The Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue was sharply critical yesterday of the ongoing attempts by GAA clubs in the Tallaght area to prevent the stadium currently earmarked as the new home for Shamrock Rovers football club from being completed as a soccer-only facility.
South County Dublin councillors briefly opened up the possibility that the ground would be a multi-sport arena, containing a pitch big enough for the playing of Gaelic games. But they subsequently changed their minds when O'Donoghue made it clear that Government funding for the completion of the project would be withdrawn if councillors decided to proceed with anything other than a soccer stadium, as it would also break what he saw as a binding agreement with the FAI and Rovers.
"We (the Government) invested €110 million in Croke Park and they (the GAA) deserved it," said O'Donoghue. "We have overseen a situation whereby 34 per cent of the funding allocated under the sports capital programme go to them and they deserve it. We have told them that we will help them with the 26 acres of land they want to develop at Rathcoole (owned by the Dublin county board), on the same side of the city and they deserve that too.
"But when the Tallaght proposal initially came before me it was as a home for Shamrock Rovers and I still believe that there is a need for two 10,000 capacity soccer stadiums in Dublin and that Tallaght is one of them.
"We made an agreement in relation to the matter and when we make one of those we abide by it. We are not in a position to change things now and frankly, I am disappointed by the attitude of some of the (GAA) officials out there. I'm not so sure that their views are shared whether at county board level or within the upper echelons of Croke Park.
"I'll say this, though. I come from a GAA county and I'd consider myself a GAA man. But I'm a fair man too so I don't see any way that we'll be changing the plan for the stadium development."
Six local GAA clubs have combined to present the opposition to the soccer-only facility - St Jude's, Thomas Davis, Faughs, St Anne's, St Mark's and Croi Ro Naofa. Just last week they got the support of all Dublin clubs in their quest to open the Tallaght Stadium project to the GAA.
The six clubs' spokesman, David Kennedy, told the Dublin County Board meeting that they "might have to take the legal route" if the Minister maintains his strong stance on the issue: "This is not just a minor issue. It's a major problem and we must take a united front to the Government."
Rovers officials still fear the GAA clubs' opposition could destroy their hopes of playing in Tallaght in the near future if they carry out threats made to councillors in the run-up to last month's vote on the stadium project.
The clubs' letter stated: "If the December 12th decision is reversed, Tallaght's GAA clubs are committed to a significant escalation of its actions to seek 'the right answer' for Tallaght. Actions under review include a judicial review of the Part 8 planning process and, in particular, the legitimacy of any revisions to decisions made under that process, and/or an EU challenge on either planning or state aid grounds."
It is understood the clubs are now seeking the support of the GAA before deciding on their next move. Rovers officials are understandably concerned about the damage that would be caused to the project by any more delays.
They need the Tallaght stadium to be finished before the start of next season to have any chance of being selected for the new elite division of the league, and in addition, both the FAI and the Government are keen to encourage ground-sharing among Dublin's big four clubs and envisage St Patrick's Athletic moving from their base in Inchicore to also play in the new Tallaght stadium.
