Seriously, don't go to Ireland at Eastertime unless you love crowds and closed shops. We've had fun here so far, but four of our first six days have been affected by these issues. Of course, we came here to help remember and celebrate the Easter Rising, and that we have done. Easter Tuesday saw a huge football "friendly" at nearby Aviva Stadium and big crowds on all public transport. But Easter Wednesday? Younger school children are apparently out this whole week in force. And we had decided to go see the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) Museum at Croke Park, an older and larger stadium than Aviva. Mistake? Read on....
Train at Connelly Station
We took the DART from Sandymount to Connelly Station and then "mounted shank's mare" (set out walking) to Croke Park, about a mile away. Directed to look for something called Five Lamps on Amiens St., we ambled down the street. We must have looked confused because the typical Irish intervention happened: "Whatch lookin' for, love?" Learning our destination, our travel angel said, "Oh, Five Lamps is it? Did you know the Nazis bombed that spot in WWII?" (It turns out this is a true story. Check it out online.)
The next leg of our route took us into Drumcondra, the area of Dublin where Kate's grandmother lived for a while, apparently until 1914 when her mother yanked her across the sea to the hinterlands of Canada.
Soon we found Croke Park...and discovered that we were on the exact opposite from where we wanted to be. A mile further on we found the GAA Museum entrance...and were nearly turned away as we were childless (Kate threatened to "borrow" some family's kid just long enough to get past the gate gargoyle). Happily we found a less extreme solution by paying for the 3:00 tour.
Croke Park is the third largest stadium in Europe, holding 82,000 people. And it fills for the annual All-Ireland Gaelic Football and Hurling matches. The huge natural grass pitch (145 x 90 meters) can easily hold two football (American: soccer) fields. Three full-time and ten part-time groundskeepers maintain the pitch, which is mowed daily in summer using hand-powered push mowers (3 keepers x 4 hours each.) When weather prevents sufficient sunlight, the grass gets additional light from huge rolling sunlamps. Forty-five pipes run underneath the pitch to carry hot water to prevent the grass from freezing and to drain off rainwater.
Croke Park pitch and the old concrete Hill 16 Stands, named in honor of the Easter Rising
It may seem odd that the GAA, which is based at Croke Park was entwined with the Easter Rising. The rebel leaders had recognized years before 1916 that traditional Irish sports would help to rekindle an Irish identity in the population. Established in 1884, the GAA attracted many young men and women to both sports and Irish nationalism. Many GAA members joined the IRB and fought in the Rising and the later War of Independence. The organization later helped build reconciliation between athletes and others on both sides of the later Irish Civil War.
In 1920, enraged British soldiers entered the stadium during a practice match and, firing at the players and into the stands, killed 13 onlookers and Michael Hogan, captain of the Tipperary GAA team. In a memorial to the 1916 Rising, one section of stadium stands is called Hill 16. Another section of stands bears Hogan's name.
In 1920, enraged British soldiers entered the stadium during a practice match and, firing at the players and into the stands, killed 13 onlookers and Michael Hogan, captain of the Tipperary GAA team. In a memorial to the 1916 Rising, one section of stadium stands is called Hill 16. Another section of stands bears Hogan's name.
GAA symbol
We left Páirc an Chrócaigh heading east and two blocks later we stood in front of 253 Clonliffe Road, the small brick townhouse where Kate's grandmother lived until ~1914. Drumcondra, it turns out, was a hotbed of radical activity in the years leading up to 1916.
Tomorrow's goals are to visit Arbour Hill and the GPO. Goodnight all!
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