Looks like we'll be playing our home qualifiers in England in 2006

http://www.eleven-a-side.com/boysing...p?newsid=11815

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FAI Chief Executive Fran Rooney has confirmed that Wembley is just one of the venues that the association are considering to host Ireland’s home qualifying games for the 2008 European Championships while Lansdowne Road is being redeveloped.

The stadium at Lansdowne Road will be closed for a minimum of two years while it is completely rebuilt and already the IRFU have come to an agreement to hold their ‘home’ Six Nations matches in Twickenham and Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium while the work is taking place.

Hopes of Croke Park being made available seem to have disappeared due to the GAA’s unwillingness to even discuss the possible opening of the 80,000 capacity stadium.

Rooney has intimated that discussions are underway with a number of venues to host Ireland’s ‘home’ games from 2006 on while Lansdowne Road is off limits.

“What we have to do now is look at a number of options while Lansdowne is shut and Wembley is one of them,” confirmed the FAI boss.

“The new Wembley may well be available for that period and we need to consider all options. Some clubs in England have already approached us offering their grounds and while we are not prepared to make any statements on that yet, I can confirm that we are in discussions with them.

“Unfortunately, we have to look at grounds outside Ireland. We are not even going to approach the issue of playing at Croke Park so we are looking at using a stadium in the UK.

“There are obvious candidates like Wembley, the national stadium in Cardiff, Celtic, Anfield, Old Trafford and some other grounds that may suit us in terms of Irish communities.

“At this stage Lansdowne won’t be available if the redevelopment goes to plan. To get that stadium we are going to have to take some pain along the way. If that pain means that we are going to have to play abroad then so be it, we will do it.”

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Its bloody ridiculous that we have an 80,000 seater unused for the football (soccer) season and they won't let us have it. The GAA could be making a load of spare cash if they allowed us play 10 matches over 2 years.

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Originally Posted by eirebhoy

Its bloody ridiculous that we have an 80,000 seater unused for the football (soccer) season and they won't let us have it. The GAA could be making a load of spare cash if they allowed us play 10 matches over 2 years.

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What a joke. It is truly pathetic that the FAI and GAA can't/won't come to some form of concordat. And, for once, I'm not even sure that I blame the eejits at Merrion Square for this one.

Hey Bertie, you aul' football fanatic you :rolleyes: , couldn't you have a word in some ears?

Still, if the FAI organise the games at Wembley, meself and a few others hereabouts will save on the air fares each time... ;)

:ball: PP

Don't really see anything wrong with the "soccer" team playing at one of its spiritual homes. The rugby side should aspire to better things, though, even if it means playing at Thomond Park or Ravenhill or wherever.

One can't rule out the possibility that Rooney is (in his typically inelegant manner) merely attempting to put pressure on the GAA.

At least one good thing will come out of it, it should be fairly easy to get tickets for the matches. The last few qualifiers I was at I had to part with a fair amount of cash.

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Originally Posted by Sheridan

Don't really see anything wrong with the "soccer" team playing at one of its spiritual homes. The rugby side should aspire to better things

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So by that logic we can expect to see the XV playing at 'HQ' in TW14? I doubt it somehow... ;)

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Originally Posted by Sheridan

One can't rule out the possibility that Rooney is (in his typically inelegant manner) merely attempting to put pressure on the GAA.

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And nor should one rule it out. I think you may have hit the nail squarely on the head, young sir.

:) PP

An absolute shambles. Our families and friends for generations played for and supported the GAA and this is how they repay the nation.

Reeks of Animal Farm. The pigs have assumed power and will stop at nothing to hold on to their pad. I was in the premier seating section for the national league football finals and the facilities are world class. This stadium which has essentially been paid for with ticket stubs and taxes should be shared with world.

I fully back Sean Kelly and his endevours to shake up the GAA and to Open Croke Park.

I also intend setting up OpenCroker.com very soon and toes will have to be steped on.

I think this is Rooney pulling a stroke. Sean Kelly (the GAA president) was on the Sunday Business show on Today FM at the weekend, and he revealed that the GAA are currently 100million in debt and they hope to clear it by 2015, he himself is a fairly progressive president and has already come out in favour of at least debating the issue.

IMO, In the end, the GAA will see that a temporary opening while Landsdowne is being redeveloped will give the organisation a sizeable injection of cash, and create public goodwill and probably ease government purse strings.

With the hospitality set-up they have and the hotel which will be open by the time Lansdowne must be closed, it's in everyone's interest to carry out this piece of business.

I watched a debate (possibly Primetime) about 6 months ago with Rooney, Philip Browne(IRFU) and ex GAA pres Peter Quinn debate the issue.

Quinn said that the GAA would have no problem in opening for rugby as its a 32 county sport but have strong reservations against opening up for a "partisan" 26 county team and some other b$%llsh&t about the union jack possibly being flown in Croke Park being unacceptable.

Some Joke

The whole thing stinks. If we have to come over here to the UK to play our games then it will be the most outlandish and ridiculous course of action I'll ever witness in my life.

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Originally Posted by tiktok

I think this is Rooney pulling a stroke. Sean Kelly (the GAA president) was on the Sunday Business show on Today FM at the weekend, and he revealed that the GAA are currently 100million in debt and they hope to clear it by 2015, he himself is a fairly progressive president and has already come out in favour of at least debating the issue.

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How in Jeez name are them feckers 100 million in debt, I think someone's been putin their hand in the cookie jar too often. With all them games and the replays over the last few years and they don't even pay the players (Officially) anyway.

As for the Rooney, maybe he is pulling a fast one. It saves me money if Ireland play in Wembley as much as I disagree with it.

It's early days but I also think it's Rooney putting in a bit of spin. Still can't blame him. Much as I'd like the games swtiching between Vicarage and Kenilworth Road, the idea of playing abroad when there is an 80K stadium is laughable. I think that Gerry Grabs and the other f*ckers at the Grab All Association will think otherwise when the crunch comes, although I will lose some money with Captain Doby - Daxion's chief - not at his Mae West (similar state to Poland I'm afraid, tut, tut) when I saw him yesterday morning when I spotted him with the Kildare Rabbi at Schipol - if the Irish team set foot in Croker.

Blobby, good luck with the site although as with ok2boo.com it needs a lot of publicity too.

in a recent poll the majority of the public, which can be taken to represent a majority of GAA memebrs came out in favour of opening up Croker, and it was due to be debated at the most recent conference until a few dinosaurs pulled the plug.
It's a backward thinking minority that's holding this up (so I'd be slow to tar then all with the same brush), but in the end, I don't think the GAA can pass it up from a financial point of view.
A temporary deal while landsdowne is being remodeled is in everyone's interest.

Personally speaking, if we do have to leave Ireland for a year, then I think that we should move all our home games to The Valley :eek:

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Originally Posted by Pat O' Banton

Personally speaking, if we do have to leave Ireland for a year, then I think that we should move all our home games to The Valley :eek:

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A sort of Unity cup again then Pat , only this time with more team's, I'm aving it big time. :D bring it on.

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Originally Posted by gspain

Furthermore as taxpayers should we look to recoup the hundreds of million that have gone to GAA clubs.

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I don't think we should. Whatever their faults the GAA still represent our national games and the tax money that was given to them for Croker was done so without any proviso and without any complaint (at least that I heard) from the general public.

Furthermore a large portion of the money that went into Croker came from gate receipts and the grassroots of the organisation, not ours to play with.

If it's going to happen it has to be down to the GAA themselves.

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Originally Posted by tiktok

I don't think we should. Whatever their faults the GAA still represent our national games and the tax money that was given to them for Croker was done so without any proviso and without any complaint (at least that I heard) from the general public.

Furthermore a large portion of the money that went into Croker came from gate receipts and the grassroots of the organisation, not ours to play with.

If it's going to happen it has to be down to the GAA themselves.

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hundreds of millions of euro will be lsot to our economy if our home football and rugby games are played in the UK. The England Grand Slam decider last year was worth €90 million to the economy and the positive effects were even felt by hoteliers and restaurant owners in Portlaoise.

The government are to blame for giving the money to the GAA with no strings attached but they certainly should not get anymore. there is still a moral obligation on the GAA to make the stadium available given that it was built mainly with taxpayers money.

Celtic Tiger or not many pubs and restaurants are heavily dependant on the income from these games as the football and rugby Internationals are a big earner.

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Originally Posted by gspain

there is still a moral obligation on the GAA to make the stadium available given that it was built mainly with taxpayers money.

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It wasn't built with MAINLY with taxpayers money. Yes, some taxpayers money went into it, but the majority came from the GAA itself. While I think it would be great if the GAA did open up Croker and I know it's just a few old cronies that are standing in the way of this happening...the GAA doesn't have a MORAL OBLIGATION to do this.

They don't have to if they don't want to, and its that type of talk that ****es the old fogies in the GAA off even more, and makes them even more stubborn

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Originally Posted by cullenswood

...I know it's just a few old cronies that are standing in the way of this happening...the GAA doesn't have a MORAL OBLIGATION to do this. They don't have to if they don't want to, and its that type of talk that ****es the old fogies in the GAA off even more, and makes them even more stubborn

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Neither do foreign football clubs have the moral obligation to lend out their premises to the GAA next time their looking to host an high profile exhibition match in London. Nor should British (or mainland European) local councils be obliged to rent out their fields to a sport which is not only foreign, but run by a cabal of blinkered, bigoted dinosaurs which have a long history of exclusion on the grounds of profession, ethnicity and what sport they play or watch in people's own time. It would be interesting to see the reaction if this did happen.

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Originally Posted by lopez

Neither do foreign football clubs have the moral obligation to lend out their premises to the GAA next time their looking to host an high profile exhibition match in London. Nor should British (or mainland European) local councils be obliged to rent out their fields to a sport which is not only foreign, but run by a cabal of blinkered, bigoted dinosaurs which have a long history of exclusion on the grounds of profession, ethnicity and what sport they play or watch in people's own time. It would be interesting to see the reaction if this did happen.

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You are correct, they don't have a moral obligation to lend their premises to the GAA, they just do it. I'm not backing the GAA here, I'm just saying that there is no obligation for them to rent out Croker. They own it, and built most of it it with their own money so they can do what they want with it. I do think they should let it be used for the Qualifiers, as it would only be for a couple of years and would give a big cash boost to the organisation, and it would be great to see a game of footy from such a class stadium.

great idea, send them back where they came from so they can play internationaly in where they ALL play at club level.
that will wake the thiko's in ireland about supporting foreing teams instead of having any intrest in their own league.