Corrigan Park is a

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...

ground on the Whiterock Road in west Belfast that served as the main venue for GAA in Belfast until the opening of

Casement Park Casement Park ( ga, Páirc Mhic Asmaint) is the principal Gaelic games stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and serves as the home ground of the Antrim football and hurling teams. It is located in Andersonstown Road in the west of the city ...

in 1953. It is named in honour of Sean Corrigan, mentor of the Brian Óg club who were Antrim's first hurling champions. In 2021 following extensive renovations which included the construction of a 600-seat stand and terracing, the capacity of the park increased from 2,100 to 3,700.

Current

It is home to the St John's club. It regularly hosts Ulster club and colleges matches at second and third level.

History

Hurling

Corrigan Park was associated with the run of the Antrim hurling team to the final of the

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

All-Ireland

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

, Corrigan Park staged the quarter-final in which Antrim beat

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

and the semi-final in which Antrim beat

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

, both unexpected results at the time. Its tight, confined space was regarded as being advantageous to the home side in those matches.

Football

Among the major football championship matches it staged were the

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

-Antrim Ulster championship semi-finals of 1930, 1931 and 1949. Its last major provincial football championship match was Antrim v

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

in the Ulster championship of 1952. However, Corrigan Park hosted Antrim's Round 2 Qualifier defeat to

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

in the

2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 132nd edition of the Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament since its establishment in 1887. Thirty-three teams took part – thirty-one of t ...

Camogie

Corrigan Park staged the All Ireland Camogie finals of 1944, 1946, and 1947, two of which were won by Antrim, and also several of Antrim's semi-finals. It became known as the home of camogie during this period.The Evolution of the GAA by

Donal McAnallen Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

(Ulster Historical Foundation 2009)

References

External links

St John's website
{{Antrim GAA Antrim GAA Gaelic games grounds in Northern Ireland Sports venues completed in 1927 Sports venues in Belfast