LAST UPDATE | 31 Jan

CORK’S LARGEST STADIUM is set to be renamed “SuperValu Pairc Uí Chaoimh” in a sponsorship deal with the supermarket brand – a step back from a previous proposal, which could have dropped Uí Chaoimh from the name entirely, that drew significant backlash.

Cork GAA has confirmed this morning that it intends to rename Páirc Uí Chaoimh to SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh as part of a 10-year partnership with the retailer.

The body said that naming rights will be finalised at a special meeting of delegates to the Cork County Board tomorrow.

Earlier this month, reports of plans to rename the stadium “Supervalu Páirc” drew national criticism from GAA fans, politicians, and the grandson of Pádraig Ó Caoimh, who fought for Irish independence and was General Secretary of the GAA.

In a new statement, Cork GAA CEO Kevin O’Donovan said: “We are very excited to embark on a new journey with our partners in SuperValu, a retailer that has community and family at its core.”

“We are confident that they will bring these shared values to the future of the home of Cork GAA. The realisation of naming rights is another step in the right direction and shows the value that the Cork GAA brand retains as we continue to expand our commercial model in support of our games,” O’Donovan said.

“As part of this process, we continue to engage with members of the O’Caoimh family and keep them informed of developments.”

Tánaiste Micheál Martin, from Cork, was among those to criticise the suggestion to rename the stadium solely in Supervalu’s honour, saying at the time that he was “deeply disappointed and annoyed” at the proposal.

“Pádraig Uí Chaoimh was a key figure in the formation of the GAA at club and national level. Govt allocated €30m towards the development of the stadium and never sought naming rights,” he wrote on social media.

The renaming situation was discussed at a meeting of Cabinet, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar stating that work would be done to ensure that stadiums that have received substantial sports capital grants from the State cannot be renamed for commercial reasons without government sign-off. 

The government has allocated €30 million towards the development of the stadium.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland earlier, O’Donovan rejected the suggestion that the name announced today was a “climb down”. 

“We were going through a process and unfortunately there was a leak before we got to organise a consultation process with our clubs,” he said. 

“We’re aware of all the commentary, there was no influence from Government, there was no interference. We had no communication with Government throughout this process, but we’re sure they’re happy and we’re happy and all parties are happy now with the outcome,” he said. 

“We’re very much accountable to our clubs. So that is our decision making process, that is our approval process. Unfortunately, as we were about to engage in that process, a half version of the story caused a massive furore,” O’Donovan added. 

He said the plan to communicate the renaming of the stadium to the Ó Caoimh family was “derailed by the leak”. 

“We had a special plan in place to communicate with the family, we had special plans to commemorate Pádraig Ó Caoimh within the stadium, but all of those were derailed because there was a leak,” O’Donovan said. 

With reporting by Hayley Halpin