On April 16th 2005, the GAA voted to amend Rule 42 and open its Croke Park doors to rugby and football at its historic annual conference at GAA headquarters.
Lansdowne Road was demolished in 2007, to be replaced by the Aviva Stadium which opened in 2010.
The Irish national football and rugby teams would have had to play their home games overseas if the GAA did not come to the rescue. The situation would have been very similar to the Welsh rugby side playing at Wembley when the Millenium Stadium was being built in the late 1990's.
The motion to pass the rule gained 227 votes at the congress, with 97 voting against.
After the FAI and IRFU said goodbye to their historic Dublin 4 venue, both international teams began their stint in 2007 in Croke Park.
The Irish team were the first to play in the venue, on February 11th, 2007, losing to France by 20 points to 17.
Their next game would prove to be the most memorable in the stadium, with England arriving in Croke Park. With the history associated with the stadium and the British army many people felt it would be inappropriate to play God Save the Queen in the venue.
The passion shown on that day by the fans and players during the anthems helped Ireland romp home to a 43-13 win. It was to be the side's largest win during their Croke Park tenure.
The footballers, under the guidance of Steve Staunton began with two wins in the stadium against Wales and Slovenia in the Euro 2008 qualifiers in March 2007.
It was not only the international sides that played in Croke Park.
Leinster and Munster were drawn together in the semi finals on the 2009 Heineken Cup.
The Jones Road venue was the only stadium in the country that could host the demand for tickets.
A then World record attendance for a club rugby match of 82,208 supporters watched what surprisingly turned out to be a one sided game.
Both international sides did well in the venue in tough circumstances, with the footballers only losing one competitive match in the venue.
That match was the 2010 World Cup play off first leg against France. Nicolas Anelka scored the only goal of the game. Understandably, these French commentators were delighted with the goal.
The rugby side book-ended their Croke Park soujorn exactly how they started it, with a loss.
Declan Kidney's side lost to Scotland in their 2010 Triple Crown decider.
It was later revealed that had Ireland won, the players had planned to do a lap of honour in their counties GAA jersey as a thank you for the use of Croke Park.
That was the last game to be played in Croke Park of either sport, but we may see games return should the 2027 Rugby World Cup bid be successful.
The GAA rule book currently states under Article 5.1:
"(a) All property including grounds, Club Houses, Halls, Dressing Rooms and Handball Alleys owned or controlled by units of the Association shall be used only for the purpose of or in connection with the playing of the Games controlled by the Association, and for such other purposes not in conflict with the Aims and Objects of the Association, that may be sanctioned from time to time by the Central Council.
(b) Grounds controlled by Association units shall not be used or permitted to be used, for Horse Racing, Greyhound Racing, or for Field Games others than those sanctioned by Central Council.
Notes:
(1) Central Council shall have the power to authorise the use of Croke Park for games other than those controlled by the Association.
(2) Central Council shall have the power to authorise the use of Croke Park and other Stadia for games in the Rugby World Cup 2023 or 2027, if this Tournament is staged in Ireland."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
