The trouble with Tailteann

When the proposed venues were announced for Ireland's bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023 it was with a sense of irony and a small degree of humour that some theorists questioned why Navan wasn't included.

However that isn't such a far-fetched idea as some might think. In 2013, when it was first touted that Ireland might bid for the World Cup in 2023, it was suggested by then local Councillor and current TD Shane Cassells that Meath Co Board should apply for planning permission to redevelop Pairc Tailteann with the view of submitting the stadium as a possible venue for the World Cup.
Three years on from that suggestion it appears Pairc Tailteann is no closer to being developed into a stadium suitable for purpose, nevermind of a standard ideal for host game during Rugby World Cup 2023.
There have been plenty of promises and conjecture throughout the last decade. In his address to the Meath GAA Co Board convention last year chairman Conor Tormey was confident that the development of Pairc Tailteann was well on the road to realisation.
“I want to confidently state that our next major project is the redevelopment of Pairc Tailteann,” Tormey told delegates at the convention in December 2015.
“I am conscious that there have been many false dawns on the issue of Pairc Tailteann over the past decade, but we are now well advanced in our plans to make our country ground one of the best.
“Our Infrastructure Development Committee, headed by two accomplished men in Noel Dempsey and Liam Mulvihill, have shown their expertise in delivering on Dunganny.
They are now totally focused on Pairc Tailteann and what can be achieved in creating a top class inter-county ground at our famous venue.
“2016 will see big movement on this project and I look forward to plans being brought forward during the year,” enthused the chairman.
However, there has been little or no movement in regard to work starting at the Brews Hill venue, but the Co Board chairman told the Meath Chronicle on Monday morning that significant progress has been made in the last couple of weeks and that meetings have already taken place with regard to funding for any potential project.
“We are actively in discussions with Leinster Council and Croke Park in terms of looking for funding for our project. We have our feasibility report completed now and we are working off the back of that now. We met with Leinster Council last week and we are meeting with Croke Park before Christmas.
“Leinster Council were very positive about our proposal and they will join us for our presentation and meeting with the Croke Park officials before Christmas.
“Hopefully that will have a positive outcome and we will be back to the delegates with more information early in the new year.
“We are hoping that Phase One would incorprate a new stand and development of the grass banks. We are going in with a proposal for five or six phases that would be for a 25,000 seater stadium, if that is not what Croke Park want then we still have our own plans for a new stand and work on the grass banks over the next five years,” concluded Tormey.
While the claims that Navan should have been considered to host games during the Rugby World Cup in 2023 may have been with tongue-in-cheek, the reality is that the chance to build a stadium suitable for such a purpose is an opportunity lost.
The importance of a modern stadium in a town like Navan cannot be underestimated. It is estimated that Thurles will miss out on a potential windfall worth over €5 million to the local community after Semple Stadium was overlooked as a potential venue for RWC 2023.
If Navan had a stadium suitable for purpose then it would have been an ideal location to host games. Strong transport links to Dublin, exceptional hotel and hospitality facilities and availability of sporting infrastructures for teams to use as a base makes Navan an ideal location - but unfortunately no stadium.
Fianna Fail TD Cassells believes that while the boat may have sailed on the idea of Navan hosting games in RWC 2023, it is still vital to the local economy and community that a redevelopment of Pairc Tailteann is undertaken immediately.
“In a week where we saw the potential boost to several towns across the country because of the possibility of them hosting games in 2023 Rugby World Cup we can only imagine what a boost it would have been to Navan and Meath to have had that opportunity here,” Cassells told the Meath Chronicle.
“Business people in Tipperary where Thurles was overlooked as a possible venue have put the loss of potential income to the local community at a conservative €5 million, so this could have been huge for Navan and Meath.
“In the last week I have put questions to the Minister of Sport looking at funding models and investigating what supports are available from the Government towards redevelopment, “ said Cassells.
Funding appears to be the biggest stumbling block preventing progression of development plans, but Cassells believes models similar, but obviously not on the same scale, to that which has enabled the construction of Pairc Uí Chaoimh in Cork could be put in place in Meath.
Cork Co Board received €30 million in grant aid from the Government for the redevelopment of Pairc Uí Chaoimh and they have also received grants for National and Provincial Councils.
Those grants coupled with their own fundraising has contributed €64 million and with the sale of 2000 premium seats at €6,500 and the sale of stadium naming rights Cork Co Board are on target to be debt free from their €80 million project before the gates open in June next year.
Cassells revealed that the Minister is open to looking at similar funding models used in the redevelopment of Tallaght Stadium to be available for other multi-use municipal facilities.
“We need to see this development press on. It is depressing when we see 50 per cent of the ground in Pairc Tailteann closed for health and safety reasons and floodlights taken down for health and safety reasons. I'm a proud GAA man and all GAA people in Meath are very proud of our Association. Huge work has been done in Dunganny, but we need to see progress made in Pairc Tailteann.
“Anything I can do as a TD to facilitiate that then I certainly will. That is why I asked the Minister for Sport about what funding is available. It is worth exploring and worth investigating because we really need to see movement on this. Noel Dempsey and Liam Mulvihill have been putting great plans in place and now we need to get the ball rolling and get Pairc Tailteann brought up to a really, really high level.”
The possibility of developing a stadium outside on the M50 commuter belt is one that has been proposed over the last couple of years and Cassells believes that Pairc Tailteann and Navan are ideally located to offer that facility.
“Pairc Tailteann offers a great opportunity for that regional stadium in Leinster. It would be great for Meath to get in there and put their case forward to try to get Pairc Tailteann brought up the pecking order in that respect.
“From a geographical point of view Navan offers great options. In the past Pairc Tailteann hosted All-Ireland SFC qualifiers. That was a huge occasion between Armagh and Sligo, but we haven't had too many glory days for the stadium since then. We want those days back again.
“Tallaght stadium received €10m in government grants because it is a multi-functional venue. That is the kind of money that was allocated through that funding model. We have to press for this to be done, it is in a sorry state and well past its former glory and it needs to be redeveloped.
“This has wider beneficial aspects for the town, the businesses and the local people and that is why I want to see big games back in Navan.
“Planners want the retention of sports grounds in the heart of the town. Good planning dictates that you have a link with the town centre, so it is vital that facilities are available for patrons to not just enjoy the games, but also be able to avail of all of the other facilities the town has to offer.

“The senior officers in Co Board want this done, I know that from talking to them. They want to see this progress as quickly as possible.
“What I'm trying to see is what options are available and hopefully we can see that field of dreams realised very quickly, “ concluded Cassells.
Dunganny was the primary aim for Meath GAA over the last decade and that has been achieved impressively, but Pairc Tailteann cannot get left behind.