Cooney defends installation of Hill 16 barriers

PRESIDENT Christy Cooney insists the GAA had no option but to erect barriers on Hill 16 in Croke Park for the forthcoming All-Ireland finals and that the stadium was unable to cope with the volume of supporters leaving from the pitch.

“The call to re-install barriers to a height of 2.8m was a last resort for us and if there was an alternative to it, it would have been opted for. There wasn’t. This was not a decision that was taken lightly but Coiste Bainistí and Ard Chomhairle both fully recognised the seriousness of the situation we find ourselves in when presentations were made to them last weekend. We can never afford to treat the all-important issue of the health and safety of our players, supporters and officials lightly and it’s from that stance that we are coming from making the decision.

“There are one or two observations in relation to the practice of pitch invasions that are worth making. Firstly, we should never have the numbers on the field that have flooded onto it in recent times to witness presentations.