Large bags and rucksacks banned from Croke Park

Flukey

RTE News wrote:

Patrons will no longer be able to bring large bags and backpacks into Croke Park following a review of security arrangements at the stadium.
The new security measures will apply for all match days and concerts at GAA headquarters.
It will come in to effect from Sunday 25 June, when Dublin face Westmeath in the Leinster Football Championship semi-final.
A statement from the GAA said the decision was made following a review of safety procedures with the relevant authorities.
The statement adds that smaller bags will be permitted, but may be subject to searches.
According to the Croke Park website, 'smaller bags' are those no bigger than A4 (21cm x 29.7cm) size.
Plastic bags smaller than A4 size will also be allowed.
People are urged not to bring bags at all where possible in order to avoid delays.

This is going to be an inconvenience to travelling fans wanting to bring various things like food and drink, rain-gear, cameras, clothing etc. It is a sign of the times I suppose though.

KevIRL

Flukey wrote: »

This is going to be an inconvenience to travelling fans wanting to bring various things like food and drink, rain-gear, cameras, clothing etc. It is a sign of the times I suppose though.

Travelling fans as opposed to the 'home' fans from Dublin?

Flukey

KevIRL wrote: »

Travelling fans as opposed to the 'home' fans from Dublin?

Let's not go there. We all travel, including plenty of Dubs fans from far outside Dublin. Many of us bring bags, no matter where we are coming from. Let's keep the thread about the subject matter, and not twist it into yet another anti-Dublin thread. This ban will affect concert-goers and others too, not just GAA fans. It is also likely to be rolled out to other venues.

zetecescort

yeah, pain in the hole for anybody bringing kids too

Atlantic Dawn

Pity they can't have a secure locker area just outside, perhaps some mobile truck with lockers in it.

Flukey

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Pity they can't have a secure locker area just outside, perhaps some mobile truck with lockers in it.

The problem is, you will want the items in your bag to bring to your seat, not leave them in some locker. You need the bag to do that. Will they now stop selling bags in county and club colours, or stop giving kids bags and the Cúl Camps? We all agree with security, but it can be very inconvenient. We don't want going to a match being like going to an airport.

xper

Flukey wrote: »

Let's not go there. We all travel, including plenty of Dubs fans from far outside Dublin. Many of us bring bags, no matter where we are coming from. Let's keep the thread about the subject matter, and not twist it into yet another anti-Dublin thread. This ban will affect concert-goers and others too, not just GAA fans. It is also likely to be rolled out to other venues.

It was put in place at Lansdowne Rd for the recent internationals and was being enforced. Likely to be extended to other large GAA venues and concerts.

Direct response to the Manchester suicide bombing.

Rumpy Pumpy

Ate' the sandwiches out of the boot before heading in.

Flukey

Rumpy Pumpy wrote: »

Ate' the sandwiches out of the boot before heading in.

Tis more than the grub and drink that people want to bring in. There are all sorts of things that people want, and need. It is handier to have them in a back pack, than trying to carry them loosely. It will be a bit awkward for people without them. People will manage, but it is still going to be a nuisance. A lot of people are going to turn up knowing nothing about this next Sunday. That should be fun!!!

pilly

It was in place in the Aviva on Saturday, no fuss, people just didn't bring any.

C__MC

What always bemused me was that pitch invasions where seen as a great thing at provincial grounds (like yesterday) but in croke park it was a serious issue.

dxhound2005

Flukey wrote: »

Tis more than the grub and drink that people want to bring in. There are all sorts of things that people want, and need. It is handier to have them in a back pack, than trying to carry them loosely. It will be a bit awkward for people without them. People will manage, but it is still going to be a nuisance. A lot of people are going to turn up knowing nothing about this next Sunday. That should be fun!!!

I was trying to think what items apart from food and drink would need a bag but I couldn't come up with anything. What sorts of things have you in mind?

ProudDUB

Am not a fan AT ALL of the big, glass bottle of Bulmers that people bring in in their back packs and bags. The glass winds up everywhere, when the bottles get discarded on the ground. Am all for that malarkey being eliminated, if nothing else.

Stoner

dxhound2005 wrote:

I was trying to think what items apart from food and drink would need a bag but I couldn't come up with anything. What sorts of things have you in mind?

I've a match bag.
Has a cap for the sun,
Warm hat
Leggings, wet gear
Raincoat
Scarf warm yoke they sell in O'Neill

I needed them all in CP this year when i was given sh1t season tickets

tayto lover

In my backpack I usually have --
1. A few sandwiches especially if i'm there for a few games.
2. Drinks.
3. Raincoat and hat. Sometimes pull-ups if exposed to rain..
4. Suncream on a hot day.

Easy to carry and nothing left to chance.

Robson99

Its proper order. But the should have a screen in place to scan the bags like they do at airports.
Problem is the crazy price for food etc inside croke park

dxhound2005

Stoner wrote: »

I've a match bag.
Has a cap for the sun,
Warm hat
Leggings, wet gear
Raincoat
Scarf warm yoke they sell in O'Neill

I needed them all in CP this year when i was given sh1t season tickets

From now on you will just have to wear all that on the way in. You can fold up a bag and put it in your raincoat pocket to put the stuff into when you get in.

You should post a picture of yourself with all that gear on.

lucernarian

What are people supposed to do when they carry medication, supplies for kids, or are otherwise carrying their belongings for an overnight trip? Not everyone heading to croker will be coming in a car or coming back the same day...

Robson99

Go to any of the major grounds in England or Race meetings there and you will have to go through a security check with bags.

tea and coffee

Same in 3 arena recently. Women chucking their designer bags into a big pile outside as not able to bring them i n and nowhere else to leave them. I'd say it was carnage afterwards.

seligehgit

I thought they made mention on the sports news on Radio 1 @ 5.30 that one could bring a small bag.

Got to echo the sentiments of others,it's a real nuisance as it always handy to bring the raingear and a bit of grub.

blanch152

Stoner wrote: »

I've a match bag.
Has a cap for the sun,
Warm hat
Leggings, wet gear
Raincoat
Scarf warm yoke they sell in O'Neill

I needed them all in CP this year when i was given sh1t season tickets

+1, if you have a season ticket for Croke Park you need all of the above (x2 if you have one child), plus the water bottle and whatever food, from nothing to the full ham sandwiches and soup flask.

Bonniedog

All major events have scanners but a big crowd as in CP or Aviva needs basic restrictions.

One of the scum responsible for London was living here. The Clonskeagh mosque is ideological HQ for European jihadists. Only reason we haven't been hit yet is because they see us as soft touch in terms of bases and finance. Only a matter of time.

DoctaDee

Robson99 wrote: »

Go to any of the major grounds in England or Race meetings there and you will have to go through a security check with bags.

There's been manual security checks at the entrance to The Hill for anyone carrying a bag for a fair while now ... But as you say nothing compared to the scale of England

nice_guy80

seems a small bit of profiteering going on here

whats wrong with just opening the bag at a special gate, searching it and moving on?

lucernarian

nice_guy80 wrote: »

seems a small bit of profiteering going on here

whats wrong with just opening the bag at a special gate, searching it and moving on?

Exactly, I'm happy to have the bejaysus scanned out of my bag, I've got nothing to hide. But plenty of people would need as well as want their rucksack.

Mokuba

To be honest I'd rather a nuisance than people being vulnerable to an attack. There is no reason to think that Ireland are immune from what's going on at the moment and it's better to be safe than sorry - in the current climate.

fyfe79

nice_guy80 wrote: »

seems a small bit of profiteering going on here

whats wrong with just opening the bag at a special gate, searching it and moving on?

Yep. Apparently outside the 3 Arena they have a mobile unit where you can store your bag during the gig. Cost €5 but they don't guarantee your belongings!? It seems like just another excuse to use security as the reason to take money off you. Like someone else said, what's wrong with a simple open and search, which does not take long?

irishgeo

fyfe79 wrote: »

Yep. Apparently outside the 3 Arena they have a mobile unit where you can store your bag during the gig. Cost €5 but they don't guarantee your belongings!? It seems like just another excuse to use security as the reason to take money off you. Like someone else said, what's wrong with a simple open and search, which does not take long?

Multiple that by say 40000 and it does take a long time.

lucernarian

Mokuba wrote: »

To be honest I'd rather a nuisance than people being vulnerable to an attack. There is no reason to think that Ireland are immune from what's going on at the moment and it's better to be safe than sorry - in the current climate.

No one with kids or medical problems need go to Croker Park so? What sort of paranoia is that? I don't mind paying extra for good security if I'm bringing a bag for instance.

CeilingFly

lucernarian wrote: »

What are people supposed to do when they carry medication, supplies for kids, or are otherwise carrying their belongings for an overnight trip? Not everyone heading to croker will be coming in a car or coming back the same day...

If people need so much medication that it requires a rucksack, then they really should not be at the match.

Supplies for kids? A rucksack full of crap? GAA are doing your kid's health a favour then.



btw - if you read the restriction you will have found that small bags are permitted.

Wanderer78

This will be very annoying for people, particularly those with kids, but I suspect most venues will eventually introduce this

gucci

tayto lover wrote: »

In my backpack I usually have --
1. A few sandwiches especially if i'm there for a few games.
2. Drinks.
3. Raincoat and hat. Sometimes pull-ups if exposed to rain..
4. Suncream on a hot day.

Easy to carry and nothing left to chance.

blanch152 wrote: »

+1, if you have a season ticket for Croke Park you need all of the above (x2 if you have one child), plus the water bottle and whatever food, from nothing to the full ham sandwiches and soup flask.

You should see the people going to cricket matches in the UK, esky/cold boxes, cushions, rain gear, sun gear (and if its someone like Bangladesh of Pakistan probably a load of other drums and paraphernalia)




I am all for security and taking precaution where possible, I would hope people are sensible with what they are bringing to matches (what you have suggested above seems in that category)

I guess its just managing risk...if worst case scenario there is something horrible to happen, it will happen at the security point as opposed to in the stadium. If there are enough staff and they are all trained it shouldn't really be an issue.

Advising people to pack light or not bring stuff may help reduce the amount of checking (and cost) they have to do by 10/20% so they will keep bleating out the message over and over.

average_runner

lucernarian wrote: »

No one with kids or medical problems need go to Croker Park so? What sort of paranoia is that? I don't mind paying extra for good security if I'm bringing a bag for instance.

What the hell are you carrying in medical supplies that need a back pack?

My dad is 77, has heart trouble, never needed a back pack, always had his sprays and tablets on him. Also a small bag is ok.

farmchoice

its a waste of time, the Manchester bomber didn't bring a bag in, he waited outside and walked in as the concert ended.
this is all optics with the added advantage of being able to extort more money from people once they are in.

blue note

I've often come back from a weekend somewhere and gone straight to a match with my weekend bag. I don't mind them taking this security measure, if something were to happen and the gaa had taken no preventative actions we'd all be left wondering if it was avoidable.

There wouldn't always be time to dip the bag home before the match though, and there isn't always an earlier public transport option, so I'm not sure how I'd get to the match at times now.

pilly

irishgeo wrote: »

Multiple that by say 40000 and it does take a long time.

Or 80,000

pilly

farmchoice wrote: »

its a waste of time, the Manchester bomber didn't bring a bag in, he waited outside and walked in as the concert ended.
this is all optics with the added advantage of being able to extort more money from people once they are in.

I don't agree, there was an incident in France where the device was detonated whilst the security guy was checking it.

So we want these guys to risk their lives and hours for the sake of a few sandwiches? Rubbish.

GAA fans seem to think they're above all this kind of security. It happens for every major gig anywhere, people will have to get used to it.

Either that or queue for a couple of hours just to get into the stadium.

Flukey

Peter McKenna of Croke Park, was on Morning Ireland trying to defend the policy. Let's put it this way: If he was playing in a match and defended like that, he'd have been taken off very quickly.

CelticRambler

farmchoice wrote: »

its a waste of time, the Manchester bomber didn't bring a bag in, he waited outside and walked in as the concert ended.

As someone who's lived under France's "state of emergency" for the last two years, I agree that it's a waste of time and all about being seen to do something, regardless of whether the something is effective.

I've experienced several variations on the theme - as an event-goer with a bag and without, and as the person responsible for storing all the potential weapons of mass destruction confiscated by security.

In the end, it all comes down to the guy on the gate. At "my" event last year, he was an obnoxious jobsworth. I had a run-in with him on the first day, because he insisted that everyone on my team (the ones minding the deadly weapons) queued up with the general public to get back into the site when they wanted to have their break/use the toilet/help out at another post.

The thing was, he was so full of himself, he wasn't actually doing his job properly, and to make the point, my son deliberately joined the scanning queue with a proper 6-inch throat-slitter upon his person, and waltzed through .... three times a day for four days.

And despite all the "vigipirate" in force in every two-bit museum and at every hole-in-the-wall event, someone still drove a car-bomb down the Champs Elysee the other day.

greenspurs

irishgeo wrote: »

Multiple that by say 40000 and it does take a long time.

Would extra staff not be a logical way out of delays ?

vicwatson

Tailgating is gonna get popular in Ireland

Mokuba

lucernarian wrote: »

No one with kids or medical problems need go to Croker Park so? What sort of paranoia is that? I don't mind paying extra for good security if I'm bringing a bag for instance.

What are you talking about?

I don't know how you can possibly infer that people with kids and medical problems shouldn't go to Croke Park from my response.

I don't know if you have ever been to a football (soccer) game, but these no bag policys exist at all Premier League clubs, and shockingly enough kids manage to go with no issues.

Clearly you have literally no idea of how long the delays would be if every bag had to be routinely searched. It is not feasible. And it's similarly not feasible for people to be able to wander in with massive bags unchecked anymore - if these people are willing to attack a concert aimed at juveniles, then a GAA game is fair game too - so the only option is to ban them altogether.

doc_17

Pile of s***te. That's what it is. Reactionary drivel. If you're a family of 4/5 travelling up from Donegal/Kerry/Mayo etc and going to see a double header then this is directly aimed at you.

It's just made that trip out more expensive. If they're reviewing safety at Croke Park they should have started with a review of their hotdogs. This is bu****t of the highest order.

pilly

doc_17 wrote: »

Pile of s***te. That's what it is. Reactionary drivel. If you're a family of 4/5 travelling up from Donegal/Kerry/Mayo etc and going to see a double header then this is directly aimed at you.

It's just made that trip out more expensive. If they're reviewing safety at Croke Park they should have started with a review of their hotdogs. This is bu****t of the highest order.

Yeah, it's aimed at culchies, what a measured response.

Your post is bull**** of the highest order. What on earth do hotdogs have to do with safety?

And how many times a year do a family travel from any of those counties to a double header?

Get a grip.

namloc1980

Generally people don't need to bring big bags to games but are used to doing it and it's ingrained at this stage in Ireland. However this brings up the issue of us changing the way we do things and letting these animals win. There's a bit of optics going on here from the GAA.

tayto lover

How is this about safety?

If someone wanted to attack a crowd they would have more success outside on the street when people are leaving the venue. Crowds are denser then.

bruschi

The NFL brought in this policy a while back, but they allow large clear plastic bags in (and conveniently enough, you can buy them in your team colours). I'd have no issue if you could bring in a clear plastic bag so they can check them quickly. It makes sense to do it like that. Most of these other venues they talk about usually only have one game or event on, but if you are in for a double or even a triple header, there is no way you are going to have the majority in there not needing a large bag of somesort.

Mokuba

bruschi wrote: »

The NFL brought in this policy a while back, but they allow large clear plastic bags in (and conveniently enough, you can buy them in your team colours). I'd have no issue if you could bring in a clear plastic bag so they can check them quickly. It makes sense to do it like that. Most of these other venues they talk about usually only have one game or event on, but if you are in for a double or even a triple header, there is no way you are going to have the majority in there not needing a large bag of somesort.

I'd suspect if you rocked up with a clear plastic bag you would be fine to be honest.

PARlance

tayto lover wrote: »

How is this about safety?

If someone wanted to attack a crowd they would have more success outside on the street when people are leaving the venue. Crowds are denser then.

It's about being seen to take reasonable measures. They can't control people walking outside the ground.

Bonniedog

Arguing that there be no security at events is like arguing that there should be no security at airports. These lunatics are aware of measures and will take advantage if opportunity arises. We have been fortunate so far, but unlikely to be for ever.