Croke Park this week launched their Sensory Room with children from Child Vision. In attendence at the launch is McKenna Brady, age 4, from Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
The true measure of any organisation can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.
Arguably all the more so for the GAA considering the Association’s manifesto is, ‘Where We All Belong’.
That’s why the launch of Croke Park’s new Sensory Room and Audio Descriptive Commentary Service this week was an important step in an ongoing journey to make the Association and its facilities more inclusive.
Located in the GAA Museum, Croke Park’s Sensory Room (Cú Chulainn’s Corner) is intended to create a safe and secure environment for spectators with sensory processing needs or who may need time away from the hustle and bustle of match days.
The Audio Descriptive Commentary Service will provide an immersive match-day commentary in Croke Park for people who are visually impaired.
“We're doing a real push to make the stadium more accessible," says Senior Croke Park Event Controller, Elaine O'Rourke.
"We're going for accessiblity accreditation for the first time with AsIAm, and as part of that we're putting in a lot of new services.
“So we have the Sensory Room and the Audio Descriptive Commentary for people who are blind or visually impaired, so they have on the spot live match-day commentary.
“It's not just general commentary, it's specialised commentary with locations, atmosphere, everything, and that's now available on match days as well.
“So rather than the commentator just saying Aidan O'Shea is going for goal, it could be something like Aidan O'Shea is very tall in stature, he's bursting through the opposition defence at serious pace towards the goal, so it's a much more holistic experience as to what's happening. You're also very much referring to the location of the pitch where the action is happening at any given time.
Croke Park this week launched their Audio Descriptive Commentary in association with Vision Sports Ireland. In attendence at the launch, are, Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Jarlath Burns, Croke Park Stadium Director Peter McKenna, Rosie Keogh, Operations and Communications Co-Ordinator at Vision Sports Ireland, left, and Sara McFadden, Partnerships and Operations Co-Ordinator, Vision Sports Ireland. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
"We have special maps as well to give people an idea where the goal-line is or the new arc so they have an idea of where they are in the stadium and how the play matches up with the commentary.
“We also have a new visual guide available for people who might need to have an idea of what they’re coming to when they come to the stadium. It gives tips about busy times, quiet times, what to expect in terms of visuals, smells, right down to the concrete touch around the stadium.
“We have fidget toys available online, we have relief areas for guide dogs, so we're really making a push to become more accessible for all match-day spectators.
“We're currently working on having braille menus in all the catering units for anybody who might need them. We also hope to introduce more mobility way-finding and accessible signage throughout the stadium.”
Croke Park today launched their Sensory Room with children from Child Vision. In attendence at the launch are Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Jarlath Burns, centre, Croke Park Stadium Director Peter McKenna and Elaine O'Rourke, Senior Croke Park Event Controller. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile.
TD for Longford-Westmeath, Micheal Carrigy, was in attendance for the launch of the Croke Park sensory room this week because making Irish society more inclusive for autistic people has been a top priority of his career in politics.
A former Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism, his own son Odhran is on the autistic spectrum.
“I’ve been on the executive of my own GAA club (Sean Connollys) for 30-odd years and I want the GAA to be the organisation that takes the lead in this area,” says Carrigy.
“They take the lead in all other areas in Irish society, the best sporting organisation in the world without a shadow of a doubt. I want them to be world leaders in this area and I know that (Croke Park Stadium Director) Peter (McKenna) and (GAA President) Jarlath (Burns) are committed to pushing that going forward.
“It means so much to families. I remember coming up to Croke Park seven or eight years ago and I brought my two sons and we were in the Hogan Stand for a big game. Odhran just wasn't able to handle the noise of it so it wasn't a good experience for him.
“I'll be honest, he hasn't been back since. I come up numerous times yearly but I've only been able to bring my oldest son or youngest son with me. Now that can change.
“I'd like to thank the GAA for being able to make that change and to make that investment. This means that families can now come to Croke Park and know there's an area for children on the autism spectrum and that the people working here understand what it means.
“That means an awful lot to me, not as a politician, but as a parent that now I can bring Odhran to Croke Park.
“I just want to thank the GAA and I look forward to continuing to work with the GAA. We as a Government have to put the funding in place because more county boards and more clubs want to bring in initiatives and programmes and we have to step in behind them and support them.
“There are schemes there through which we can support various physical infrastructure projects and we need to do more.
“I look forward to bringing my son to Croke Park and have him enjoy something that I've enjoyed all of my life.”
Croke Park this week launched their Sensory Room with children from Child Vision. In attendence at the launch is Sam Loughran, age 4, from Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile.
Making Croke Park and all GAA clubs more inclusive and accessible for everyone in our society is also a passion project for GAA President, Jarlath Burns.
His own brother Cormac is disabled so he has experienced at first hand the practical challenges faced by those with additional needs.
“To me when we used to go to games back in the 1970s it was always what we could call a 'handlin' getting Cormac into games,” says Burns.
“He was in a wheelchair and was somebody who wanted to walk with his crutches and to get him into the match was the first problem and then getting him actually to his seat was always something which was a day's work and then to get him back out again.
“In the 40 or so years since then your understanding and sympathy and empathy of what we call the human condition has changed profoundly.
“Being from the world of education in my 34 years of education from when I started in 1990 to now, we have changed from looking at children as people who present with behaviours to people who present with needs. And it is our duty to address those needs and make sure that those needs are met.
“That has been one of the most wonderful things about not only education but generally our interaction with other people from a public buildings perspective.
“I know in education it is now much easier to deal with young people from a needs perspective rather than a behaviours perspective. One of the first things we did put in in St. Paul's in Bessbrook was a sensory room and it had a profoundly positive impact.
Croke Park this week launched their Sensory Room with children from Child Vision. In attendence at the launch are McKenna Brady, left, and Ailbhe Healy, both age 4, from Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile.
“We are all on the neurodiversity scale to a certain extent. There are times we all have to go in to a place where we have our own company and be away from everybody else. A place of comfort and safety and sanctuary.
“Having a sensory room here is another example of how Croke Park under Peter and his staff are pushing every aspect of the human experience when you come to Croke Park to the furthest degree that they possibly can.
“This is just another example of where we are on that journey. And it is a journey, we're not there yet, we have a long way to go because our understanding of the human condition is evolving constantly and this is part of it.
“This will make the experience of children who are here today coming to Croke Park a nicer one, a more comfortable one, a better one.
“That is why we were so, so thankful that this is another step in the journey of making the GAA genuinely a place where we all belong.”