Páirc Esler ( , ; also ga, Páirc an Iúir ) is a GAA stadium in Newry,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, Northern Ireland. It is the home of the Down

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

and

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

teams and the Newry Shamrocks GAA club. The ground has a capacity of about 20,000.

History

The ground was named after Fr. (later

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

) Hugh Esler (d. 1983), a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest and

Ballynahinch Ballynahinch may refer to: Northern Ireland * Ballynahinch, County Armagh, a townland *Ballynahinch, County Down, a town Republic of Ireland *Ballynahinch (barony), in County Galway *Ballynahinch, County Galway, a townland in County Galway * Bally ...

native credited with reinvigorating interest in

in Newry in the 1930s–50s, and with securing the grounds that was to later become Páirc Esler.

Renovation

The ground has undergone major redevelopment work, with new stands, floodlights, new pitch all added in 2006–2007. From 1999 to 2004 no senior intercounty championship matches were played at the venue. After the development of a new terrace at the canal end of the ground and a new stand on the south side of the ground, Down hosted the All Ireland Champions, Tyrone, in round 2 of the football championship qualifiers. The following year both Fermanagh and Derry visited the ground in the qualifiers, Down losing to the latter. The ground was closed after the Down v Armagh game in Division 1B of the National Football League in March 2006 for further development.

Reopening

With work now completed on the ground, with a new covered stand and floodlighting facilities, the ground hosted its first Ulster Senior Football Championship Match since 1999 when Cavan visited the stadium for a preliminary round replay on Sunday 20 May 2007, which the home side won 0–15 to 0–11. In June it held a first-round Ulster Championship clash with Monaghan and a first-round qualifier game with Meath – Down lost both games. On 8 October 2007, the new stand was officially opened by GAA president Nickey Brennan, just before the start of the Senior Football Championship Final between

Mayobridge Mayobridge () is a village within Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland, lying on the small river Clanrye which divides the townlands of Mayo and Bavan. It is located within the Newry and Mourne District Council area - it had a population of 1,069 ...

and Longstone, which ended in a draw. Mayobridge won the replay, and their fourth title in a row. The 26 October saw the official switch-on of the floodlights, which was marked by the division one league final between Kilcoo and An Riocht. An Riocht won the game by 3 points, with AFL star Martin Clarke scoring 2–1 in the final. It has now hosted Dr. McKenna cup matches in 2008 in which Down played and beat Cavan, UUJ and beat Donegal 5–14 to 0–13. In the same year they won the final which was played in Casement Park, Belfast. Down V Derry, and later in the championship first round beat soon-to-be All Ireland SFC Champions Tyrone, the only team that year to do so in the championship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pairc Esler Down GAA Gaelic games grounds in Northern Ireland Newry Sports venues in County Down

History

Renovation

Reopening

See also

References