merrion street

Over a century ago Cork Lord Mayor Augustine Roche opened the newly constructed Cork Athletic Grounds on this site. It was a momentous occasion and so many spectators turned up there weren’t enough turnstiles for them all. GAA history tells us that they climbed over fences and barriers in an attempt to get to see the All-Ireland Finals that day. The hurling match was between Dungourney and London and the football between Bray Emmets and London Irish also. It proved to be a memorable day although both London teams were roundly beaten.
Thankfully, though we have an excellent crowd today, I trust no fans of either hurling or football needed to engage in acrobatic activity in order to get to their seats. But it is once again a momentous occasion, an historic day, not just for Cork, but for the whole country. As Minister for Sport I am honoured to be able to share this experience with you all.
The ground on which the teams will play today is steeped in local and national history. The first aeroplane to take off from Cork left here in 1912, in 1914 the British Army used the grounds to stable their horses and during the War of Independence machine gunners tried to prevent the Munster Hurling Championship from being held by firing from those same turnstiles.
In 1976 we saw the official opening of the newly named Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Padraig O Caoimh, though born in Roscommon, moved to Cork at an early age, played his part in the War of Independence and became a seminal figure in the formation of the GAA as we know it today. It is absolutely fitting that this stadium bears his name.
I am delighted to say that the Government has provided €30million towards the redevelopment we are celebrating today.
The sport sector is recognised as having positive social, cultural and health benefits for individuals and broader society. From a Government perspective we want to maximise the numbers participating in sport and it is critical that we get as many young people involved as possible.
In this regard, I have no doubt that watching their heroes playing in iconic venues like this stadium inspires many young people to play football or hurling with their local clubs. There are many fans here today hoping to some day play in a county final or wear the Cork jersey in a Munster final in front of 45,000 fans!
While my Department is delighted to provide such a significant contribution to this stadium, our main involvement in the provision of sporting facilities is through the Sports Capital Programme which many of you will be familiar with.
The programme has transformed the sporting landscape of Ireland with improvements in the quality and quantity of sporting facilities in virtually every village, town and city in the country.
A new round of the programme was launched earlier this year and the number of applications was the highest ever received. While it was originally envisaged that €30 million would be available to allocate, following the conclusion of the budget discussions, both Minister Brendan Griffin and I were very pleased to have secured significant additional resources for this round of the programme. In fact we have doubled the allocation to €60 million. This will allow many more worthwhile projects, including many GAA developments here in Cork and nationwide, to proceed. We will be announcing full details of the allocations in the coming weeks.
While today is very much a celebration for the GAA, I hope you will forgive me if I speak about rugby for a moment! As you are probably aware, Páirc Ui Chaoimh has been included on our long list of stadia in the bid for the Rugby World Cup. Ireland has put in a comprehensive, strong and competitive bid which has the full support of Government and other political parties. The entire population of the Island supports this bid and would make it a tournament like no other, full of Irish spirit. World Rugby will announce their decision on the successful bidder on 15th November. The competition is tight but I am hopeful that we will see this wonderful stadium host matches in the Rugby World Cup in 2023.
While I have mentioned the sporting importance of the facility, I should also reference the significant economic opportunity for the city. I know many non-sporting events are planned for the venue including some high profile concerts next year. These events will bring a significant boost to enterprises throughout the city and its environs.
To conclude, I would like to congratulate everybody involved in the project; the Cork County Board, the Munster Council, GAA Central Council and the Stadium Committee. Your vision has delivered a real centre of excellence that everybody can be very proud of. I wish you continued success for the future. For now, I know we have already enjoyed an excellent football final and I would like to wish both teams in the hurling final the very best of luck! Following those first finals of 1904 Lord Mayor Roche hosted a dinner where toasts were drunk to ‘The Gaelic Athletic Association’ and ‘The Competing Teams’, I trust there will be similar toasts made this evening.