | 82,300 | Second Irish act to have a headline concert. Largest attendance of the tour.Part of the concert was filmed for the group's documentary and concert DVD10 Years of Westlife - Live at Croke Park Stadium. | |
| 14 June 2008 | Neil Diamond | |||||
| 13 June 2009 | Take That | The Script | Take That Present: The Circus Live | |||
| 24 July 2009 | U2 | Glasvegas,Damien Dempsey | U2 360° Tour | 243,198 | $28,815,352 | |
| 25 July 2009 | Kaiser Chiefs,Republic of Loose | |||||
| 27 July 2009 | Bell X1, The Script | The performances of "New Year's Day" and "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" were recorded for the group's live albumU22 and for the band's remix albumArtificial Horizon and the live EPWide Awake in Europe, respectively. | ||||
| 5 June 2010 | Westlife | Wonderland, WOW,JLS,Jedward | Where We Are Tour | 86,500 | $5,914,820 | Largest attendance of the tour. |
| 18 June 2011 | Take That | Pet Shop Boys | Progress Live | 154,828 | $18,217,500 | |
| 19 June 2011 | ||||||
| 22 June 2012 | Westlife | Jedward,The Wanted,Lawson | Greatest Hits Tour | 187,808[26] | The 23 June 2012 date broke the stadium record for selling out its tickets in four minutes. Eleventh largest attendance at an outdoor stadium worldwide. Largest attendance of the tour and Westlife's history.Part of the concert was filmed for the group's documentary and concert DVDThe Farewell Tour - Live in Croke Park. | |
| 23 June 2012 | ||||||
| 26 June 2012 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds,The Vaccines | I'm with You World Tour | |||
| 23 May 2014 | One Direction | 5 Seconds of Summer | Where We Are Tour | 235,008 | $20,115,900 | |
| 24 May 2014 | ||||||
| 25 May 2014 | ||||||
| 20 June 2015 | The Script | No Sound Without Silence Tour | 74,635 | |||
| 24 July 2015 | Ed Sheeran | x Tour | 162,308 | $11,713,029 | ||
| 25 July 2015 | ||||||
| 27 May 2016 | Bruce Springsteen | The River Tour 2016 | 160,188 | $19,228,100 | ||
| 29 May 2016 | ||||||
| 9 July 2016 | Beyoncé | Chloe x Halle,Ingrid Burley | The Formation World Tour | 68,575[27] | $7,449,942 | |
| 8 July 2017 | Coldplay | AlunaGeorge,Tove Lo | A Head Full of Dreams Tour[28] | 80,398 | $8,970,100 | |
| 22 July 2017 | U2 | Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds | The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 | 80,901 | $9,963,957 | |
| 17 May 2018 | The Rolling Stones | The Academic | No Filter Tour | 64,823 | $8,771,102 | |
| 15 June 2018 | Taylor Swift | Camila Cabello Charli XCX | Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour | 133,034 | $8,567,769 | First woman to headline two shows on a single tour. |
| 16 June 2018 | ||||||
| 7 July 2018 | Michael Bublé | Emeli Sandé | ||||
| 24 May 2019 | Spice Girls | Jess Glynne | Spice World - 2019 UK Tour | 74,186 | $8,070,740 | |
| 5 July 2019 | Westlife | James Arthur Wild Youth | The Twenty Tour | 148,470 | $11,577,344 | The 5 July date sold out in six minutes. The 6 July date was sold out in under forty-eight hours, and recorded for a concert film. |
| 6 July 2019 | ||||||
| 23 April 2022 | Ed Sheeran | Maisie Peters Denise Chaila | +–=÷x Tour | 140,487 / 151,054 | $12,765,829 | |
| 24 April 2022 | ||||||
| 9 September 2022 | Garth Brooks | The Garth Brooks Stadium Tour | 401,000 | $28,621,080 | Replaced the five 2014 shows that were cancelled due to a disagreement between management and local residents who did not want five concerts to occur.[29] | |
| 10 September 2022 | ||||||
| 11 September 2022 | ||||||
| 16 September 2022 | ||||||
| 17 September 2022 | ||||||
| 19 May 2024 | Bruce Springsteen andThe E Street Band | 2024 World Tour | ||||
| 17 August 2024[30] | AC/DC | The Pretty Reckless | Power Up Tour | |||
| 29 August 2024 | Coldplay | Maggie Rogers Aby Coulibaly | Music of the Spheres World Tour | 329,200 / 329,200 | $49,520,804 | First group to perform four shows on a single tour |
| 30 August 2024 | ||||||
| 1 September 2024 | ||||||
| 2 September 2024 | ||||||
| 16-17 August 2025 | Oasis | Cast, Richard Ashcroft | Oasis Live '25 Tour | |||
| 23 August 2025 | Robbie Williams | The Lottery Winners | Britpop Tour | |||
| 22-23 August 2026 | The Weeknd | Playboi Carti | After Hours til Dawn Tour | |||
| 30 August 2026 | Bon Jovi | Forever Tour |
There was great debate in Ireland regarding the use of Croke Park for sports other than those of the GAA. As the GAA was founded as anationalist organisation to maintain and promote indigenous Irish sport, it has felt honour-bound throughout its history to oppose other, foreign (in practice, British) sports. In turn, nationalist groups supported the GAA as the prime example of purely Irish sporting culture.[31]
Until its abolition in 1971, rule 27 of the GAA constitution stated that a member of the GAA could be banned from playing its games if found to be also playing association football, rugby orcricket. That rule was abolished butrule 42 still prohibited the use of GAA property for games with interests in conflict with the interests of the GAA. The belief was that rugby and association football were in competition with Gaelic football and hurling, and that if the GAA allowed these sports to use their ground it might be harmful to Gaelic games, while other sports, not seen as direct competitors with Gaelic football and hurling, were permitted, such as the two games ofAmerican football, theCroke Park Classiccollege football game between theUniversity of Central Florida andPenn State and anAmerican BowlNFL preseason game between theChicago Bears and thePittsburgh Steelers, on the Croke Park pitch during the 1990s.[32]
In June 2003, Croke Park served as the main venue for the2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games with a noted highlight of the Special Olympics beingMuhammad Ali attending the opening ceremony.[33] They were the first edition of theSpecial Olympics World Summer Games not to be held in the United States.[34]
On 16 April 2005, a motion to temporarily relax rule No. 42 was passed at the GAA Annual Congress. The motion gives the GAA Central Council the power to authorise the renting or leasing of Croke Park for events other than those controlled by the Association, during a period whenLansdowne Road – the venue for international football and rugby matches – was closed for redevelopment. The final result was 227 in favour of the motion to 97 against, 11 votes more than the required two-thirds majority.
In January 2006, it was announced that the GAA had reached an agreement with theFootball Association of Ireland (FAI) andIrish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to stage two Six Nations games and four football internationals at Croke Park in 2007 and in February 2007, use of the pitch by the FAI and the IRFU in 2008 was also agreed.[35] These agreements were within the temporary relaxation terms, as Lansdowne Road was still under redevelopment until 2010. Although the GAA had said that hosted use of Croke Park would not extend beyond 2008, irrespective of the redevelopment progress,[35] fixtures[36] for the2009 Six Nations rugby tournament saw the Irish rugby team using Croke park for a third season. 11 February 2007 saw the first rugby union international to be played there. Ireland were leading France in a Six Nations clash, but lost 17–20 after conceding a last minute (converted) try.Raphaël Ibañez scored the first try in that match;Ronan O'Gara scored Ireland's first-ever try at Croke Park.
A second match between Ireland andEngland on 24 February 2007 was politically symbolic because of the events ofBloody Sunday in 1920.[37] There was considerable concern as to what reaction there would be to the singing of the Britishnational anthem "God Save the Queen". Ultimately the anthem was sung without interruption or incident, and applauded by both sets of supporters at the match, which Ireland won by 43–13 (their largest-ever win over England in rugby).[citation needed]
On 2 March 2010, Ireland played their final international rugby match against a Scotland team that was playing to avoid the wooden spoon and hadn't won a championship match against Ireland since 2001. Outside half, Dan Parks inspired the Scots to a 3-point victory and ended Irish Hopes of a triple crown.[38]
On 24 March 2007, the first association football match took place at Croke Park. TheRepublic of Ireland took onWales inUEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group D, with aStephen Ireland goal securing a1–0 victory for the Irish in front of a crowd of 72,500. Prior to this, theIFA Cup had been played at the then Jones' Road in 1901, but this was 12 years before the GAA took ownership.
Croke Park was included as one of the stadiums in theEuro 2028 bid shortlist by England, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but did not make the final list.[39][40]
Negotiations took place for theNFL International Series's 2011 game to be held at Croke Park but the game was awarded toWembley Stadium.[41][42] In July 2013, it was announced thatPenn State would open their2014college football season againstCentral Florida at Croke Park.[43] Croke Park held its first regular season NFL game 28 September 2025 with thePittsburgh Steelers as the designated home team defeating theMinnesota Vikings 24–21 in front of 74,512 fans.[44][45]
| Year | Date | Designated visitor | Score | Designated home team | Score | Stadium | City | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 28 September | Minnesota Vikings | 21 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 24 | Croke Park | Dublin | 74,512 |
On 2 May 2009, Croke Park was the venue for aHeineken Cup rugbysemi-final, in whichLeinster defeatedMunster 25–6. The attendance of 82,208 set a new world record attendance for a club rugby union game.[46] This record stood until 31 March 2012 when it was surpassed by anEnglish Premiership game betweenHarlequins andSaracens atWembley Stadium which hosted a crowd of 83,761.[47] This was beaten again in 2016 in theTop 14 final at theNou Camp which hosted a crowd of 99,124
A walkway,[48] known under a sponsorship deal asKellogg's Skyline Tour Croke Park, opened on 1 June 2012.[49] From 44 metres above the ground, it offers views of Dublin city and the surrounding area.[50][51] TheOlympic Torch was brought to the stadium and along the walkway on 6 June 2012.
On 11 February 2013, the GAA opened the Hall of Fame section in the Croke Park Museum. The foundation of the award scheme is the Teams of the Millenniumthe football team which was announced in 1999 andthe hurling team in 2000 and all 30 players were inducted into the hall of fame along withLimerick hurlerÉamonn Cregan andOffaly footballerTony McTague who were chosen by a GAA sub-committee from the years 1970–74.[52]New inductees will be chosen on an annual basis from the succeeding five-year intervals as well as from the years preceding 1970.[53]In April 2014, Kerry legend Mick O'Dwyer, Sligo footballer Micheál Kerins, along with hurlers Noel Skehan of Kilkenny and Pat McGrath of Waterford became the second group of former players to receive Hall of Fame awards.[54]
The new National Handball Centre, located at the southeast corner of the stadium on Sackville Avenue,[55] is close to completion,[56] with the final minor stages of building delayed slightly due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The new centre contains three 4-Wallhandball courts – including a three-sided glass wall show court with amphitheatre style seating for a capacity of 500 spectators, a Softball show court with seating capacity for 200 spectators and three1-Wall courts[57] as well as offices for GAA Handball staff, a bar and cafe as well as a community centre.[55] The centre was used by Ireland's national health service, theHealth Service Executive forCOVID-19 testing during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[58]
While the centre's official opening was delayed due to both the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the final completion of remaining building works, the centre had a 'soft' opening in December 2021, allowing registered players to book the courts through Croke Park.[59] The first competitiveOne-wall handball match took place in the centre in December 2022 during theEuropean 1-Wall Tour "EliteStop" held in the Centre on Saturday and Sunday, 10–11 December 2022.[60] The first competitive Four-wall handball matches to be played in the new Centre took place on Sunday, 2 April 2023 from 10 am with theGAA HandballO'Neills-sponsored All-Ireland 4-Wall Senior Doubles semi-finals taking place in both Men's and Ladies codes.[61]
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| Geographic | |
