P·irc UÌ Squeeze



Pairc Ui Squeeze
Finbarr Barry

Call us the devil's advocate here but the instant reaction of those in charge at the Pairc on Sunday afternoon to blame the crush on fans for their late entry sounds quite strange.

There's only one way to get to a match in the Pairc and that's to drive as close to the venue as you can and walk. At half eleven on Sunday morning narrow roads like St. Patrick's Road in Turner's Cross and as far back as Deerpark (almost to the lights on Pouladuff Road) were full of cars. For most Cork City games at the cross even this residential area escapes the hoards.

Could fat langers be responsible for Sunday's squeeze? Dont rule any excuse out when its the Cork County Board!

At an absolute minimum that's a two mile walk to the city end terrace. Think what the parking situation was like even a full hour before throw-in!

If the Pairc was accessible by light rail link, something like the DART and Lansdowne Road for example, or if there were giant car parks like at baseball stadia in the States then fans would have little excuse for their tardiness (not that being on time is part of the terms and conditions on GAA ticket stubs) other than plain laziness. But this is not so.

Even in Thurles local GAA fields are transformed into mass "park 'n' walks" but are no more than a fifteen minute stroll to venue itself. Besides a little car park at the city end of the Marina there's little choice for the motoring majority other than hoping to squeeze into a sliver of tar somewhere within three miles of the pitch without blocking somebody's driveway.

No reasonable fan gets in a tizzy over this - Pairc Ui "Squeeze" was built* in a highly developed suburb close to the city centre and we have to take the good with the bad - but how bad is bad?

As well as being superbly dedicated to their team, Cork hurling fans rarely complain about arrangements for matches (probably because they know they'll get nowhere anyway). If it's Thurles on a rainy Sunday you've got to leave the People's Republic early - preferably six hours before throw-in despite the journey being no more than 80 minutes on a weekday. We know all how long it takes to get to a GAA match.

We don't expect the GAA to provide motorways, super sized park 'n' ride facilities or light rail but when fans appear to be blamed for Sunday's squash it touched yet another raw nerve with the dedicated army of fans that came out (and paid out) to support the Rebels.

Without forcing bad memories of leaving cert maths on our readers, the stadium was always going to be very close to capacity for such a high profile game like this. The GAA were quick to point out that there were 22,000 people inside the stadium with 45 minutes to throw-in. Sounds normal enough to anyone who frequents stadiums of any code.

It doesn't seem like one would need a degree in rocket science to come up with a plan to facilitate the arrival of another 23,000 fans before the match started. Are these things not discussed as possibilities well in advance among those who are responsible for crowd safety?

If the situation was becoming dangerous to the point that the Gardai had to order the gates to the field to be opened should the turnstiles have been frozen for a few minutes to allow fans inside to disperse into the upper echelons of the terrace thus making more room down lower?

Fans outside the stadium were highly unlikely to turn into the GAA equivalent of rioting French fishermen and break into a full scale riot - especially if they realised that children might be crushed. We're all old enough to know about Hillsborough.

Even the Pairc's seating is uncomfortable for anyone with a 30 inch leg.

We have to salute the lawmen on the ground, who decided to let fans on to the pitch. They could only deal with the situation they saw in front of them and their quick actions were admired by Cork fans. Thankfully, nobody was hurt - beyond the unforgettable psychological impact of having one's nose far too close to the festering arm-pit of a giant GAA man from Aghabullogue who hasn't washed since the Double in 1990.

Despite the result, the monstrous attendance showed that Cork fans have not lost any faith in their hurlers despite the tumultuous winter. The presence of so many Cork fans so close to the goal must have concerned the Cork players and was no doubt an unwelcome distraction to what was always going to be a tough day out.

After the game Munster Council chairman Jim O'Gorman said that "we are endeavouring to promote our games every way we can, and Munster Council has to fit in with the timing of other games in the rest of the provinces".

While we understand that the GAA needs the bling it gets from its media partner RTE, surely the safety and comfort of fans should be the utmost priority? Was there no chance that RTE could get their panellists to talk for another ten or fifteen minutes while stewards helped fans on the pitch to find space in the Blackrock End or elsewhere in the stadium? Surely they'd relish the opportunity to stick on another batch of commercials?

Furthermore, suppose Paudie O'Sullivan's penalty had spun wide and hit a child's head? Did that thought deter the Cloyne lad from shooting for one of the corners?

Tagging fans with responsibility for the crush before any proper inquiries have been completed sounds farcical at best - if Cork fans were seriously hurt would the Munster Council or County Board seriously suggest that liability would have sat with those who arrived late?

Would we see fans that arrived late being led in handcuffs to court to plead that they couldn't find their car keys, got stuck in traffic or that midday mass dragged on a bit late?

Once again Cork fans deserve more than what they have got. After all our talk last week maybe we should make Thurles the official home of hurling until such time as fans feel safe packing out the Pairc.

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* we respect the right of faithful Cork Creationists who believe that God himself built Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

 
 
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