Molly Smiles: Croke Park

Let me just start by saying that today was amazing! After being away from Dublin for three straight weekends, I think it's safe to say most of us were excited to do some more exploring this weekend.

Eight of us walked to Croke Park, the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association this afternoon. With the sun shining, few clouds in the sky, and a little cool breeze, we arrived just in time for a stadium tour.

(The Stadium was renovated between 2000-2006. Each stand was rebuilt in one of the three-phase project. This allowed Croke Park to never miss a match!)

Our tour guide was hilarious, and asked us all to pretend we were members of one of the teams preparing to play in today's match. We walked through the tunnel underneath the Cusack, Davitt and Hogan stands before getting a chance to sit in the player's lounge. Here, players from both teams would have the opportunity to socialize after their match, together.

(Incredible Waterford light fixture in the player's lounge.
We were told they can easily change the colors of the bulbs
to match the colors of the teams playing.)

Then we headed into dressing room, where all 34 team jerseys were on display. It was really neat to see each jersey; hopefully we'll be able to start identifying which one belongs to what team now!

We moved into the warm-up room, where players would have the opportunity to hit the sliotar (hurling ball) or throw the football around before the start of the match. Our tour guide acted almost like our coach, giving up a little pep talk before heading into the tunnel to lead us onto the pitch. They even had a simulator of chants, cheering and music playing in the tunnel as we walked through, getting us ready to play. Although we didn't get a chance to actually walk onto the pitch (field), the view from the pitchside was incredible.

After walking up a few stories, we headed into the press room, and out into their seats in the stadium. Their view of the pitch is perfect, almost guaranteeing no obstruction of seeing any part of the game.

View from the Ulster Bank Group box

Last stop on the tour was one of the many corporate boxes. This one, the Ulster Bank Group box, is located right above the Cusack Stand. What a great view, huh? For only 1 million Euro, companies can rent out one of these private boxes for 10 years (not including the rugby and soccer matches, or the cost of food bear in mind).

The museum was really informative too. It was neat to see and hear about the G.A.A., especially after just writing one of my essays about the association.

We all headed into the city centre for food afterwards. The girls went to a great place near city hall called "Queen of Tarts." Everyone filled up on homemade tarts, yummy sandwiches, fresh salad and heavenly sweets.

On our way back to the bus stop, we decided to go to the XD/4D Theater. It's located right next to the bus stop and we've been saying we should try it for weeks. Although we may have looked a little old for this, the five of us joined three 9 year old boys in the theater for 7 minutes of laughs, screams and 4D glasses-wearing fun!