During yesterday's Oireachtas committee on the Garth Brooks fiasco, a frustrated Paraic Duffy told TD's that the IRFU had sought to use Croke Park to hold seven matches as part of the 2023 Rugby World Cup bid.
Duffy disclosed this information to ask whether Dublin City Council will put up any roadblocks in that case.
The second reason offered (by the DCC) for the refusal of the licence for five concerts was that the Garth Brooks and the One Direction concerts together would have for DCC represented an over-intensification of use for Croke Park. It seems to us that this is an argument employed rather selectively.
I have to point out that we did not hear anything about over-intensification of the use of Croke Park during the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road when Croke Park was needed to host soccer and rugby internationals, which were of course in addition to Croke Park’s own schedule of match days and concerts. And we know that should the IRFU’s application to host either the 2023 or 2027 Rugby World Cup in Ireland be successful, Croke Park will be required for a total of seven matches again, in addition to Croke Park’s own match days plus its quota of concerts.
Is there anyone here who seriously imagines that an argument about over-intensification of use of Croke Park be allowed to interfere with these seven Rugby World Cup matches in Croke Park? I think not.
[Irish Examiner]
