Where does the name Hill 16 come from?

mikemac

I was going to post this in the History forum but it seems to be pretty dead in there.

I've always wondered where Hill 16 came from. Google didn't reveal anything

I always thought it may be some 19th century British military name as army's often have code names for different locations. There's probably a better explanation

I know there's a Hill 16 pub. Does the pub pre-date the stand?

Surely someone knows.

aidan_walsh

Legend I heard, which may or may not be true, is that it was so named after being built from rubble remaining after the 1916 rising.

Edit: Wikipedia seems to confirm it.

In 1913 Croke Park had two stands on what is now known as the Hogan stand side and grassy banks all round. In 1917 the rubble from the Easter Rising in 1916 was used to construct a grassy hill on the railway end of Croke Park to afford patrons a better view of the pitch which by now hosted all major football and hurling matches. Immortalised as Hill 16 it is perhaps one of the most famous terraces in the world.

Flukey

The original Hill 16 used rubble from the Easter rising, but Hill 16 has been re-built several times since, twice within the last 20 years.

Most GAA fans know where the name of Hill 16 came from and should know where the other names associated with the stadium: Croke, Hogan, Cusack, Davin and Nally came from too.

DiscoHugh

yea that's where i always heard the name came from...never confirmed just what i was told...it's a pretty cool story when you think about it...

Aido c

I understood that the reason the Dubs claimed the hill was that it was constructed using the rubble, of all the thousands of 'chips' which Dublin fans kindly transport everywhere on their shoulder.

I mean its hard for the rest of us to listen to their whining about how they were castigated for nearly ending the leinster final prematurely, shouldering fellow managers/selectors in the back, attempted decapitation on fellow midfielders from opposing teams who just happened to be dominating games.

But its all worth it if we know that all these chips built the hill, please say they did ....:(

DUB

What are you twittering on about Aido? Do we really need another thread decending into anti-Dublin nonsense?

hawker

Aido C, you're talking rubbish. This has really nothing to do with the OP. And when one of your midfielders stops kneeing players and generally throwing sneaky blows here and there you can start lecturing. I'm no Dub but this forum has it's fair share of anti Dubs.

By all means have a go at any team for a real reason.....and not at every available chance.

JazzyJ

http://furnacemagazine.com/sport/history_in_the_making.html

For a short time, the Railway End was a mound of earth known as Hill 60, after a 60-metre-high hill fought over at the battle of Suvla Bay in the Great War. When Sackville Street was in ruin following the 1916 Rising, it was decided that the debris would be used at Croke Park. Hill 60 was levelled. Hill 16 rose on the bedrock of revolution.

Flukey

Aido_c, we are not going to rise to your drivel. Stick to the matter in hand. Anyway, the now departed Nally Stand is the one most people wonder about the name of. It was named after Pat Nally, a Mayo man and great athlete as well as a member of the Fenians.

He was never actually a GAA member or played Hurling or Football, but the GAA did promote athletics strongly in its early days. He did promote athletics, prior to the founding of the GAA and in some ways, though he was not a founder, some of his promotion of athletics led to the GAA coming into being. Most sport back then was controlled by the landlords and other powerful people, leaving the ordinary man out. Nally's idea was to break that stranglehold and he promoted some sports events which were open to all. The success of what he did helped lead to the founding of the GAA as others carried on the idea of organising sport for everyone.

gucci

Flukey wrote:

Anyway, the now departed Nally Stand i

i hope not!my ticket for sunday is in the nally stand!! it still exists although now its just a terrace unlike the seating that was in the older one

Aido c

I appologise - cheap shot