Lifestyle & Sports
16 Jan 24

Páirc Uí Chaoimh: Cork's iconic GAA stadium and outdoor music venue to be renamed

Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Credit: Cork GAA

The naming rights deal is expected to be presented this evening to Cork County Board – but has already sparked debate online.

Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the iconic Cork stadium originally opened back in 1976, is set to be renamed as SuperValu Páirc or SuperValu Park, as part of a major deal understood to be worth between €250,000 and €300,000 a year to Cork GAA.

As reported by the Irish Examiner, the naming rights deal will be brought to the Cork County Board tonight to be ratified. Three other companies – Boston Scientific, Statkraft and PepsiCo – will also have branding privileges as part of the deal. The paper reports that Cork GAA have been looking to sell the naming rights of Páirc Uí Chaoimh since 2016.

Over the years, the stadium has played hosted to music icons like Prince, Oasis, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Ed Sheeran and U2 – as well as the Siamsa Cois Laoi festival. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band are set to play Páirc Uí Chaoimh as part of their 2024 World Tour on May 16.

The stadium was named after Pádraig Ó Caoimh, a former secondary school teacher who fought in the War of Independence, before going on to serve as General Secretary of the GAA from 1929 until his death in 1964.

The decision to change the name of the stadium has sparked major debate online – with Ó Caoimh's grandson, Dónal Ó Caoimh, also weighing in.

"I’m just learning about this decision tonight through the media," he wrote on X. "Nobody from the GAA reached out to me to tell me this was being discussed. I’m in shock and saddened tonight."

Thanks @RealPMurphy , as Padraig O'Caoimh's grandson I’m just learning about this decision tonight through the media. Nobody from the GAA reached out to me to tell me this was being discussed. I’m in shock and saddened tonight. https://t.co/Buo1bok8nT

— Dónal Ó Caoimh (@donalocaoimh) January 15, 2024

GAA journalist Adam Moynihan took to social media to state that he was "genuinely saddened by that Páirc Uí Chaoimh/SuperValu Park news" – noting that "some things should remain sacred and the names of our most important stadiums is one of them."