Casement Park in line for major overhaul - 40,000 all seater Stadium.

[BennyCake]

If Casement goes ahead despite the protests from residents, the new stadium is always going to be surrounded by ill-feeling from alot of people in that area. Any big match that takes place, will continually get up residents noses. That can't be good for the GAA in Belfast, Ulster and as a whole.

A fine stadium surrounded by angry pissed off residents isn't good in any way, in my opinion.

[longjohnsilver]

[longjohnsilver]

Extracts from The Final Development Management Report.
3.2 " The need for the proposal has therefore already been established through this goverment commitment and also through the existing use of the site as a GAA stadium"........ We the residents see no need for our area to be entombed by a 38500 concert ready stadium. Also due to falling GAA attendance figures this is unlikely to be filled. So the Government have committed to this. Why then refuse to release the Business Plan after all the days of one party governmemt are over our local politicians surely would not want to be less than open and honest with their electors and taxpayers.

[longjohnsilver]

[Syferus]

Social justice for residents because they're doing up an existing stadium they're living by?

What brand of scutter is that?

The GAA better not kowtow to shite like that if they want to get anything done in the future.

[Minder]

Social justice for residents because they're doing up an existing stadium they're living by?

What brand of scutter is that?

The GAA better not kowtow to shite like that if they want to get anything done in the future.

Yep, it's just a lick of paint it's getting.

[Syferus]

"Doing up".

It's amazing to me that any Antrim GAA supporter could do anything besides see that sort of guff for what it is, the predictable, generic and pointless opposition that arises around every single major development on our island.

If protesters want to lift up placards wailing about 'social justice' because they're pissed off about a re-developed stadium they're entitled to but for outsiders looking at that it just makes them look wholly ridiculous.

They better cop themselves on.

[Syferus]

Why?

What amazes me about Antrim GAA supporters is that they are happy to see their county ground removed from their possession to a yet unknown entity for a cost of £0.00.

See, the financial details of the development are another issue and a real one. I highly doubt the people out there protesting residents' 'social rights' would give a flying feck if Antrim GAA washed out to sea because of the re-development.

[longjohnsilver]

The GAA better not kowtow to shite like that if they want to get anything done in the future.

What? How dare you!
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/mr-gaa-jailed-for-two-decades-of-sexual-terror-26103328.html


A FORMER top GAA official who carried out a reign of sexual terror against children over more than two decades from 1957 to 1978, was jailed for three years yesterday.

Former Ulster Council Secretary Michael Feeney (68) of Glenfield House, Corfad, Ballybay, Co Monaghan dubbed for many years "Mr GAA" in the North was sentenced by Judge Matt Deery at Monaghan Circuit Court when he pleaded to the litany of offences involving indecent assault and sexual assault on young girls and boys then aged between seven and 15 years.

The offences took place while Feeney was a primary school teacher, before he took up his GAA post.


Some of the victims travelled from Australia to give evidence. They also waived their right to remain anonymous so that the accused could be publicly exposed and named.



The judge had reserved his decision on sentence until yesterday, following a hearing last Tuesday during which the catalogue of sex assaults was outlined in court.



Feeney was removed from his GAA post in 1997 in the wake of the Garda investigation. Yesterday the GAA expressed sympathy to the families of those abused.



Some of the young girls and boys were sexually molested as the accused sat beside them in a school classroom.



One female, now aged 49, was frequently abused over a five-year period when she travelled with him in a car, when he visited her home, and also at a local hall.

Another victim described how she was sexually assaulted when she visited Feeney to collect money for newspapers.



All the victims said they were then too afraid to report what was happening to their parents.



The assaults all related to incidents in which the male victims were fondled sexually.



Before sentencing Feeney to three years imprisonment on each of the 21 charges to which he pleaded, the sentences to run concurrently, Judge Deery commended gardai on bringing what he described as "a sensitive and difficult investigation to a successful conclusion".



He described the assaults with which Feeney was charged as "in the middle range of offences of that particular nature which have come before the courts in recent times".

[THE MIGHTY QUINN]

Don't understand the significance of that post.  I can't understand why the Andytown Road end is not covered.  It's hard to square the circle of providing a 21st century facilities while creating a large uncovered seating area at what will probably be the most popular side of the ground

[orangeman]

Casement Park: GAA 'could have engaged better'




A leading GAA official has admitted they could have done more to engage with residents opposed to the building of a major new stadium in west Belfast.

It is understood the organisation now believes it will have to offer to buy some homes next to the Casement Park development.

Residents are threatening legal action to stop the 38,000-seater stadium that got planning permission before Christmas.

Ryan Feeney, Head of Public Affairs of the Ulster Council of the GAA, says he "deeply regrets" the fact that some of those opposed to the project are members of the organisation.

In an interview for The View on BBC One, he said "There's things you can always do differently and better, and I'd be the first to hold my hands up and say perhaps there's things we could have done a lot better in terms of engaging with the residents.

"I lead that process and I take responsibility for that."

The GAA plans to build a 38,000-seater stadium in west Belfast
Residents say the organisation has treated them badly and ignored their concerns.

But Mr Feeney said the GAA has been "transparent and open" in everything it has done.

"We've been engaging with the residents for 18 months, we've given them four designs for the stadium; we've knocked 300 doors; we've had a three-week consultation process with a scale model.

"We went above and beyond what we had to do in the consultation process because it was the right thing to do.

"It is a matter of deep regret that we find ourselves in a situation where we have members of the GAA who live locally who are opposed to this project, and I want to appeal to them to get round the table, discuss issues with us and I will assure them the GAA will do its best to alleviate their concerns."

Ryan Feeney said the GAA should have engaged better with residents
Asked what he would have done differently, Mr Feeney said: "Well what I would have done differently in terms of the engagement process, I would have ensured that we would have spread the net wider in terms of engaging with the residents.

"I would also have ensured that on a weekly basis they were getting updates directly from the GAA instead of meeting smaller groups and giving them information so that they were getting direct information from us that might have alleviated some of the misinformation that was put out about the project and that currently exists."

The residents are currently considering whether its worth seeking a judicial review, which at the very least could hold up the project that the GAA hopes to complete in 2016.

I understand the organisation is now actively considering offering to buy a small number of houses closest to the stadium.

One of those who may be affected, Yvonne Mulligan, says she and her husband would give any such offer serious consideration because they do not think they could continue living in their current home once the stadium is built.

"We live in very close proximity to it, and it is going to have a major detrimental impact on us," she says.

"People's health is suffering, people are depressed, they're anxious; they can't sleep at night. It just consumes your life."

[armaghniac]

"People's health is suffering, people are depressed, they're anxious; they can't sleep at night. It just consumes your life."

Perhaps a little perspective is needed here. The proposed development may not be great, but this is West Belfast, the Brits occupied Casement for years! 

[The Worker]

Interesting statement. I would not be in favour of the current proposals , but I think a new casement is good for ulster gaa as a whole. Time to support the
Project.

[JPGJOHNNYG]

Buying some houses is an interesting development but I cant honestly see how they choose which ones to buy ie where do they draw the line. From the above quote it sounds like a random few rather than a whole street. It was done for Thomond park a few years back however it added quite a bit to the development costs!

[armaghniac]

They should buy all the houses and then re-sell/rent them on condition that there is no whinging. The actual cost of this might not be all that much.