Fitzgerald Stadium

Fitzgerald Stadium
Staid a' Ghearaltaigh
Location	Killarney, County Kerry, V93 P892, Ireland
Coordinates	52°3′59″N9°30′29″W / 52.06639°N 9.50806°W
Public transit	Killarney railway station
Owner	Kerry GAA
Capacity	38,000 Capacity history 39,120 (1970–2009) ; 42,000 (2009–2013) ; 38,000 (9,000 seated) (2013–present) ;
Field size	144 x 82 m
Surface	Grass
Construction
Broke ground	1930
Opened	1936;88 years ago
Renovated	2008–2009
Construction cost	£3,000 (original construction); €4.8 Million (2009 renovation)
Website
	fitzgeraldstadium.com

Last updated April 15, 2024

Fitzgerald Stadium (Irish : Staid a' Ghearaltaigh) is the principal GAA stadium in Killarney, Ireland, and is the home championship venue for the Kerry senior football team.

History

The attendance at its first match was at least 20,000, reputed to have been 28,000. Within one year, the new Killarney stadium was to host the All-Ireland Hurling Final between Tipperary and Kilkenny due to the unavailability of Croke Park because of the construction of the first Cusack Stand. The capacity of the ground was severely tested in 1950 when the stadium, unusually, hosted the Munster hurling final between Cork and Tipperary, when an estimated crowd of 50,000 turned up and in the closing stages large numbers of Cork supporters encroached on the pitch, making life difficult for Tipperary goalkeeper, Tony Reddan. The claustrophobic atmosphere prompted ace Tipperary defender John Doyle to remark that it was the first time he hurled in the midst of about 5,000.

Further developments took place at the stadium in the 1970s with the erection of the Dr. O’Sullivan stand and a pavilion. All of this raised the capacity to 39,120. This stadium is regarded as one of the finest outside of Croke Park, situated under the gaze of the picturesque Kerry mountains.

The Stadium Committee has plans to redevelop both ends of the ground to the standard of the Michael O’Connor Terrace incorporating new dressing rooms and covered areas, to eventually increase the capacity of the ground to 50,000.

In the winter of 2008–09 the first phase in the redevelopment was finished. Among the changes were the following:

The stadium in 2012 FitzGeraldStadium.jpg — The stadium in 2012

Extension of terracing at Lewis Rd end as far as the stand. The terracing is designed in such a way as to allow its continuation along the stand side if and when the stand is upgraded. Spectators enter new terracing through a tunnel at ground level or through stairways to the centre of the terrace.
There is also additional entrance/exit stairs to the old terracing at the rear of the Lewis Rd goal.
The new terracing accommodates an additional 4,000 spectators bringing stadium capacity to 43,000.
There are 4 large dressing rooms underneath the new terrace with individual showering and toilet facilities. Each player has individual changing areas as in Croke Park.
There was also provision for medical and physio staff as well as a separate area for mentors. Players now exit the dressing rooms via a tunnel.

There are 3 levels in all underneath the new terrace. Level 1 has the dressing rooms and shops at the rear of the terrace. Level 2 has very spacious meeting rooms for Stewards, Gardaí, Drug Testing and a Press Room for post-match interviews which has a stairway direct to the dressing room area. The top level, accessed by lift or stairs, is made up of a Control Tower for crowd control and monitoring and there is also a spacious room overlooking the pitch for TV match analysis. The main entrance area from Lewis Rd has been extended with facilities for selling match tickets on match day. On the stand side, there are new entrance/exit stairs at the scoreboard end of the stand. New wheelchair facilities are located in the stand with lift access. There is a new seating area for substitutes/mentors in the stand adjacent to the VIP area in the middle of the stand. The pitch itself is in absolute pristine condition following a six-month break from playing activity. All entrance areas adjacent to the new terracing have been tarmacked. The next phase of development will consist of new terracing at the scoreboard end.

On 15 November 2016, Fitzgerald Stadium was announced as one of 12 possible venues in Ireland to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.^[3]

Concerts

Tours

Westlife - 28 June 2002
Elton John - 7 July 2002
Counting Crows - 27 June 2003
Bryan Adams - 25 June 2004
The Corrs - 26 June 2004
Pink (singer) - 15 July 2007
Westlife - 22 June 2008
Pussycat Dolls - 18 July 2009

Related Research Articles

Croke Park is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Since 1891 the site has been used by the GAA to host Gaelic sports, including the annual All-Ireland in Gaelic football and hurling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semple Stadium</span> Stadium in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland

FBD Semple Stadium is the home of hurling and Gaelic football for Tipperary GAA and for the province of Munster. Located in Thurles, County Tipperary, it is the second largest GAA stadium in Ireland, with a capacity of 45,690 and named after Tom Semple, the captain of the Thurles "Blues". He won All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship medals in 1900, 1906 and 1908.

Páirc Uí Chaoimh is a Gaelic games stadium in Cork, Ireland. Often referred to simply as "The Park", it is the home of Cork GAA and is located in Ballintemple, near the site of the original Cork Athletic Grounds. In February 2024, following a naming-rights agreement with SuperValu, the venue was branded as SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The stadium opened in 1976 and underwent a significant two-year redevelopment before reopening in 2017.

The Gaelic Grounds, known for sponsorship reasons as the TUS Gaelic Grounds, is the principal GAA stadium in the Irish city of Limerick, home to the Limerick hurling and football teams. It has a capacity of 44,023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clare GAA</span> County board of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland

The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. Clare plays its home games at Cusack Park in Ennis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerry GAA</span> Governing body of Gaelic games in County Kerry

The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), or Kerry GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry, and for the Kerry county teams.

The 2006 Bank of Ireland All-Ireland Senior Football Championship began on Sunday 7 May 2006. The 2006 championship used the same "Qualifier" system that was used in 2005. Tyrone were the defending champions, but were knocked out relatively early in the competition by Laois. Kerry won their 34th Sam Maguire beating Mayo in a repeat of the 2004 final.

Fraher Field is a GAA stadium, located in Dungarvan, County Waterford, owned by the Waterford GAA County Board. It has a total capacity of around 15,000.

The 1966 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 80th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county hurling tournament. The championship began on 15 May 1966 and ended on 4 September 1966.

Dick Fitzgerald (1882–1930) was an Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Dr. Crokes in Killarney, and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1903 until 1923. Fitzgerald captained Kerry to back-to-back All-Ireland titles in 1913 and 1914

Spa GAA is a Gaelic football club based in Tullig, Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland. Founded in 1948, the club gets its name from a spa well in the townland of Tullig close to Killarney. The club won the Munster Intermediate Club Football Championship in 2009.

Réalt na Mara, Cromane, is a Gaelic Athletic Association club from the fishing village of Cromane, eight miles west of Killorglin in County Kerry, Ireland.

The 1987 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 101st staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county hurling tournament. The championship began on 24 May 1987 and ended on 6 September 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1937 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final</span> Football match

The 1937 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final was a hurling match played at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney, County Kerry on 5 September 1937 to determine the winners of the 1937 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the 51st season of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, a tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association for the champions of the three hurling provinces of Ireland. The final was contested by Tipperary of Munster and Kilkenny of Leinster, with Tipperary winning by 3-11 to 0-3.

Brian Clarke was a Gaelic footballer from Killarney, County Kerry. He played with Kerry during the 1990s. At club level he played with the famous Dr. Croke's club from Killarney.

The 2015 Munster Senior Football Championship will be that year's installment of the annual Munster Senior Football Championship held under the auspices of Munster GAA. It is one of the four provincial competitions of the 2015 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Kerry entered the competition as defending Munster champions and retained their title after a 1–11 to 1–6 victory over Cork in a replay.

The 2015 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football competition for under 18's. 31 teams take part.

The 2016 Munster Senior Football Championship was the 2016 installment of the annual Munster Senior Football Championship held under the auspices of Munster GAA. It is one of the four provincial competitions of the 2016 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Kerry entered the competition as defending Munster champions and retained their title after a 3-17 to 2-10 victory over Tipperary

Teddy O'Connor was an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for a number of clubs sides including Laune Rangers, Bantry Blues, Dr. Crokes and Killarney and at inter-county level with the Kerry senior football team.

References

↑ "Kerry « Munster GAA Web site". Munster.gaa.ie. 21 September 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
↑ Cormican, Eoghan (9 July 2019). "Fitzgerald Stadium capacity reduced for Kerry v Mayo clash". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
↑ O'Connor, Ruaidhri (16 November 2016). "The real work starts now - How Ireland will beat France and South Africa to 2023 Rugby World Cup". Irish Independent. Retrieved 29 May 2021.

External links

Official website

Preceded by Croke Park Dublin	All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final Venue 1937	Succeeded by Croke Park Dublin

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Kerry « Munster GAA Web site". Munster.gaa.ie. 21 September 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012.

[Fitzgerald_Stadium-2] Cormican, Eoghan (9 July 2019). "Fitzgerald Stadium capacity reduced for Kerry v Mayo clash". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 29 May 2021.

[3] O'Connor, Ruaidhri (16 November 2016). "The real work starts now - How Ireland will beat France and South Africa to 2023 Rugby World Cup". Irish Independent. Retrieved 29 May 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]