FG move for involvement in Croke Park debate denied
Fine Gael council members Cormac Hurley and Liam Galvin tabled a notice of motion that the council writes to the Limerick County Board of the GAA urging them to support a move at the organisation’s upcoming annual congress to allow rugby and soccer to be played at Croke Park.
Council chairman Eddie Wade, a senior GAA figure, said he favoured opening up Croke Park to soccer and rugby, but getting politicians involved was not the way to go about it.
At a previous council meeting there were noisy scenes when Cllr Wade, FF, terminated the meeting before the Fine Gael motion was reached.
Cllr Wade, who served for many years as a senior GAA county board officer, said he had to bring that meeting to a conclusion in order to honour a group of Young Scientist of the Year winners who were waiting in the public gallery to be received by the council.
After the meeting a number of Fine Gael members accused Cllr Wade of blocking the motion because he opposed the opening up of Croke Park to soccer and rugby.
Cllr Wade rejected these claims and agreed to call a special meeting yesterday to allow the matter to be dealt with.
On a vote, the motion was defeated with Fianna Fáil and PD members voting against, and Fine Gael supporting the motion.
After the meeting, Cllr Wade said he favoured allowing rugby and soccer internationals in Croke Park while the new Lansdowne Road stadium was being built so that home international games will not have to be transferred to Cardiff.
Cllr Wade said: “But I don’t believe this is something the county council should be getting involved in. It is bringing politics into sport.”
He said he would prefer to see top officials in the GAA, IRFU and the FAI sit down and discuss the whole issue of sharing facilities.
