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Walk in the footsteps of Limerick GAA Legends
Limerick GAA Legends – In honour, Kyle Doyle, wearing the Limerick jersey in the players dressing room. Photograph: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland
Limerick GAA Legends – Family fun at the Croke Park Stadium Tour & GAA Museum
Thinking of taking your kids to the Park? Why not do something cool before they go back to school and take them on a tour of the most amazing Park of all in Ireland – Croke Park. It is listed as one of the top 5 things to do in Dublin on Trip Advisor and was recentlyawarded their 2016 Certificate of Excellence.
On the Croke Park Stadium Tour your kids will walk in the footsteps of Limerick GAA legends. You will go behind-the-scenes at the 82,300 capacity stadium, one of the largest in Europe, and get access to all areas. Inspire your little one to be the next GAA All-Star as they sit next to their county jersey in the players’ dressing room, and run out pitch side through the players’ tunnel to the sound of cheering crowds.
The tour also stops off in the warm up area, players’ lounge, VIP section, corporate level and the media centre on the stadium’s top tier. Along the way your family will get stories about the stadium’s rich history and insights into how it operates on big match days.
The guides on the tour are a huge part of the experience – they are passionate about the GAA, Irish culture and heritage, and will instil a sense of local pride in your family as they recall GAA stories from your county.
The day will be made even more special as the GAA Museum in the stadium also offers FREE entry to all those who take the Stadium Tour. Here your family will see the original Sam Maguire and Liam MacCarthy Cups up close and personal, and find their heroes in the GAA Players Hall of Fame and Player of the Year exhibitions.
Cluasóg, the Irish hare, is the leader of the new Junior Explorer route aimed at children between 4 and 10 years old. On entering the museum, children can pick up their Junior Explorer passport and follow the route which highlights some of the most fascinating and famous exhibitions.
A highlight for many boys and girls (and mums and dads!) is the museum’s interactive games zone, where you can test your own hurling and football skills – see how fast your family can react, check your passing skills and practice a fingertip save or the art of the high catch!
And the museum is not just for kids who love the GAA. The newly opened ‘Ireland’s Olympians’ exhibition, which celebrates the nation’s Olympic medalists and will get everyone excited ahead of the upcoming Olympic Games. You can also view iconic sporting memorabilia such as the late Mohammed Ali’s signed shorts and glove, who famously fought in Croke Park in 1972.
The state-of-the-art interactive museum brings visitors on a journey that vividly illustrates the story of Gaelic games from ancient times to the present. Their vast collection includes rare and precious artefacts from our national games, as well as highlighting the contribution the GAA has made – and continues to make – to Ireland’s cultural, social and sporting heritage since its foundation in 1884. Limerick GAA Legends
Croke Park is an iconic stadium steeped in history, and has been at the heart of Irish sporting and cultural life for over 100 years, so it really is a must for every Irish family.
The stadium tour and entry to the museum is great value at just €40 for a family of 5 (children under 3 years are free), and it’s also conveniently accessible from Dublin city centre and train stations. They have great facilities for kids including a changing room, games room and the Blackthorn Café, and all tours are wheelchair accessible.
The Museum is also free of charge on match days for those with tickets.
Also this weekend, anyone with match tickets goes free to the GAA Museum from 1pm to 6.30pm.
For tour times and more on these amazing Croke Park tours, see www.crokepark.ie
For more family fun attractions in the area see www.dna.ie .
For more news on GAA in Limerick from I Love Limerick click here.