Casement Park: Thousands gather for rally on lack of progress
Several thousand people, including former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, have gathered in west Belfast to protest about the failure to redevelop Casement Park stadium.The GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) ground has been lying derelict for more than a decade.The protest was organised by South Antrim GAA, ahead of the Ulster championship match between Antrim and Armagh at nearby Corrigan Park.Organisers of the march and rally said it was to put pressure on the Communities Minister Gordon Lyons and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn to do more to ensure the stadium is rebuilt.
Protest signs included the slogans "Casement's calling, Gordon's stalling" and "Hilary Benn tell us when".It is estimated that it would cost at least £260m to build a new stadium, but only around £120m is currently available.Lyons has promised £62.5m from the Stormont executive, the GAA say it will pay £15m while the Irish government has pledged around £43m.Casement Park, with a 34,500 capacity, had been earmarked to host football games at the Euro 2028 football tournament but, with the project on hold, the plan has been shelved.
Lyons has defended his handling of the planned Casement redevelopment and insisted the hold-up is not his fault.Benn has also defended his actions, saying the British government cannot meet the full funding shortfall but will consider a contribution.
Speakers due to address the rally include Oisín McConville, a former All Ireland football championship winner with Armagh in 2002.Kevin Gamble, chairperson of South Antrim GAA, said: "Delaying tactics need to stop."This generation of Gaels and the generations to follow deserve better."Before the rally, protestors gathered at the O'Donovan Rossa GAA club before a planned mile-long walk to Casement Park.
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an hour ago
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Gordon Lyons: GAA should 'change' Casement plans, says DUP minister
The minister in charge of sport in Northern Ireland has said plans for a new Casement Park stadium in west Belfast may have to be scaled back due to the funding Minister Gordon Lyons said the £50m offered on Wednesday by the UK government still left a "significant gap".In a statement to BBC News NI, he put the onus on the GAA to find more money or "change their plans to fit the funding".The price-tag for the planned 34,500-capacity stadium is about £100m more than is currently available. The GAA president, Jarlath Burns, has welcomed the £50m offered by the government but revealed the cost of rebuilding the derelict stadium is now "well over £270m".Mr Burns told Irish state broadcaster RTÉ on Wednesday: "The cost goes up by about £140,000 every month if we don't do anything because of the rising cost of infrastructure and building. "Time literally is money here."The GAA president is looking to the Stormont executive to help plug the funding said: "The executive now have to meet, and it's between really the two government parties to decide how they are going to make up the deficit that still exists between Casement Park not being built - and Casement Park being built." The statement from Lyons put the focus on the GAA said: "Additional money coming to Northern Ireland for sport must be allocated on a fair and equitable basis, a principle first agreed as part of the 2011 executive agreement and one I remain firmly committed to in the interests of fairness to all."It will be up to the GAA to consider what additional contribution they are prepared to make or how they will change their plans to fit the funding that is available."I look forward to engaging with the representatives of the GAA, football and rugby." The funding currently available for the Casement Park redevelopment includes £15m from the GAA, about £43m from the Irish government and £62.5m from that the Stormont funding pledge is more than a decade old, there have been calls for inflation to be taken into account which would take the total close to £ Burns has asked Stormont to consider an "inflationary uplift".The football authorities in Northern Ireland will be watching closely what happens Irish Football Association has called for at least £50m to be given to the sport in line with the extra UK money pledged for the Casement Park executive Patrick Nelson said that "parity" between major sports is GAA want a modern Casement Park stadium capable of hosting Ulster finals, as well as being the home for Antrim county.
