Residents living close to Croke Park are “sick” of people urinating ingardens or on the street near the stadium.

This weekend saw another bumper list of GAA fixtures – with fans from all over the country descending on Dublin for the All-Ireland hurling semi-finals.

While fans were treated to spectacular scenes on the pitch, residents say a lack of portaloos and public toilets mean the scenes outside the stadium were something to forget.

Lunchtime Live listener Eimear described what she saw as she returned to her East Wall home after the match between Cork and Limerick.

“This is not an isolated incident, unfortunately,” she said. 

“Every time there is a concert or a match in Croke Park or the 3Arena, we’re plagued with people either urinating in our garden or on the street. 

“There’s just no excuse.” 

Why can’t @CrokePark put portaloos in a 2km radius of the stadium? I’m sick of seeing men pissing on the streets or in my garden! It’s not acceptable. If you run events you have a sense of responsibility to your community.

— Eimear McCormack (@EimearMcCormack) July 7, 2024

Eimear said Croke Park must to do more to provide people attending the stadium with proper facilities – and is calling on the GAA to install portaloos within a 2km radius of the stadium.

“I’m sick of seeing people urinating on the streets or in my garden,” she said. 

“It’s not acceptable. 

“If you run events, you have to have a sense of responsibility to your community. 

“So, that was my main point and I really do believe that.

“Why are we being subjected to this constant filth on the street?” 

Litter on the street

Eimear said there is also an issue with rubbish and said more bins need to be installed as well. 

“It’s kind of a joint responsibility, I believe, between Croke Park and Dublin City Council, which I presume would sanction the event happening,” she said.

“It has to be subject to certain planning etc, so, why aren’t there bins provided? Why aren’t there portaloos within the proximity of the area.”

Eimear said she often goes to large events and feels they provide far larger numbers of portaloos and bins for attendees.

Over the weekend, she visited the town of Henely, near London, and for its rowing regatta, which she said was a “wild event”. 

“But they’re able to police it correctly,” she said. 

“They’re able to have security, they’re able to have security [on] the street, they’re able to have portaloos around the place where you won’t see people openly urinating. 

“Where is our sense of community? Where is the responsibility with these people that are putting on events to the local community?”

In a statement to Newstalk, Croke Park said they regular engage with local residents about their views on the management of large scale events. 

"We have tried and tested mechanisms in place to liaise with all kinds of residents’ issues in conjunction with key stakeholders such as the Gardaí and the Local Authority," he said.

Residents can make complaints via email or a freephone number on match days.

You can listen back here:

Main image: Croke Park. Image: Alamy.com