Burns makes GAA pledge on Semple refurbishment
By Shane Brophy
GAA President Jarlath Burns has said the prestige of Semple Stadium needs to be restored and that the Field of Legends is to the forefront of the GAA’s plans in terms of a much needed refurbishment.
Speaking last Thursday at the unveiling of a new statue at the stadium entitled “Ár gCluichí Féin”, which was funded by the Tipperary County Council, Burns promised he will strive to see the venue updated even as he approaches the end of his term of office.
“The future of Semple Stadium lies in myself and others to ensure that in the next ten years it gets the funding to make the people who walk past this statue proud to be in this stadium and proud to see it as a part of the future of the GAA.
“I make that pledge to you today: in the final few months I have as Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael I will do everything I can to honour this stadium and to make it the stadium that it should be and can be and was whenever it was built by the visionaries like Tom Semple.”
Considerable work is required on the aging venue, making it more spectator friendly with new seats in the Kinane stand, to electrical and plumbing work, as well as a new playing surface, such as that now in use at Croke Park and Pairc Ui Chaoimh which is more durable and can hold more matches, particularly in the late winter/early spring. The suggested cost is around €10 million but Jarlath Burns insists the GAA are fully behind the work that is needed.
“I have to pay tribute to former stadium chair Con Hogan and the new stadium chair Ger Ryan who are working very hard along with our infrastructural committee.
“We are up for this. It is a wonderful stadium; it really is the home of hurling and there is nowhere better to be than Thurles when it is full.
“The least we can give Thurles back in order to remember the great Tom Semple who was so instrumental in getting the land and getting it built is to ensure we futureproof it, spend the money on it, and when people go by this statue in the years to come and say we are walking into a stadium that is modern and has all the amenities required to be able to watch a game in comfort.
Philanthropic support
Burns also confirmed the GAA were assessing funding streams to meet the upgrade, their own, governmental, and also philanthropic as the association heads towards its next major milestone, its 150th anniversary in 2034.
“The GAA only has €12m every year for infrastructure – we give €5m to clubs and €7m to counties,” he added.
“If you look at all the infrastructural projects going on around the country, such as the new stadium in Louth and a training centre in Longford, all of this is coming because of, demographic change, the number of people who want to play our games, and when people go to a game now they want to watch it in comfort because Croke Park and Páirc Uí Chaoimh sets the standard. There are plenty of other stadiums around the country that set a high standard and we want Semple Stadium to meet that level as well because this is where it all began.”
“The immigrant investment program helped all around the country and a lot of projects couldn’t have happened without it. It was a very sad day when it stopped but we have been working hard negotiating with the government over the past year to get it started up again in a different guise, looking at the weaknesses of the previous program.
“We know senior figures in the government are for it and we think if we can dip into that philanthropic goodwill that exists out there that we could bring in half a billion euro which it is going to take considering integration and all of the stadiums and centres of excellence we are building around the country, to ensure the next one hundred years of the GAA are years where we are modern and have facilities that we are proud of.”
Feelgood factor
Jarlath Burns has been a familiar face in Tipperary, not just at big games in Thurles, but also at smaller events such as the senior hurlers All-Ireland winning medal presentation last year, plus recently the 140th anniversary of the establishment of Newport GAA club.
It is these community events, plus the feelgood factor generated by Mayo’s recent long awaited All-Ireland Football success that makes the GAA the special organisation it is.
“The ambassadorial role you have in the GAA is a very special part,” Burns said as he enters the final six months of his time as Uachtarain CLG.
“Coming to things like this, speaking with ordinary people, going to the clubs, opening pitches, doing underage presentations, they are the things that keep you real and grounded. In this world where individualism is such a thing, having this love of community is so important.
He added: “Whenever you win something and whenever you are watching people winning something after such a long time, you do want to see emotion and want to see it meaning something to people. It was the same with the Tailteann Cup, it does mean something very special.
“We all have looked at Mayo and thought, isn’t this just wonderful in terms if the joy the GAA can bring if you win but also that reassurance and relief they had at the final whistle went and the emotion poured out, that is what the GAA means to us all and we all got a reminder of that.
“Also, in a world where other sports have become commodified and commercialised, we do need to have relationships with the commercial sector as we couldn’t run our association without them but at the end of the day all of our money goes back into projects like this, centres of excellence, bibs and cones, hurleys and footballs, and that is what is special about the GAA as well.”