McHale Park

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**McHale Park**
*Pairc Mhic Eil*
Location
Area:	Castlebar
County:	County Mayo
Country:	Republic of Ireland
Facility Statistics
Broke Ground:
Opened	1931
Renovated	1950-1951 1992-2002
Surface :	Grass
Owner:	Mayo GAA
Original Construction Cost:	IR£1,700
Reconstruction Cost:
Architect:
Seating Capacity
Capacity:	36,000
Dimensions
Dimensions:

McHale Park is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels and Mayo Gaelic football teams. Built in 1931, the ground has an all-seated capacity of 36,000 and is named after John McHale, Archbishop of Tuam from 1831-1881.

1 History
2 Memorable McHale Park Matches
3 See also
4 External links
5 References

[edit] History

Discussions with the owners of the land where McHale Park now stands commenced in 1929 and the deal was concluded on March 7th 1930. In early 1931 development of the pitch took place at a cost of £1,700. The first competitive matches took place in McHale Park on March 22nd 1931 when Castlebar minors played Balla and Ballina and Cloonacastle played a junior championship match. The first inter-county match was a National Football League match between Mayo and Sligo on April 19th 1931, Mayo winning by 0-27 to 0-2. The official opening took place on May 24th 1931 when about 4,000 spectators attended a match between Mayo and Kildare which ended in a draw.

A major redevelopment was undertaken between 1950 and 1952 which raised the capacity of the ground to 40,000 with seating for 18,000 costing £15,000. The ground was reopened on June 15th 1952 with a game between the reigning All-Ireland champions Mayo and Meath which also ended in a draw.

In the late 1980s covered seating was provided in the Gerry McDonald Stand. In 1990 the Connacht Council decided to grant aid Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon with a view to making it the main venue in the province. In reaction to this a further redevelopment was embarked upon by the Castlebar Mitchels club. Over the course of the next 12 years the ground was converted into a 36,000 all-seater stadium and new dressing-rooms, improved press facilities, dug-outs and a wheelchair area were constructed.

In March 2005 the Mayo County Board took control of McHale Park with a fifty-year lease.

Plans have recently been unveiled proposing a detailed renovation of the ground, including increasing capacity to 41,000.00. The €10 million redevlopment works will also include improved facilities for spectators, a museum, underground training areas, and County Board offices. In addition the famous facade on the McHale Road side of the ground will be demolished and replaced. It is hoped that 3D drawings will be available shortly for review but no date for completion of works has been set.

[edit] Memorable McHale Park Matches

1934 National Football League final: Mayo 2-3 Dublin 1-6. This was the first League final played in McHale Park. 8,000 attended the match which ended in a draw. Mayo won the replay in Croke Park by 2-4 to 1-5. It was the first of six League titles in-a-row for Mayo.

1952 Connacht Senior Football final: Roscommon 3-5 Mayo 0-6. This was the first Connacht final to take place in McHale Park and the first big game there since the redevelopment. Mayo were coming off the back of two consecutive All-Ireland titles and 4 Connacht titles in-a-row. There was a journalists strike on at the time and there were no reporters at the game. The result was sent by telegram to RTÉ to be read out on their evening GAA results programme. However, it was felt that a mistake must have been made and that Mayo couldn’t have been beaten by an unfancied Roscommon. There was no way of checking this due to the journalists strike, so the result was erroneously read out as Mayo 3-5 Roscommon 0-6.

1962 Connacht Senior Football final: Roscommon 3-7 Galway 2-9. Galway were well ahead when Aidan Brady broke the crossbar. A lengthy delay ensued while repairs were made. On the resumption the game changed completely and Roscommon turned things around to snatch a famous win.

1975 Connacht Senior Football final replay: Sligo 2-10 Mayo 0-15. Many thought Sligo had missed their chance in the drawn match in Markievicz Park but inspired by Mickey Kearins, they won their first Connacht title in 47 years to spark joyous scenes among the Sligo supporters at the final whistle.

1981 Connacht Senior Football semi-final: Mayo 2-7 Galway 1-8. Few gave Mayo, without a Connacht title for 12 years, any chance against arch-rivals Galway who had just been crowned League champions. However, on a blazing hot summer’s day, a tremendous performance of high fielding by Willie Nally propelled Mayo to a famous victory and they would go on to clinch the Connacht title over Sligo, also at McHale Park.

1991 Connacht Senior Football final: Roscommon 0-14 Mayo 0-14. With time almost up, it appeared that Mayo had regained the title but up stepped Derek Duggan to kick a now legendary long-range free to take the game to a replay which Roscommon duly won.

1992 Connacht Senior Football final: Mayo 1-14 Roscommon 0-10. Remarkably, the same McHale Park crossbar was to be broken again in a Connacht final. This time Mayo were on top when Roscommon’s Enon Gavin brought down the bar. However, there was to be no turnaround for Roscommon on this occasion and Mayo went on to comfortably regain the title.

2001 All-Ireland Senior Football quarter-final: Galway 0-14 Roscommon 1-5. The first All-Ireland series match to take place in McHale Park was an all-Connacht affair. The two sides had met earlier in the championship when Roscommon had shocked the defending Connacht champions. Revenge was to be sweet for Galway in the re-match as they ran out convincing winners on their way to claiming the All-Ireland title.