The_Banker
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- 342
I was at the game today and never before have I witnessed such incompetence or stupidity within (and without) a stadium for the hosting of a major match/event.
I have said it before and I will say it again, even though it pains me as a Cork GAA supporter to say it, Pairc Ui Chaoimh (in its present format) should never be allowed stage another big match again.
I arrived at the stadium at 4:10 and saw thousands of people before me, queuing to get in and also queuing for tickets.
I arrived at the end where the Covered Stand meets the Blackrock End and the queues were just unbelievable. People queuing at dilapidated caravans to buy tickets were so long they were merging with people actually queuing to get in at the turnstiles.
As my tickets were for the Uncovered Stand I made my way over to the other side where I was met by more queues to get into the Blackrock End and the Uncovered Stand. Thankfully I had purchased my tickets in advance but the queues were so long I knew I wouldn’t have gotten in before the 5:00 PM throw in. Also I had no idea if the queue was for the Blackrock End or the Uncovered Stand such was the throng of people. I thought it might be a bit easier to get in at the other end so I made my way down to where the Uncovered Stand meets the City End Terrace. As I went I saw two stewards sitting against a car, one on a mobile phone (not sure who he was talking to) but saying that they needed more stewards. Both of them had clearly given up on there duty today such was the over whelming level of the crowds.
As I made my way further up the narrow strip between the uncovered stand and the stream there was barely room to move and while I was comfortable enough I feared for my 11-year-old nephew with me. Arriving at the far end I was met by more queues with people trying to get into the Uncovered Stand. With the crowd and the narrowness of the passageway between the concrete struts of the stadium on one side and the fenced off stream on the other it was a highly dangerous environment. There were 2 turnstiles open to the uncovered stand but only one was allowing people in as the other was reserved for old age pensioners.
Even at that the progress of people getting in was extremely slow because people were at the turnstile with cash rather than tickets and were being refused entry and then had to squeeze past people behind them to get back out. There was a steward at both turnstiles and they had a major row between themselves. I got the impression that one was Munster Council appointed and the other was Cork County Board appointed. The MC guy was abusing the CCB guy saying it was typical of the CCB.
Eventually we got into the ground at 4:50 and the tunnel underneath the uncovered stand was jammed because of a shower of rain and people did not want to get wet.
We climbed up the steps after fighting our way through the throngs sheltering from the rain and the children’s buggies to be met by a steward who was at his wits end. He pointed us in the general direction of our seats but when we got there we found other people sitting in them. People seemed to think they could sit anywhere and there was no one there to tell them otherwise. So we had no other choice but to sit in someone else’s seat. This led to countless arguments with more people arriving late who were looking for their seats. We were allocated seats in Section J and I noticed that there was one steward appointed to look after the entire section. I’ll repeat that: ONE steward for the entire Section J that seated about 1500 people.
The throw in was supposed to be at 5 O’clock but didn’t happen until 5:22 but people were piling in up to 5:45 at least. All looking for seats and they started to just stand and sit on the steps between the sections which was seriously annoying the people already in their seats who now couldn’t see. Eventually a Garda sergeant walked up and down the steps and moved people into seats. Single vacant seats that couldn’t be seen from the steps. An empty seat between 2 big men would be more or less invisible due to the size of the seats. Surely this was a job for a steward and not a Garda sergeant?
The stadium announcer said that there were 30,000 at today’s game and thankfully that was all because if the 43,000 (the stadium capacity) turned up there would have been carnage.
Cork won the game today and its just as well they did because it placated an awful lot of angry Cork people.
I am not sure who was responsible for staging today’s game. Was it the Cork County Board or the Munster Council? Either way, whoever organised it should hang their heads in collective shame because but for the grace of God there could have been lives lost.
But whoever staged the event I would like them to answer these questions:
Pairc Ui Chaoimh is a dilapidated stadium that is dangerous at the best of times. Throw in bad stewarding and you are pouring petrol on a fire that is already out of control.
Wait until Monday when the GAA head honchos start getting the spin going. Blaming the patrons for arriving late, for not cooperating with the stewards etc etc etc….
The truth is if a stadium can’t accommodate 30,000 whether they turn up late or not (and they didn’t today!!) then it should be shut down. I remember after the debacle of the Cork V Tipperary hurling game last year when thousands of Cork supporters spilled onto the pitch from the Blackrock End behind Donal Óg Cusacks goal, Bob Ryan (the then Cork County Board PRO) promised on RTE 1s Six One News that an investigation would be conducted and a report issued. Anyone ever see that report? Didn’t think so.
If this stadium was in any other country it would be shut down by the authorities, both for its decayed ancient edifice and for its incompetent stewarding.
But this is Ireland and this is the GAA so of course nothing will be done until a mother loses a son, a father loses a daughter or a wife loses a husband. But then it will be too late and all the “I told you so’s” won’t be worth anything.
I have said it before and I will say it again, even though it pains me as a Cork GAA supporter to say it, Pairc Ui Chaoimh (in its present format) should never be allowed stage another big match again.
I arrived at the stadium at 4:10 and saw thousands of people before me, queuing to get in and also queuing for tickets.
I arrived at the end where the Covered Stand meets the Blackrock End and the queues were just unbelievable. People queuing at dilapidated caravans to buy tickets were so long they were merging with people actually queuing to get in at the turnstiles.
As my tickets were for the Uncovered Stand I made my way over to the other side where I was met by more queues to get into the Blackrock End and the Uncovered Stand. Thankfully I had purchased my tickets in advance but the queues were so long I knew I wouldn’t have gotten in before the 5:00 PM throw in. Also I had no idea if the queue was for the Blackrock End or the Uncovered Stand such was the throng of people. I thought it might be a bit easier to get in at the other end so I made my way down to where the Uncovered Stand meets the City End Terrace. As I went I saw two stewards sitting against a car, one on a mobile phone (not sure who he was talking to) but saying that they needed more stewards. Both of them had clearly given up on there duty today such was the over whelming level of the crowds.
As I made my way further up the narrow strip between the uncovered stand and the stream there was barely room to move and while I was comfortable enough I feared for my 11-year-old nephew with me. Arriving at the far end I was met by more queues with people trying to get into the Uncovered Stand. With the crowd and the narrowness of the passageway between the concrete struts of the stadium on one side and the fenced off stream on the other it was a highly dangerous environment. There were 2 turnstiles open to the uncovered stand but only one was allowing people in as the other was reserved for old age pensioners.
Even at that the progress of people getting in was extremely slow because people were at the turnstile with cash rather than tickets and were being refused entry and then had to squeeze past people behind them to get back out. There was a steward at both turnstiles and they had a major row between themselves. I got the impression that one was Munster Council appointed and the other was Cork County Board appointed. The MC guy was abusing the CCB guy saying it was typical of the CCB.
Eventually we got into the ground at 4:50 and the tunnel underneath the uncovered stand was jammed because of a shower of rain and people did not want to get wet.
We climbed up the steps after fighting our way through the throngs sheltering from the rain and the children’s buggies to be met by a steward who was at his wits end. He pointed us in the general direction of our seats but when we got there we found other people sitting in them. People seemed to think they could sit anywhere and there was no one there to tell them otherwise. So we had no other choice but to sit in someone else’s seat. This led to countless arguments with more people arriving late who were looking for their seats. We were allocated seats in Section J and I noticed that there was one steward appointed to look after the entire section. I’ll repeat that: ONE steward for the entire Section J that seated about 1500 people.
The throw in was supposed to be at 5 O’clock but didn’t happen until 5:22 but people were piling in up to 5:45 at least. All looking for seats and they started to just stand and sit on the steps between the sections which was seriously annoying the people already in their seats who now couldn’t see. Eventually a Garda sergeant walked up and down the steps and moved people into seats. Single vacant seats that couldn’t be seen from the steps. An empty seat between 2 big men would be more or less invisible due to the size of the seats. Surely this was a job for a steward and not a Garda sergeant?
The stadium announcer said that there were 30,000 at today’s game and thankfully that was all because if the 43,000 (the stadium capacity) turned up there would have been carnage.
Cork won the game today and its just as well they did because it placated an awful lot of angry Cork people.
I am not sure who was responsible for staging today’s game. Was it the Cork County Board or the Munster Council? Either way, whoever organised it should hang their heads in collective shame because but for the grace of God there could have been lives lost.
But whoever staged the event I would like them to answer these questions:
- Why were the stewards outside the ground not using loudspeakers to direct the crowds? People outside had no idea where to go or what to do.
- Why was it decided to stage the game as pay at the turnstile for the terrace and all ticket for the stands? This led to major confusion with the crowd outside the stadium.
- Have the stewards who were at today’s game any training in crowd control or crowd management? Someone wearing an orange vest for the day does not automatically make them an expert. Especially once the game started and stewards gave up the pretence of stewarding and watched the game.
- Why are children’s buggies and prams allowed into Pairc Ui Chaoimh for big matches? They would be a major hindrance if trying to evacuate a stadium in the event of a problem.
- Why are people allowed leave the Open Terrace or Uncovered Stand to shelter from the rain in the tunnelled areas and on the steps leading into the Terrace or Tunnel, especially when other people are trying to climb the steps to get into their seats.
- Who issues the safety cert for Pairc Ui Chaoimh? Is it the Gardai? The Local Authority? The Fire Department? Why is Pairc Ui Chaoimh issued a safety cert (if indeed one is issued) when there have been constant crowd problems whenever a big game is played there?
- Will it take the death of a spectator before something is done?
Pairc Ui Chaoimh is a dilapidated stadium that is dangerous at the best of times. Throw in bad stewarding and you are pouring petrol on a fire that is already out of control.
Wait until Monday when the GAA head honchos start getting the spin going. Blaming the patrons for arriving late, for not cooperating with the stewards etc etc etc….
The truth is if a stadium can’t accommodate 30,000 whether they turn up late or not (and they didn’t today!!) then it should be shut down. I remember after the debacle of the Cork V Tipperary hurling game last year when thousands of Cork supporters spilled onto the pitch from the Blackrock End behind Donal Óg Cusacks goal, Bob Ryan (the then Cork County Board PRO) promised on RTE 1s Six One News that an investigation would be conducted and a report issued. Anyone ever see that report? Didn’t think so.
If this stadium was in any other country it would be shut down by the authorities, both for its decayed ancient edifice and for its incompetent stewarding.
But this is Ireland and this is the GAA so of course nothing will be done until a mother loses a son, a father loses a daughter or a wife loses a husband. But then it will be too late and all the “I told you so’s” won’t be worth anything.