Croke Park is used for Gaelic Games and is located in Dublin, Ireland. It is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as the Principal National Stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Let’s talk about 10 facts about this Irish Stadium.

Construction

Its construction was started in 1880 and was completed 4 years later in 1884. In 2004, it was further renovated and thus cost around €260 Million. Its field size is 145m x 88m.

3rd biggest stadium

It is the 3rd largest stadium in Europe with a capacity of 82,300 – only behind Camp Nou (99,786) and Wembley (90,000).

Record attendance

In 1961, the stadium has the largest attendance in its history – a total of 90,556 spectators watched the All-Ireland Football Final. 

Bloody Sunday

A black part of the history related to Croke Park is the incident known as “Bloody Sunday” when British officers opened fires at the crown during a football match, killing the spies of Michael Collins who earlier had killed 14 British spies that morning. 

Other events

Apart from GAA games, Croke park also has hosted events like music concerts and the Special Olympics opening and closing ceremonies. 

GAA became the new owner

In 1993, GAA became the official owner of Jones Roads Sports stadium. They purchased this property for $4633 from Mr. Franky Dineen. This sports ground was then renamed Croke Park after Archi-bishop Thomas Croke. 

Six Nations Games

In 2006, GAA reached an agreement with the Football Association of Ireland and Irish Rugby Football Union to host the Six Nations games and football internationals in Croke Park. 

A praying place for Muslims

Croke Park also has served as a praying place for the Muslims when the 200 Muslims prayed the Eid-ul-Azha prayers in this park. 

First aired game

The first GAA Gaelic Football match that was aired in Croke’s Stadium was on St. Patricks Day in 1962. 

The famous Hill 16

In 1917, there was rubble that was rising and it was used to construct a grassy hill which was then used for the seating of the spectators, this terrace is known as Hill 16.