[ad_1]
Club Aontroma President Niall Murphy believes the redevelopment of Casement Park is now ‘an equality issue’
The planning permission for the stadium renovation was initially granted in 2013 and after a 2014 superior court case forced changes to the project, in 2017 new plans were submitted for a site of less than 34,500 capacity.
The lack of a functioning government in Stormont until recently has pushed back plans for Casement Park, but with the return of shared power in Northern Ireland there is renewed hope that stalled plans can finally take off.
When asked if he was optimistic that the stadium’s plans will now go ahead, Murphy replied. “They have to, that is the bottom line. It is beyond a sporting problem, it is an equality problem now and that is how the Gaels see it in the North.”
“Windsor Park was completely rebuilt and rightly so, Ravenhill for Ulster Rugby was completely remodeled and is an exceptional facility and we have been left adrift. That simply will not be tolerated.
“A quality stadium brought together with appropriate government funds and proportional government resources is now something that is considered an equality issue.”
Murphy has been in the headlines lately after a long battle with Covid-19 that left him in a coma and fighting for his life.
The 43-year-old man spent four weeks in the hospital and after emerging from a 16-day coma and recovering, he was told it was 50-50 at the time whether or not he would make it.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, he paid tribute to the doctors and nurses who help save his life.
“I have to say it was in the safest hands. All of the medical care, which was intense, worked and I just can’t thank all the staff who took good care of me.
“It was a more difficult time at home. My wife received a call one night to say it was 50-50 if she managed to get through, that would have been a difficult phone call to handle.
“It really is like a field hospital in a war movie. When I arrived, I couldn’t understand the working conditions these people work under.”
“I described to them the equivalent of the firefighters who ran into the Twin Towers on September 11, except that we are not providing these people with sufficient protective equipment.”
“The nurses and doctors are working and the physical therapists are basically working in the garbage bag, certainly in the north. They make me believe that the circumstances are better in the south.”
“With all that said, every person who cared about me could not have been more caring, caring, professional and genuine.”
[ad_2]