- Address: Jones’ Road, Dublin
- Country: Ireland
- Capacity: 82,000
- Opened: 1884
- Main use: Gaelic football, hurling
- Tenants: Dublin GAA (Gaelic football)
Extra stadium info – Croke Park
The construction of the venue, which is nicknamed Croker, started in 1880. It became the largest stadium by capacity in Ireland. The stadium, which is named in honour of Archbishop Thomas Croke, became one of the largest stadiums by capacity in Europe. It hosted American football matches, concerts, football matches, Gaelic football matches, hurling matches and rugby union matches with attendances above 50,000.
Bloody Sunday
During the Irish War of Independence in 1920, the venue named Croke Park was the scene of a massacre by the Royal Irish Constabulary. The day became known as Bloody Sunday. Several spectators and the former Gaelic football player Michael Hogan were killed at the venue named Croke Park on Bloody Sunday. A century later, a statue of Michael Hogan was unveiled in Tipperary.
The stadium in the second half of the 20th century
The stadium’s record attendance was set in 1961, when 90,000 spectators showed up for a Gaelic football game. In 1985, the venue hosted its first rock concert of U2, the first Irish band with 10 million followers on its main social media page. The second concert of the world famous Irish rock band at the stadium named Croke Park took place in 1987.
The national football team of Ireland
The stadium hosted its first football match in 2007, when the national football team of Ireland defeated Wales 1-0 in front of 72,000 fans. In 1990, the national football team of Ireland played their first-ever FIFA World Cup game. The match between England and Ireland ended in a 1-1 draw. 35,000 spectators showed up for the game in the Italian Republic, commonly known as Italy. The national football team of Ireland also faced Egypt and the Netherlands in the group stage of the world championship. They reached the quarter-finals of the prestigious FIFA World Cup in their first-ever FIFA World Cup participation after beating Romania. Ireland defeated Romania in a penalty shoot-out.
