AS a pupil of Holy Child Primary School in west Belfast in the 1970s, one of our big annual treats was sports day in Casement Park. As a young boy, the imposing stand, sitting sideways on to the Andersonstown, was very impressive. I dreamed of playing on the pitch.
I don’t actually remember my first under-age game on Casement but the match I remember much more clearly was my first game starting for the Antrim seniors in the National League versus Offaly. My dad (Big Paul) had played for Antrim in the 1940s and 1950s and after he passed away in 2016, I found a few things he had kept on file.
One of them was the letter from then county secretary Gerry Barry (another good man, sadly gone) informing me that I had been selected to play for Antrim v Offaly with the time to report at Casement etc. That’s how players were notified in those days; a personally typed letter from the county secretary. No WhatsApp groups or social media updates back then.
Probably needless to say, nearly 30 years after it had been sent, I was thrilled and touched to find that dad had kept my senior debut letter. I now have it framed. I told that story to the lads on the Antrim GAA Masters WhatsApp group during a particularly nostalgic period during lockdown when a lot of old match programmes were being posted up. Some great memories and banter were exchanged and some brilliant matches that we played, were remembered - even if some of the memories were a bit selective in places.
Still, Casement was a constant through all of it. It was our home ground and some big scalps were taken there in our day, including Mayo and Meath in one season when we were playing in Division Two of the National League. Meath became All-Ireland champions the following year.
The pleasure of those memories and having a pitch that was known all over the country was a source of some considerable pride to Antrim GAA people, though in recent years that pride has, unfortunately, turned to embarrassment.
Until last week, that is, when Infrastructure Minister, Nichola Mallon, recommended Casement’s most recent planning application for approval.
This is a business column so I’m not going to go over old ground on why Casement was closed so early or why the project has taken so long to get to this point. Instead, I want to look forward and also make a case for its size.
The new stadium will have a capacity of over 34,000 and some people think this is too big; that at that size, it will be a white elephant etc. I don’t agree with that. Belfast as a city needs a decent sized stadium and with soccer and rugby already provided for, GAA also deserves the parity.
Of course, the other two stadia are smaller and are sized to fit the level of support those sports can sustain. I’ve been to Kingspan for Friday night rugby and it’s always a great evening, even if Ulster’s form hasn’t always been great in recent seasons. Those Friday nights are not an Ulster final or semi-final though, nor are they comparable to an All-Ireland quarter final, a rugby World Cup match, or a Champions Cup knock-out game.
Those doubting the project because of the size of the new Casement will say those types of games will only fill the ground two or three times a year. The rest of the time, it will lie empty, they claim.
First of all, if we don’t build it that size, those big games will never come and the GAA loses out and Belfast as the second city on this island also loses out. Great cities around the world all have brilliant sports teams and stadia which help make them distinctive and special. Belfast has that opportunity again with the new Casement.
Once built and open, there will be more opportunities for big games and events, even if we’re not certain what those are now. If we are creative and positive about it, the new Casement will have a transformative social, sporting and economic effect.
And even with lower numbers, the atmosphere on a big game day around Casement when there’s 10-15,000 fans at the game is special. Think what it will be like when there are nearly three times that number and how businesses in the area will benefit.
The economy of west Belfast and the city as a whole will lift with the building of Casement and for every £1 spent on construction, a further £2.92 will be spent in the local economy.
But I think to judge the merits of the new Casement primarily by when it is full is an error also. Casement will be a community and sporting hub used for all sorts of business, neighbourhood development, cultural and administrative purposes.
I’ve also been lucky enough to assist the Antrim County Board in its positive discussions with the Ulster Council about Antrim’s identity and facilities within the new stadium. The shot in the arm that Antrim GAA will get from the new Casement, will be very sizable indeed, never mind the inspiration a stadium of this size and quality will have on future generations of young Antrim gaels.
My son has regularly asked me over the years about the planning position. He just wants to play there and now, thankfully, he’s going to get the chance.
And while I’m here, it would be remiss of me not to say a big congratulations to the Ulster Council including Tom Daly, Brian McAvoy and particularly the always positive Stephen McGeehan for helping to get a planning permission that many people thought would never come. The Antrim County Board in recent years, through Ciaran McCavana now and Collie Donnelly and Terry Reilly previously have also played an important and positive role.
Building coalitions of support across community, national bodies and local and regional government to help deliver a transformative £100 million sports infrastructure project is no mean feat, and a provides some good lessons for business also. Well done all, now let’s get it built.
Paul McErlean (paul@mcepublicrelations.com) is managing director and founder of MCE Public Relations.
