Micheál Martin 'deeply disappointed and annoyed' at Páirc Uí Chaoimh rebranding plans

The County Board proposals will be discussed at a meeting on Tuesday night. 

FIELD OF DREAMS: Conor Lehane of Cork scores a point for his side during the Teddy McCarthy Hurling Tribute Game against Galway. Picture: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Tanáiste Michéal Martin said he is "deeply disappointed and annoyed" at plans to rename Páirc Uí Chaoimh as Supervalu Park. 

The SuperValu rebranding is part of a multi-layered naming rights deal for Páirc Uí Chaoimh, worth between €250,000 and €300,000 a year to Cork GAA over an initial three-year period.

Three other companies — Boston Scientific, Statkraft and PepsiCo — will also have subsidiary stadium branding privileges as part of the package.

The deal, first reported by the Irish Examiner on Monday, will be put to county board delegates for ratification at Tuesday night’s board meeting. It’s a county board meeting that will take place behind closed doors after the executive’s recent decision to ban media from attending the monthly county board meeting.

Padraig Ó Caoimh — the man whom the stadium is named after — is a founding member of the Nemo Rangers GAA club.

The Tanáiste — who has a long connection with the southside Cork City club — has added to chorus of disapproval for the county board plans.

Micheál Martin.

"Deeply disappointed & annoyed at the proposal to change the name of Páirc Uí Chaoimh," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Pádraig Uí Chaoimh was a key figure in the formation of the GAA at club and national level. Govt allocated €30m towards the development of the stadium and never sought naming rights."

Earlier, Nemo Rangers vice-chairman and Fianna Fáil councillor Seán Martin — brother of Michéal — accused Cork GAA of sacrificing the county’s “tradition, heritage, and history” for a commercial deal that will make little inroads into the Páirc Uí Chaoimh debt.

Cllr Martin, who served as Nemo chair in recent years and now holds the role of vice-chair, said there is disappointment within the club at the proposal to remove the name of a historical figure who helped build the GAA on Leeside.

“You are sacrificing our tradition, our heritage, and our history,” he said.

“We need to hang onto our historical figures who built the organisation. He's definitely one key person in building the organisation, both locally and nationally.

“In this modern world, we often have change for the sake of change. There are some things you hang onto, this is one of them.

“Within Nemo, there is strong respect for history and tradition and what he gave us. There is disappointment at this decision.

“There is a need for us not to forget where we came from and why there was a need for GAA. This goes against that.” 

The total naming rights package is understood to be worth in the region of €1m up to 2026. Páirc Uí Chaoimh debt currently stands just north of €30m, with Cllr Martin remarking that the county board executive has given up the name of the stadium for a figure that will put only a tiny dent in the millions of euro they owe.

“There is an issue there with the Páirc Uí Chaoimh debt. This deal is not going to destroy the debt or put a big hole in the debt. I suspect it will help towards Cork's expenses for the year.

“The €30m debt is a bigger issue altogether. They need to come with a proper program of investment and how they are going to get the money to pay off the debt going forward.

“Changing the name for three years to SuperValu, and no disrespect to SuperValu because they are excellent sponsors of the GAA locally in Douglas and ourselves in Nemo, but there needs to be a bigger business plan in place.

“Are we going to change the name of Croke Park? Where does it stop? Changing the name of Musgrave Park didn't work. And I don’t think people will call Páirc Uí Chaoimh anything other than Páirc Uí Chaoimh either.”

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