Flower Lodge/ Pairc U� Rinn

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingcolers

then surely all the proceeds of the sale went to the AOH, and not any individuals? so maybe not as seedy as it sounds.

as far as i can remember, city at the time was run by a shower of cowboys, so selling to the GAA was a much safer bet as regards keeping it a sportsground....

The ground was sold by the AOH Grounds committee and afaik this committee was wound up when the ground was sold.
Just had a quick look at "A Century of Cork Soccer Memories" by Plunkett Carter and it goes over a lot of what has been posted here. His concluding few lines on the whole affair are as follows: " If any party was guilty after the transfer or sale of the Lodge it had to be the FAI. They had benefited greatly from their successful participation in the European Championships and the fortunes of the game were on they way up. The excuses given regarding the development of Dalymount were flimsy (the FAI were at this stage intending to develop Dalymount as a national stadium)and Flower Lodge was a snip at the asking price. It's also worth noting in defence of the AOH Grounds Committee that they were a Trust Body and (I'm informed) bound by law to protect the assets of the Trust"