GAA clubs can now purchase Croke Park turf for their pitches - at a cost of €2,000 per goalmouth

Croke Park hybrid turf farm harvest at Naul in North Co Dublin will take place on October 17-18, GAA confirms

Clubs around the country can purchase the carpet-like grass we enjoy on All-Ireland Final day. 

Croke Park has made hybrid turf from their dedicated farm in north Co Dublin available to purchase for GAA clubs across the country. But it will cost around €2,000 to replace the sod on each goalmouth, officials say.

Clubs looking to lay some of the treasured Croke Park sod on their own pitches can purchase the hybrid turf once the GAA harvests the land bank at Naul on October 17-18.

GAA officials said Tuesday the turf can be a long term solution for clubs with up to 10 years of usage. The turf is also 100% recyclable.

Explained a Croke Park statement: "It's advisable that a club lays the turf within 24 hours of harvest and clubs will need to provide transport to collect the turf. On top of this 'each roll will be roughly 9m2 and will weigh in the region of 3-4 ton. 

"If a club is replacing one goal mouth, you will need four rolls, measuring 1.25m x 7m, as the width of the goal is 6.5m so you can cut the ends to size. The depth of the rolls will be roughly 45mm. A typical-sized goal mouth would cost approximately €2,100 for any club that wishes to purchase.'

Croke Park Stadium director Peter McKenna explained: "We have a superb team of pitch specialists here, probably the best in Europe. So, the amount of prep-work they put into laying the pitch and making it right and then bringing it up to the same standard of Croke Park before the pitch was harvested was tremendous.

"We're one of the first to do this and I think that is a tremendous achievement in itself. We see that we can use this turf beyond just Croke Park - so we are going to provide goalmouths for Tipperary in Thurles for example. And I think the opportunity then to provide turf for other clubs across the country."