Nostalgia: Repairing, renovating, and renaming Cork’s stadium

WHITE smoke on the renaming of Páirc Uí Chaoimh last week was described as “a welcome outcome of the negotiations”.

Supervalu has signed a 10-year partnership with Cork GAA with the stadium renamed Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh for the duration of the partnership.

The naming rights had proved a controversial issue for the Cork County Board since it was suggested that the name of the man after whom the stadium is named would be dropped.

However, the ultimate naming decision to preserve historical ties was welcomed by those who had opposed losing the link to the Ó Caoimh family, including Pádraig Ó Caoimh’s grandson Dónal Ó Caoimh.

Speaking following the announcement he said that “common sense” had prevailed.

“This compromise helps promote the financial stability of the games as well as protect our heritage and the values of the GAA: inclusiveness, community spirit, and sense of identity and place.

“Values that my grandfather Pádraig Ó Caoimh embodied,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Lord Mayor of Cork Kieran McCarthy told The Echo that the decision was “a welcome outcome of the negotiations”.

Given the news on the naming rights, this week’s Nostalgia takes a brief look at the history of the iconic stadium.

The first stadium at the site was opened in 1904 as the Cork Athletic Grounds.

It was commandeered by the British military for stabling horses as the First World War got underway in 1914.

According to Cork GAA, there was some damage to the grounds which was later repaired, and it was handed back in 1915 following an amicable settlement.

Usage of the stadium for GAA was again interrupted during the War of Independence and games were not played again at the Athletic Grounds until after the truce.

A major milestone in the history of the stadium occurred on June 6, 1976 — a day which marked the culmination of many years of effort with the official opening of Páirc Uí Chaoimh on the site of the old Athletic Grounds.

An article in the then titled Evening Echo the following day captured the sense of pageantry and excitement at the opening.

“The new super stadium, the first purpose-built arena of its kind in Ireland, was launched in a four-hour extravaganza of song, music, ceremonies and games,” it said.

The new stadium named after Pádraig Ó Caoimh, who Cork GAA says is “recognised as the architect of the modern GAA”, was officially opened by the association’s then president Con Murphy who had been at the forefront of the planning, negotiation, and fundraising leading up to the construction of the new stadium.

At the event, veterans of the Irish Volunteers Jerry Canty and Paddy Canton lead a parade of former Cork hurling captains to the open air platform.

“The two old IRA men were singled out for the honour as former colleagues of Pádraig Ó Caoimh.

“They were imprisoned with him in Parkhurst and they acted as ceremonial guards at the funeral of Terence MacSwiney,” the Evening Echo article stated.

Two games were played to mark the occasion that evening; Cork defeated Kilkenny in hurling and lost to Kerry in football.

At the time, there were some minor rumblings from the critics as to why stadium was named Páirc Uí Chaoimh instead of Páirc Ó Chaoimh.

“There is only the tiniest grammatical distinction between Páirc Ó Chaoimh and Páirc Uí Chaoimh,” one Evening Echo article explained.

“It’s simply a matter of whether (in English) one wants to think of it as ‘Paddy O’Keefe Park’ or ‘Paddy O’Keeffe’s Park’.

“It’s largely a matter of personal choice… but many Irish speakers may still prefer the other form and that is their right.”

In recent years, the stadium underwent an extensive two-year renovation commencing in 2015 before reopening its doors in 2017.