A proposal to rename Páirc Uí Chaoimh has been paused for further talks after a public backlash over plans to rebrand it as SuperValu Páirc.
At a behind-closed-doors meeting of the county board on Tuesday night, delegates told the Cork GAA executive that a compromise must be reached to retain the Páirc Uí Chaoimh name in any deal with the supermarket giant.
SuperValu was not agreeable to Páirc Uí Chaoimh being retained in the new stadium title during initial negotiations with Cork GAA, the Irish Examiner understands.
However, a fresh statement released by Cork GAA, following 24 hours of criticism over the proposal to rename the venue SuperValu Páirc, said no new stadium name had been finalised.
The statement confirmed that talks with SuperValu are ongoing and said both sides have been "conscious of the public debate" over the last 24 hours.
A number of delegates have said SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh would be an acceptable alternative in the renaming process.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin and the grandson of Pádraig Ó Caoimh, the legendary GAA administrator after whom the stadium is named, were among the many who expressed outrage over the SuperValu Páirc renaming, which was raised at a Cabinet meeting yesterday.
Mr Martin said he was "deeply disappointed and annoyed" at the proposed rebranding which is part of a proposed multi-layered naming rights deal for the stadium, worth between €250,000 and €300,000 a year to Cork GAA over an initial three-year period.
He told Cabinet ministers that the government now needs to look at how it manages State funding for stadiums in the future, given that €30 million of taxpayers' money was allocated to the Páirc Uí Chaoimh redevelopment project in 2014 without conditions attached on future naming rights.
Deeply disappointed & annoyed at the proposal to change the name of Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Pádraig Uí Chaoimh was a key figure in the formation of the GAA at club and national level.
Govt allocated €30m towards the development of the stadium and never sought naming rights.
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) January 16, 2024
Three other companies — Boston Scientific, Statkraft, and PepsiCo — will also have subsidiary stadium branding privileges as part of the total package, which is understood to be worth in the region of €1 million up to 2026.
Mr Ó Caoimh’s grandson, Dónal, said he was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the proposal to drop his name grandfather’s name from the stadium, and learned about it through the media.
He said nobody from the GAA reached out to him to tell him it was being considered. Dónal said:
My grandfather embodied the empathy, hospitality, and community spirit that is the essence of the GAA.
Reporting by Kenneth Foxe
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