GAA need to re-build trust with local communities - Costello

18 February 2014

by Cllr Joe Costello

Speaking after meeting between public representatives, the GAA, and Aiken Promotions, in Croke Park today, Minister Joe Costello stated:

"There is a huge job of work to be done by the GAA to restore trust with the local community. The toxic relationship that has built up over many years is now at fever pitch with the announcement of eight concerts in the summer of this year in Croke Park, despite prior agreement that there should be no more than three concerts in any given year. The sale of 400,000 tickets for five Garth Brooks concerts on consecutive nights without consulting either the residents or the local public representatives has left people very angry. Moreover, no application has yet been submitted to the local authority for an event licence.

“At the meeting the GAA president, Pauric Duffy, stated that the GAA was prepared to negotiate a comprehensive long-term written agreement with the residents, and that a standing committee would be established to oversee its implementation. I stated that there were previous written agreements that had been broken by the GAA and that now, in the middle of a crisis, was not the time to seek to negotiate another.

“I suggested that the GAA should first try to rebuild trust with the Croke Park local communities, that they should open their doors and invite all local residents both individually and in representative capacity into Croke Park to hear details of their proposals for an event licence, and details of their proposals for building a long-term relationship with the residents based on trust.”