A study in dreams versus reality, for which we won't need that diagram from Fr Ted.
Here's a flythrough of Casement Park in Belfast, published last July...
....and here it is as it currently looks.
How many children will miss out playing @CasementPark ?
We deserve a county ground. #gaa
It would be nice to sort out and move forward.#LeftBehind pic.twitter.com/RaNrrSpHnW— Antrim GAA (@AontroimGAA) August 21, 2018
The redevelopment of Belfast's main GAA ground has become a saga in recent years, which has left it unkept to the point of shooting location for The Walking Dead.
It was closed for redevelopment in 2013, and planning permission was passed in early 2014. That was overturned after a legal challenge, however, and a revised application wasn't submitted until February 2017. The revised application was a dilution of initial plans, cutting capacity and reducing the height of the stadium by 40 feet, but it still faces trouble as residents are objecting to a stadium with a capacity greater than 25,000.
On top of all of this, it has hit some funding problems, as the fact that Stormont is still without an executive means it has become difficult to secure the additional public money necessary for the redevelopment.
As the existing ground lies derelict, the GAA announced earlier this year that they will pump a million pounds over each of the next five years in order to rejuvenate Gaelic games in Belfast. It's an admirable plan by the GAA, but critical to it all is the redevelopment of Casement Park.
