Croke Park, Dublin

Croke Park is Dublin’s stadium and the Gaelic Athletic Association’s main ground, where Gaelic football and hurling reach their great occasions. The site has held athletics since 1891, and the association took ownership in 1913, naming it for Archbishop Thomas Croke. Its most painful history belongs to 21 November 1920: during a Dublin–Tipperary football match, armed auxiliaries entered and fired on the crowd.

Fourteen civilians died or were fatally wounded, including Tipperary player Michael Hogan; the Hogan Stand, built in 1924, preserves his name. At the railway end, Hill 16 recalls the 1916 Rising and is now the stadium’s only standing terrace. A significant moment arrived in 2007, when England came to Croke Park for rugby; their anthem received applause, and Ireland prevailed by 43 to 13. Beginning in 2012, a route suspended 44 metres above the playing field has offered broad views across Dublin.