No place to Hyde

For too long, Dr Hyde Park has - in spite of its ideal location - been overlooked by fixtures committees. But once the current ambitious redevelopment is completed, the Roscommon venue will be one of the best in the country and excuses will no longer be accepted.

Plans for Dr Hyde Park’s new Western Stand have been formally launched. The redevelopment of Roscommon’s county grounds coincides with the venue’s 30th anniversary and local man PJ Moran, the consulting engineer who designed the plans, says he hopes to see the new stand completed by the end of the summer.

The next nine months will see the state-of-the-art seated and covered stand constructed on the western side of Douglas Hyde Park in Roscommon town. Already, over £1m has been spent developing the grounds and a further expenditure of £1.2m is scheduled.

The development of the new stand is the final phase of a project which was initiated in 1991 in the wake of disasters in Hillsborough, Bradford and Brussels. Upon completion, the new stand will provide covered seating for 3,750 people as well as new press, tv and radio facilities towards the back of the stand. Wheelchair-friendly facilities are also being incorporated.

Site clearance has already been completed and the tendering process has begun. “The old stand has been removed and demolished and we’re ready to put the new stand up in its place,” says consulting engineer PJ Moran, a member of the Four Roads club.

When designing the stand, the two main criteria PJ took into consideration were safety and comfort, both paramount considerations which will be fully incorporated into the new development.
The stand has also been designed in such a way to ensure that it can be erected quickly and conveniently. To this end, PJ says he can envisage it being complete by September/October at the latest. What a proud day that’ll be for Roscommon GAA.

Roscommon County Board purchased Dr Hyde Park in 1960 and a huge investment program since then has brought the venue right up the the highest possible standards, where it is now capable of hosting games of any level up to Connacht finals. It certainly gets a number of big games every year but there still exists a feeling within the county that perhaps Hyde Park is under-used and it is hoped that the new development will put these ghosts to rest for once and for all.

The new western stand is the final leg in a series of developments that have been put in place since ‘91. The eastern terrace was redeveloped to include concrete terracing and roofing, the northern and southern stands were also redeveloped and new entry facilities were provided from the Ballinagard Road on the western side.

New dressing rooms and a referees room have also been provided as well as toilet facilities and ticket offices. It is also anticipated that the area underneath the new western stand will be developed in the near future into shops and catering outlets.

PJ Moran has a long association with Roscommon GAA, having hurled with the Four Roads club for many years and also having made quite a name for himself in the handball court, winning a number of All-Irelands. Even last year, he was proving as invincible as ever as he stormed to an All-Ireland masters title.

He has also been involved with a number of clubs in the county from a more technical point of view, working on a variety of different sports centres and pitch developments. He was very much a natural choice, then, when it came to the business of appointing an engineer to oversee the development of the new stand. As he says himself: “I certainly wouldn’t be a stranger to The Hyde.”

For this development, PJ called upon the talents of John Killian, a young engineer whose assistance proved invaluable.

PJ himself has been running his own practice since 1983. He lectures in the engineering faculty in Athlone IT and finds that particular work to be highly enjoyable. “I really enjoy the interaction with the students,” he says. “I think it’s very important for a lecturer to keep in touch with exactly what’s going on in the industry and I can do that through the business. That way, you can deliver relevant stuff to the students rather than just bland theory. I like to think that my classes have as much to do with practicality as they have to do with theory.”

Apart from safety (the entire stand can be cleared in under six minutes) and comfort, what other criteria did PJ take into consideration when designing the new stand? “Viewing capabilities was a major one. We also had to ensure the provision of adequate services for the transmission of matches and, to that end, we are liasing with RTE. In the press area, we’re also putting ISDN lines and facilities for laptops in place.”

PJ agrees that the completion of the new stand will considerably strengthen Roscommon County Board’s hand when it comes to staking a claim for hosting matches: “Even though we’re in a very central position, we’ve missed out on a lot of neutral games over the years. But we will now be in a much stronger position and should be considered for a lot more matches, especially with the new system in place for the football championship.”

PJ is still going strong in competitive handball, having recently dropped back from 60 X 30 to 40 X 20 courts. He has won a total of four singles All-Irelands as well as five senior All-Irelands with his club, St. Colman’s. “From an exercise point of view it’s a fantastic sport and I’ve enjoyed every minute,” he notes.
In hurling, PJ played right through the various grades with Four Roads, winning five senior hurling championships as well as a host of underage honours.

Naturally, he’s an avid supporter of Roscommon GAA - how does he see John Tobin’s team doing this year? “Hope springs eternal. There’s a whole new approach and a new enthusiasm in the camp since John took over. Gay Sheerin put his body and soul into it but just didn’t get the results. Hopefully, things will work out better for John.

“I think the new structure that’s in place is a good thing and will suit Roscommon. It was ludicrous that the team’s whole winter could go up in smoke after just one match because the effort that goes into preparing for a championship is unbelievable. The weaker counties put in just as much effort as the stronger ones and it’s good to see that they’ll now be getting a bit more exposure.”