Sir, - I listened with some interest to the recent outcry following An Bord Pleanala's ruling that the Hill 16 section of Croke Park should be upgraded from standing to seating standard.
It is not surprising to note that the majority of complaints emanate from the Dublin area, given that since the introduction of segregation into Croke Park, following the success of the Dubs in the mid 1970s, Hill 16 has become the exclusive domain of the Dublin supporters. Since then, on a big match day with Dublin involved, a supporter from a rival county would be about as welcome on Hill 16 as Gerry Adams at the DUP Party Conference. This was obvious during the recent Church and General National League semi-final when Armagh supporters were unable to gain access to the Hill and therefore had no standing accommodation as the Canal End was closed for redevelopment.
It would seem that the only justification for retaining Hill 16 as a standing area was to continue to provide an exclusive area for the Dubs. The GAA appears to have been eager to achieve this, even though it was clear from the outset that it would have an adverse impact on the aesthetics of the finished stadium, as can be seen from the photos of the model.
Given that An Bord Pleanala has now ruled that Hill 16 must be seated, I sincerely hope that the GAA and its designers will go back to the drawing-board and redesign this end of the ground to the same three-tier model as the rest of the stadium thereby creating an international class stadium which offers the same level of facilities to all supporters. - Yours, etc.,
Jerome Burns, Forkhill, Co Armagh.