FRIDAY’S announcement from Secretary of State Hilary Benn once more brings the debacle of the Casement Park redevelopment project to the fore.
At the start we were told that the £77 million project would bring jobs to west Belfast and we would get Ulster finals and All-Ireland play-off games. This fell through when a judge, in a judicial review, told the minister who approved it that the decision-making process had been fundamentally flawed. Back to the drawing board.
Next, we were told that we needed Casement redeveloped for the Rugby World Cup in 2023 and when the governing body of rugby rejected that idea, it was once more back to the drawing board.
The next rabbit out of the hat was that Casement Park had to be redeveloped for the Euro soccer championships in 2028 and Hilary Benn has just shot that one down, but no doubt, the powers that be will be conjuring up some other pie-in-the-sky brain wave to try to get this white elephant over the line.
The facts of the matter are that Casement Park will never be redeveloped to meet the criteria laid down by the GAA for a provincial stadium and no-one, other than those who will make money out of it, can justify the cost of £400m and rising while pensioners will be freezing in their homes this winter.
Another year’s delay will see the cost of this project hit the half a billion-pound mark.
The Gaels of Antrim have been without their county ground for more than 11 years now and a whole generation of young hurlers and footballers have been deprived of the honour of having ever played in Casement Park. The lack of leadership that has allowed this to happen has been astonishing.
Casement Park must be redeveloped, but for the future generations of Antrim Gaels to show off their talents and skills, playing our national games, and not to rake in money watching millionaire entertainers, soccer and rugby players ply their talents at the cost of our own.
It is time for the Gaels of Antrim to stand up and demand the return of their county ground to its rightful owners and the initial money set aside for this project to be used to return Casement Park to its former glory as the Antrim county ground and the heart and soul of Antrim GAA.
Bob Murray
Belfast BT11
