The GAA are hoping that the aftermath of Brexit will present an economic opportunity for its turf farm in north county Dublin. Purchased in 2018, the site of around 60 acres has provided grass surfaces for Croke Park, which are needed for pitch maintenance, especially in the aftermath of concerts.
Although its value has initially been in saving the on costs of importing stadium turf, complications in trade with Britain since its departure from the EU mean that potential logistical problems have been removed.
“You’re taking out the risk of transport,” according to stadium director Peter McKenna. “We had been anticipating a hard Brexit, which happened so we’ve eliminated the sort of difficulties that have been seen in the North recently. You also would have to pay a surcharge on agricultural produce.”
He is on the record as estimating that surcharge as adding potentially €100,000 to the cost of a concert.
Assuming the global health environment begins to improve, the possibility of commercially exploiting the facility will become a focus in the future and he sees the changed trading regime proving positive.
“Our status in the EU will give a competitive advantage when commercially up and running in relation to European business.”
In the meantime, the farm has proved its worth as a service facility for Croke Park.
“It’s there to active when things are active. Since we acquired it and it’s been ready to go, pitch maintenance for us has been its mainstay. It’s required work to set it up. We need our own water sources, as taking from the mains supply would cost a fortune and getting the surfaces to the right level and into a harvestable area has also been demanding.
“We’ve been able to take pitches in after concerts and another advantage has been the compatibility of the turf. Because it’s grown just up the road, the colour matches and the grass rooting is the same whereas before taking it in from the UK after a hotter spell means a slightly different colour and different root depth.”
It’s not that Croke Park has been entirely silent since last Christmas’s All-Ireland finals concluded. The stadium will also feature court sittings and a vaccination centre, as it awaits the return of matches but the good news is that playing surface is in “perfect condition,” according to McKenna.
“We did an extensive renovation in February. The weather has been benign and spring has kicked on nicely. Things are budding and we’ve had a gentle March. For many years March 17th, Patrick’s Day, would have been colder than Christmas Day.
“Once you get over seven degrees, things start happening.”
Return to play
News will emerge within the next week concerning the GAA’s potential return to play prospects, when the Government outlines its plans for any relaxation of Covid restrictions after Easter.
At least this year’s intercounty season if it proceeds according to plan, will be played during the summer months.
Last year the between football and hurling the calendar lasted two months, including the two weeks of the Allianz Football League. Championship ran for eight weeks, from October to December.
Some of the weather conditions were awful - hardly surprisingly at that time of the year but a cause of anxiety given the tightness of the scheduled programme with little or no spare time for replays.
The heaviest rotation came as ever, in Croke Park. Between Leinster - the entire provincial hurling championship was played there - and the All-Ireland series, 18 matches were played on 13 match days over the eight weeks of the winter championship between football, hurling and camogie.
That’s an average of one match in little more than every three days. By the concluding weekends in mid-December the pitch, normally considered bullet-proof was beginning to show the strain.
“The number of matches over a very short period of time came at a stage of the year when there was very little recovery,” says McKenna. “It wouldn’t have taken much more and had really come to the end of its life for the year by the time the All-Ireland finals had been played. There was very little left.
“We have a daily regime though and the pitch responded to rain a little bit better than pitches that don’t have activated drainage.
“There was a lot of rainfall last November so it was good husbandry by Croke Park and other pitches around the country. Everything that could be done to keep things going was done. We were helped that even if wet, the weather wasn’t too cold - no snow, for instance.”
The GAA is hoping to get the go-ahead from next week’s Government review of Covid restrictions for intercounty training to proceed. If that happens, fixtures will follow in early May so it will be the best part of two months at least before Croke Park is required for matches - but it will be more than ready.
