On Friday, 28th February, Transition Year students went on a trip to Croke Park for the Sky Tour and a tour of the GAA Museum. We all met at school at 8:45 and went to registration before getting on the bus. We arrived at 10:00 and met our tour guide, Cian, at the front of the museum. He brought us into the Offaly changing rooms, where we put on our safety harnesses.
We then made our way up to the Cusack Stand, passing through the entire stadium, including the VIP boxes. When we arrived at the stand, our guide shared some facts about the grounds of Croke Park. He explained that a replica field is grown in North Dublin to replace any damage done to the pitch during matches or concerts. The stadium has a capacity of 82,300 people, making it the fifth-largest sports arena in Europe. When full, it holds more people than the population of Galway. He also mentioned that Coldplay owed Croke Park €3 million after their five-night show due to field damage and other expenses.
After his talk, he brought us to the back of the Cusack Stand, up the stairs, and onto the skywalk. On the skywalk, there were five platforms, and we stopped at each one, where he pointed out some of Dublin’s landmarks and shared more facts about both the stadium and the city.
One section of the Sky Tour allowed us to walk over the field, but for safety reasons, we had to attach our harnesses.
Afterwards, we had the opportunity to visit the GAA Museum, where we saw the original Sam Maguire Cup. We walked through the flag room and into the interactive section of the museum, where we got to test our high jumps, speed, and high catches, as well as play Gaelic football and camogie.
We then went down to the café, where we were able to purchase food and drinks. We all ordered chicken and chips before getting the bus home.
Grace Keating, Alexandra Roche, Holly Aherne, Millie Smith - TY Press
