Croke Park Residents' Association

Wishbone Ash

This may be more suitable in the Ranting and Raving Forum but is anyone else sick and tired of this association and all the publicity they receive?

Why on earth would anyone buy a house beside a major national sports stadium and then complain about sporting fixtures and concerts? What next, those beside Connolly station complaining about the noise from trains, those living in Pig Lane complaining about the noise from buses, Green Street residents complaining about the noise from the Fruit market or those in Clontarf complaining about the continuous noise made by the waves.

There was a protester there today with a placard declaring that she hadn't slept for 44 hours. In the first place, if she hadn't slept for 44 hours, she wouldn't be able to protest. Secondly, has they never heard of ear plugs? Every pharmacy in the country sells them! Thousands upon thousands of us have to work at night when most others are asleep. How do they imagine we cope, (and especially during the past ten years when there was a building site at every corner).

One of their major complaints is that on match days, people are urinating, defacating and vomiting in their gardens. I've been going to Croke Park for over 25 years and I can say, hand on heart , that I have never seen anyone doing any of the above. The most I've seen is people discarding litter/bottles in gardens - not to be excused but no different than any other area of Dublin.

To add insult to injury, they seem to have no difficulty accepting complimentary tickets to various events in Croke Park undermining their credibility and, I'm open to correction, but didn't they get a financial compensation some years ago. In my opinion they get far too much publicity and I was particularly annoyed that the GAA apologised to them again, thereby giving them even more credibility and publicity. I think it's high time that they were ignored or told to f**k off with themselves!

Apologies for the rant but this shower seriously p*ss me off!

sdanseo

I can see where they're coming from, to be honest, but I still think they should shut up.

I don't agree with the statement about buying houses though, I'd imagine most residents there are older folks who have been there since the stadium was much smaller and quieter, though I of course stand to be corrected on that one.

alastair

I'm a local resident.

It's worth pointing out a couple of things:

1. Many people didn't buy their houses in the area - there's corpo housing and retirement communities right on the doorstep of croker - hard for those residents to demand alternatives at the time.

2. The nature of disruption in croker has changed considerably in the last few years. It's not just GAA fixtures and the odd gig. It's hosted GAA, Rugby, Soccer, and a much fuller calendar of gigs. Capacity has grown and stadium lights have been introduced. Disruption is far more intense, and frequent than in years gone by.

3. I can assure you that punters pissing in your garden happens on a regular basis - we don't have a front garden, but the front of the house serves as a handy urinal. This isn't just for gigs btw - it happens for match days too. Soccer fixtures tend to be worst, but the big GAA matches bring out the open-air pissers as well. No-one so far has taken a dump outside my gaff, but I've seen it happen others, albeit rarely. The local retirement housing is hit particularly badly, as it's a last lane before croker on Jone's road - they get all sorts of toilet activity.

4. Local residents do not get free tickets. For a number of years a small number of local community representatives did get tickets for some fixtures or gigs, but in very limited numbers. I never got a ticket for anything over the years. The status for the last couple of years is that there's a database of locals, and tickets are offered (on a face price basis - not free of charge) to limited numbers locals after a lottery draw.

5. Croker have had a particularly high-handed approach to legitimate concerns for years - they essentially fobbed off repeated concern over a variety of issues and just did what they pleased because they've more leverage that a few cheesed off locals. Things came to a head because of this attitude. I didn't support the protest strategy - but I'm not surprised by it. The locals' concerns are real enough, and should be treated with a bit better respect.

6. Croker made locals endure Celine Dion. Surely the debate ends there?

Riskymove

I can see the issue they have with the proposed 44-hour long works this week. if it was happeneing to any of us we'd be upset over that too

_blank_

Woah, wait a minute here Wish, you obviously don't live in the area affected.

My 96 Year Old Grandmother didn't "buy her house" beside a 80,000 seater stadium, she's lived on her street all her life.

Now, back in the 80s it wasn't too bad, we'd all be out in her garden the odd sunday of the summer watching the lads go up to Croker for the games, she literally lives in the shadow of Croke Park, and you could hear the roar from the ground as the game was ongoing.

Nowadays though, people have changed.

I don't know how many fúcking scumbags I've had to chase out of her garden for pissing, I don't know how many times I've had to clean the garden of absolute filth strewn around by drunken arseholes.

Do you know the stink that is caused by these animals pissing IN HER GARDEN?

As alastair said, the amount of gigs/matches/other activities in Croke Park has increased hugely over the last decade or so, as the greedy gah try to recoup the money they spent on the stadium.

I think the protesters are right.

spurious

+1 on the pissers.

On our street, they tend to do it up against where the door joins the frame, so just enough can get in and stink up whatever carpet/rug is inside.

The dog wouldn't do it.

I don't know if it's a mental or physical disability that means they aren't able to hold it in, but they do it all over the place. Unbelievable and in front of kids, so as to teach them the ways of the GAA supporter.

Instead of redeveloping they should have stuck it out the Naas Dual carriageway - keep them away from built-up areas.

gurramok

I don't think Wish understands that noise has a louder effect at night than during the daytime.
Ear plugs do not block out the big noise like moving metal around or some bloke using a drill or hammering going on a few doors down, it blocks out lesser forms of constant low level noise like traffic.

Believe me, i've tried using ear plugs when there was roadworks going on at 11pm at night(in bed at 10pm to be up at 5am) behind double glazing and an indoor wooden door between the front window and the bedroom, the effect is limited during the night. It works better during the day.

And, i wouldn't be confident that many of the old corpo houses in the area would have double glazing either.

those beside Connolly station complaining about the noise from trains, those living in Pig Lane complaining about the noise from buses, Green Street residents complaining about the noise from the Fruit market or those in Clontarf complaining about the continuous noise made by the waves

Trains don't run at 2am, 3am or 4am, neither do buses. Fruit market noise is not comparable as that Fruit market is mostly indoors and uses forklifts which are mostly low background noise that occasionally go outside to the trucks. The noise of waves can never be compared to metal noise, can't believe you said that!!

petethebrick

gurramok wrote: »

Trains don't run at 2am, 3am or 4am, neither do buses. Fruit market noise is not comparable as that Fruit market is mostly indoors and uses forklifts which are mostly low background noise that occasionally go outside to the trucks. The noise of waves can never be compared to metal noise, can't believe you said that!!

And what event exactly goes on in Croke Park at 2am, 3am or 4am?????????????

In my view, the problem is not the events, matches etc themselves. All of these are well regulated with regard to hour of day, noise level etc. The problem is that there needs to be a much greater police presence on these days and much heftier fines for public order offences.

stovelid

We are all sick of <insert event> and the behaviour of the attendees.

Translation: the free ticket lottery is a joke. We all want free tickets, dammit.

Victor

spurious wrote: »

On our street, they tend to do it up against where the door joins the frame, so just enough can get in and stink up whatever carpet/rug is inside.

I saw this on O'Connell Street on Saturday night - I'm not sure if he realised it was the garda fines office.

gurramok

petethebrick wrote: »

And what event exactly goes on in Croke Park at 2am, 3am or 4am?????????????

The noise, are you up to date on the current situation?

They were dismantling the stage throughout the night, thats the issue.

Zatman

The residents are 100% spot on to complain. A lot have lived their before Croker has become so big maybe 50+years and they put up with this every year.
We dont get complimentary tickets mate we get put into a raffle to buy tickets and its rare you even win them.
People do destroy the area on matchday not just by urinating but also taking car parking spots that isnt belong to them.
Also why should they have to busy earplugs in their own home.

Talk to some of them and then you will alise this article was pointless

phasers

Maybe you should have put this in R&R after all :pac:

I agree though, the whingeing these people do is ridiculous. The GAA doesn't tell people to piss on your doorsteps! Although I can understand why they were upset after the U2 gigs, it's not often that there is that scale of commotion through the night. And blocking the trucks was stupid, it made everything take longer which means they got less sleep.

alastair

phasers wrote: »

The GAA doesn't tell people to piss on your doorsteps!

No, but they do invite thousands of people in to the area, and there's enough of those people who do piss on people's doorsteps that it's incumbant on Croke Park to do something about it when they do.

If I had groups around to my gaff next to yours on, say a monthly basis, and they continually pissed on your porch, would you take the attitude that I didn't tell them to piss there, so I've no responsibility in the matter? I doubt it.

WindSock

I was reading in the Herald A.M today that a certain music promotion company that was not allowed to be named here up unto recent times but I shall remain nameless in this post has threatened 51 residents with legal action if they were to blockade the 54 trucks out of Croke park. Sorry, 54 trucks? At 4am? When they were told by the council there will be no work in the wee hours and blatantly lied to? Scumbags, the residents have every right to be pissed off. It looks like they stood down after being told via blackmail that they would ruin the Dublin match this weekend. Jeez, I'd say fk the bogballin Dublin match and reschedule if I were them.
As for the pissers, Croker should hire a dude with a power hose to clean up the mess after each mass gathering.

gurramok

54 trucks at 4am, thats one hell of a noise no-one could withstand with ear plugs. The GAA apologised today as they know well that their lucrative fixtures at the weekend would be disrupted.

The GAA had a tight schedule bewteen making millions from the U2 concerts and the forthcoming football fixtures. They tested the waters hoping that noise during the night will pass unheeded.

Its all about money and nothing to do with the welfare of the residents.

Walsh

Supposedly the people in the Lansdowne road area are treated far more better than the people in this area, F*ck the GAA.

gurramok

True Walsh. There was massive payments to residents in O'Connell Gardens, Sandymount for the disruption from the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road, and that is just for daytime noise! (as well as natural light issues)

LeperKing

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

In the first place, if she hadn't slept for 44 hours, she wouldn't be able to protest. Secondly, has they never heard of ear plugs? Every pharmacy in the country sells them! Thousands upon thousands of us have to work at night when most others are asleep. How do they imagine we cope, (and especially during the past ten years when there was a building site at every corner).

Usually people that work during the night get paid an agreed extra for the unusual hours. I'm not sure what the residents got for the croke park night time activities?

LK.

Draupnir

Des wrote: »

Woah, wait a minute here Wish, you obviously don't live in the area affected.

My 96 Year Old Grandmother didn't "buy her house" beside a 80,000 seater stadium, she's lived on her street all her life.

Now, back in the 80s it wasn't too bad, we'd all be out in her garden the odd sunday of the summer watching the lads go up to Croker for the games, she literally lives in the shadow of Croke Park, and you could hear the roar from the ground as the game was ongoing.

Nowadays though, people have changed.

I don't know how many fúcking scumbags I've had to chase out of her garden for pissing, I don't know how many times I've had to clean the garden of absolute filth strewn around by drunken arseholes.

Do you know the stink that is caused by these animals pissing IN HER GARDEN?

As alastair said, the amount of gigs/matches/other activities in Croke Park has increased hugely over the last decade or so, as the greedy gah try to recoup the money they spent on the stadium.

I think the protesters are right.

My Granny lives around the corner from Des' granny, so rather than type I'll just quote him.

Wishbone, if you haven't seen lads slashing in gardens or puking on houses on match days, you obviously walk down with your eyes closed.

Draupnir

gurramok wrote: »

54 trucks at 4am, thats one hell of a noise no-one could withstand with ear plugs.

Given the age of a lot of the houses directly beside Croker, 54 trucks would cause a serious amount of vibration so I'd say a good few of the local women were woken up with a smile on their face!

General Zod

gurramok wrote: »

True Walsh. There was massive payments to residents in O'Connell Gardens, Sandymount for the disruption from the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road, and that is just for daytime noise! (as well as natural light issues)

The residents beside Lansdowne are far more likely to go to court about it, hence the IRFU want to make them as sweet as possible. the GAA don't want to go to court but know the residents are less likely to be able to afford a prolonged court case.

techdiver

I lived on Clonliffe Road before and never found any issues. These people simply want to moan for the sake of it and to get a better "deal", than they currently have. I know someone who used to be on the committee and he said they had a nice deal going with the GAA as regards free tickets for matches and concerts etc, but they got too greedy and tried flexing their muscles looking for more. The GAA were having none of it.

Simple put, when they don't get exactly what they want they throw the toys out of the cot. Not to mention the fact the many of the people who organise these groups are only recent residents. As if they didn't see the stadium before they moved in????:rolleyes:

Zatman

re-techdriver

What deal is this?
I live in the are 20 years and have never got free tickets to anything and i know people who live here longer who ever get anything free except abuse from an arrogant organization. They are just bullies in suits.

techdiver

Zatman wrote: »

re-techdriver

What deal is this?
I live in the are 20 years and have never got free tickets to anything and i know people who live here longer who ever get anything free except abuse from an arrogant organization. They are just bullies in suits.

Maybe you should ask the residents association. They are obviously holding out. There was always a deal done with the residents whereby they received free tickets for games. I know one guy who was a beneficiary of them.

Zatman

Somebody is bluffing to you their is no free tickets.

Closest thing you get to tickets is the chance to buy them when they randomly pick your name and then you can spend 100 euro on tickets to see Ireland vs Cyprus if you want. Nothing free

Also note that these tickets are never allocated for GAA matches

mikemac

techdiver wrote: »

I lived on Clonliffe Road before and never found any issues. These people simply want to moan for the sake of it and to get a better "deal", than they currently have. I know someone who used to be on the committee and he said they had a nice deal going with the GAA as regards free tickets for matches and concerts etc, but they got too greedy and tried flexing their muscles looking for more. The GAA were having none of it.

This happened years ago.
11 residents organizations in the area. Tickets were allocated but if you weren't friends or family with the chairpersons, you'd get nothing.

A far better system was introduced a few years back, I used to live on Clonliffe Road. You can register at Croke Park once a year and you are were entered in draws for tickets.
I was selected for soccer tickets once, I collected from reception and paid face value. So not free, face value

Honestly, there are an awful lot of myths going around. You'd nearly think the residents got free tickets to every game!

breadandjam

I also lived on Clonliffe Road and remember people pissing and ****ting in the garden on Match days. Once an entire family came in and spread a blanket on the ground and started to unpack sandwiches and flasks. they were very surprised to be asked to leave. This was back in the early nineties and there wasn't such a full calendar of events in Croker.
Do the GAA not provide portaloos on the approaches to the ground and if not why not?

I have to say I thought the residents in nearby streets got tickets to Gigs at least.

I agree with the residents about the noise, I'd be majorly pissed off if that carry on was going on around me.

lightening

breadandjam wrote: »

Once an entire family came in and spread a blanket on the ground and started to unpack sandwiches and flasks. they were very surprised to be asked to leave

Who asked them to leave?

breadandjam

lightening wrote: »

Who asked them to leave?

I did. It was my garden and I didn't invite them in.

stovelid

They shouldn't have redeveloped a stadium of that size in the inner city anyway.

Should have sold the ground at the height of the nuttiness and developed a new ground on the outskirts of Dublin. Would have suited the majority of bogger match attendees better anyway