Killarney’s Fitzgerald Stadium will be a riot of colour this Saturday afternoon for an exciting Munster Championship double header featuring Kerry and Cork in the men’s semi-final and Kerry v Tipperary in the ladies’ curtain-raiser.
And those that flock to the magnificent stadium will get to enjoy both games in the majestic setting in what is surely the most spectacular GAA playing field in the country.
The fabulous facility they will experience can be attributed to years of toil and hard labour by a dedicated group of men that laid the foundations for the park to be built.
The site was purchased in the early 1930s from the Courtney family for the princely sum of £750 and the stadium was developed with the assistance of patients from the adjacent St Finan’s Hospital with the Killarney Mental Hospital Committee deciding it would be great occupational therapy and of immense therapeutic value.
This historic picture, captured in early 1930s by pioneering photographer Daniel MacMonagle, shows the very early days of the stadium development and on the right of the photograph is where the O’Sullivan Stand is now located.
The stadium named after the legendary footballer Dick Fitzgerald – was officially opened on the last day of May in 1936 with Bishop of Kerry, Dr Michael O’Brien and the Archbishop of Cashel and then patron of the GAA, Dr John Mary Harty presiding.
Within the space of a year the park hosted the All-Ireland hurling championship final between Tipperary and Kilkenny due to the unavailability of Croke Park which was undergoing construction work.
The history books will show the official attendance was 43,000 but an estimated 50,000 turned out in the stadium for the 1950 Munster hurling final, involving Cork and Tipperary, and it resulted in numerous supporters encroaching on to the pitch when the terraces became too crowded.
The O’Sullivan Stand – named in memory of the late Kerry team trainer Dr Eamon O’Sullivan – was constructed in 1970.
In addition to GAA and International Rules games, Fitzgerald Stadium has also hosted several headline concerts with acts including Elton John, Tom Jones, Pink, Westlife, Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams and Pussycat Dolls.
Plans are currently in the pipeline for a major €72 million of Fitzgerald Stadium which, no doubt, will again set the standard for all other stadia to follow and attempt to emulate.
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