Kelly clarifies Croke Park use

GAA president Seán Kelly has dismissed claims by Ulster Council chairman Michael Greenan that the opening of Croke Park to international rugby and soccer in 2007 would be hindered by a delay in planning permission for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road.

Greenan stated in his annual speech to the Ulster convention that assurances were given by Kelly at the last Central Council meeting on February 18th that "should planning permission not be through and therefore Lansdowne Road not closed for renovation then everything changes".

When queried yesterday, Kelly referred to the agreement in place between the GAA, FAI and IRFU regarding the closure of Lansdowne Road in 2007, which will see Six Nations and World Cup qualifying games switch to Croke Park.

"You cannot, with exactitude, say that planning permission is going to be granted at a particular day or a particular time but I've been given assurances by the FAI and IRFU based on the best experts available to them and indeed to us that the planning process would take at most 12 months," said Kelly. "It was lodged in January, therefore in January next year at most planning permission will be granted.

"Everybody has to plan in advance so Lansdowne Road is going to be closed in 2007 so when I said: 'if Lansdowne Road wasn't closed,' I was speaking from a position of knowledge."

Kelly added: "We never discussed planning permission. We discussed whether Lansdowne Road would be closed or not. I said if Lansdowne wasn't closed obviously the situation would change, as that was the motion passed at Congress. We confined it to what was passed at Congress, which said: when Lansdowne Road was closed for redevelopment."

The precise wording of the Sligo motion to last year's congress that amended Rule 42 is: "Central Council have the power to authorise the renting or leasing of Croke Park for events other than those controlled by the association during a period when Lansdowne Road football ground is closed for the proposed development."

Central Council clarified this further by stipulating that the ground would only be used for competitive rugby and soccer internationals in 2007.

Greenan described the handling of the Rule 42 issue and the manner in which sponsorship initiatives have developed as partitionist.

"We've had a number of sponsorship initiatives nationally that we in Ulster would take exception to. Many of the initiatives were totally 26-county based and we in our association have always tried not to be partitionist, but so many of these have been partitionist decisions, as has been the decision on the adjustment in Rule 42 which again is a partitionist decision. It only refers to a part of our country and most of our province has been left out.

"This to me is not acceptable, we are a 32-county organisation, we don't even have coverage in our 32 counties from what is supposed to be our national television station and now sponsorship is being done in a partitionist way and is not acceptable or should not be acceptable to our organisation or to us."

Yesterday Greenan added: "What soccer team is going to play in Croke Park. The 26 counties. You tell me that is not partitionist?"