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Hill 16 – officially calledDineen Hill 16 and sometimes referred to asThe Hill – is aterrace at the Railway End ofCroke Park, the principal stadium and headquarters of theGaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is located on theNorthside of the Irish capital city,Dublin.
When Croke Park was first used forGaelic games, the Railway End of the park was little more than a mound of earth. Its name was originally "Hill 60". That name came from ahill of the same name in Gallipoli on which theConnaught Rangers suffered heavy casualties in late August 1915. Contrary to common belief, theRoyal Dublin Fusiliers did not participate in theBattle of Hill 60, although the latter regiment did lose heavily during the wider Gallipoli campaign (including at 'V' Beach,Cape Helles, the previous April).
"Hill 60" was used as a name throughout the 1920s and 1930s, until senior GAA figures decided it would be inappropriate to have a section of Croke Park named after a battle involving an Irish unit of the British Army. So "Hill 60" became Hill 16, a name that would link it instead to1916, and the story emerged that it had been built from the ruins of Dublin's main thoroughfareO'Connell Street.
The Hill traditionally lags behind the rest of the stadium when it comes to comfort. It was only in 1936, when the Cusack Stand was redeveloped, that theturf and mud of Hill 16 was replaced with concrete terracing.[citation needed]
After the1983 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final betweenDublin andGalway, when overcrowding on Hill 16 caused a few supporters to suffer injuries, the GAA decided to rebuild the Hill.[1] That work was completed in 1988, allowing a capacity of 10,000 spectators.
In the mid-1990s, the GAA came up with a masterplan to rebuild the whole stadium. It was envisaged that Hill 16 would be replaced with an all-seater stand; however, this idea met with opposition from supporters of Dublin. Dublin fans have adopted Hill 16 as a spiritual home over the years. On matchdays the hill is often a sea of blue and navy and has been said to be intimidating to opposition players. Plans were also hindered by the presence of the nearby railway line and the fact that the GAA does not own any of the land behind Croke Park. The plans were redrawn and a new – terraced – area built at a cost of €25 million to replace the old Nally Stand – named afterPat Nally – and Hill 16. The new Railway End, which includes Hill 16 and the Nally terrace, is capable of holding more than 13,000 spectators.
In 2006, the Hill was renamedDineen Hill 16 in honour of Frank Dineen,[2] who purchased the grounds for the GAA in 1908.[3]
From 2007–2009, Croke Park temporarily hostedassociation football andrugby union matches while the bodies overseeing these sports redeveloped their own stadium on theSouthside of the city. This was agreed with the GAA so as to prevent Irish national teams having to play their games in England. For most of the international association football matches, temporary seating was added to comply with the rules of that sport's governing body. At every association football game at the stadium, seats were either added to the Hill or it remained closed (despiteUEFA regulations allowing terraces to be used for friendly games). Since the redevelopment of theIRFU-owned stadium atLansdowne Road, the usage of the stadium for association football and rugby union matches ceased for a number of years. However, in 2024,Leinster Rugby will play home matches at the ground due to regenerative works on theRDS Arena.
53°21′41″N6°15′01″W / 53.36146°N 6.250288°W /53.36146; -6.250288