Stadium tour and museum admission: €10.50
The tour of Croke Park comes highly recommended. Not only does it give you a comprehensive, behind the scenes tour of the fourth largest sports stadium in Europe (behind the Nou Camp, Wembley Stadium and the Olympic Stadium, Kiev) with a capacity of over 82,000.
The tour takes you through the players lounge, where there is a spectacular chandalier hand made of Waterford Crystal, with the numbers of balls corresponding to the number of hurling and Gaelic football teams of the GAA, and which, on matchday, change to the two colours of the teams playing that day. The tour continues through to one of the dressing rooms, into an indoor practice area and out into the spectacular stadium itself., where the size is overwhelming. An interesting part of the ground is the terrace called Hill 16 behind one end, which houses over 10,000 spectators. It looks somewhat out of place compared with the other impressive grandstand, but when you understand the history of the area - built on rubble from O'Connell Street and the traditional home of Dublin fans - it is inconceivable for it to be replaced. The tour ends with a tour of corporate boxes, and after the tour, you are free to browse around an impressive and interactive museum, which provides all you could need to know about Gaelic games. For someone who knew little about Gaelic Games, it certainly gave me a thirst for more, for a sports that are entirely amateur, only played in Ireland, yet is so well supported.
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