The insistence by the planning authorities that Hill 16 in Croke Park be seated must be one of the daftest decisions ever handed down. A major surprise for this column is that An Taisce has not stepped into the furore. After all, we look to An Taisce to protect our heritage and our culture. Do they not know that Hill 16 is a part of that?

There are, as usual in Irish life, two schools of thought about the basis of Hill 16's name, but both should be respected and preserved. The most popular one is that the Hill was constructed from the rubble which was cleared from O'Connell street after the 1916 Rising.

The other, less politically correct explanation is that it was called the Hill by Dublinmen who returned from the Boer War, where it was common for strategic hills being attacked by the British to be referred to by numbers. The Dubs who fought in that war are said to have been proud of one particular engagement in which they captured Hill 16. One way or another, Hill 16 is part of what we are and should be left as it is. Some few years ago a considerable amount of money was spent on it to satisfy safety requirements. How can it be now that what was then considered safe is no longer so?

Stadium disasters elsewhere alerted safety people in this country to the dangers which existed and the problems were addressed. Nothing has happened since to alter that situation, but now An Bord Pleanala has decided that seats must be installed. This gives rise to two concerns. First of all there is the cost of the change to the GAA and, by extension, GAA followers. Secondly, the capacity of the ground will be reduced, reducing the availability of tickets for ordinary punters. It is appropriate at this stage to take a look at what Hill 16 means to the ordinary GAA supporter. There is a widespread belief that the Hill is the preserve of Dublin supporters. This is far from the case. When I came to Dublin to work in 1962 I lived in digs with four or five other "culchies" and Hill 16 was our base as often as we could get there. It was cheap and the view was great, as was the craic.

The idea that it was a "Dubs only" part of the ground grew during the 70s when a great Dublin team under the guidance of Kevin Heffernan came to the fore and the GAA moved along with the idea of segregation which originated in Britain at the time with a view to avoiding trouble on the terraces.

Quite honestly incidents of trouble are so few and far between that it is completely unnecessary to segregate GAA supporters. Week after week, in venues up and down the country, big crowds attend matches with rival fans mixing together in the stands and terraces without anything more serious than "slagging".

On one memorable evening in Thurles after a Tipperary-Limerick Munster hurling championship match, this reporter observed some amusing banter between rival supporters. Groups of revellers from the two counties were out drinking on the street in The Square and a green-clad group of Limerick supporters passed by their Tipperary counterparts whose team had won the match.

One of the Tipperarymen shouted at the Limerick contingent: "Hey lads! Where d'ye come from?" Quick as a flash, one of the Limerick lads replied: "We don't know. It was dark when we left".

There was merriment all around. Nobody had lost face and another of the Limerick contingent came over to the Tipperary group and said: "We hope ye win the All-Ireland."

Back to the Hill. A seated Hill 16 seems an act of betrayal of the thousands upon thousands of people who have watched matches from there for so many years. For those of us who did so, it will mean that part of our past has been stolen from us and for what?

There have been suggestions that objections from local residents brought about this decision, but that seems odd given the fact that the views of local residents have been listened to from the very first day of the project. The seating of Hill 16 will not provide any great relief from the residents in any event. It doesn't make sense to suggest that a reduction of numbers gaining access to The Hill will lessen whatever problems local people experience.

What is encouraging is that the GAA will go on to complete the project, although the costs will have gone up and there may be some delay. It is a shame, however, that bureaucracy at a high level should be allowed to interfere in such a wonderfully inspirational project without any apparent logic involved.