By Cathal Dervan

MINISTER for Sport John O’Donoghue has told the GAA diehards still opposed to international soccer and rugby at Croke Park next year to cop on and accept the inevitable.

Kerryman O’Donoghue has admitted that the latest resistance to utilizing Croke Park for non-national sports while Lansdowne Road is redeveloped has taken him by surprise after last year’s vote to rescind Rule 42.

Several officials on both sides of the border have questioned the right of the GAA to rent Croke Park to the IRFU and the FAI before the builders move onto the site at Lansdowne Road.

The redevelopment of the Dublin 4 venue is still at the planning stage but O’Donoghue is adamant that the project will go ahead next year.

He said, “I don’t understand the dissenting voices over the opening of Croke Park. We always made it clear that we would apply for planning permission this year and that we would deal with An Bord Pleanala if we had to. We still hope to commence construction in 2007.

“It would be a very naive person who would imagine that arrangements for a soccer or rugby international could actually be made overnight and that one could just get up in the morning and decide, ‘Gosh we’ll have an international tomorrow.’

“It doesn’t work like that. In fairness to all three organizations contracts have to be entered into and arrangements have to be entered into by the IRFU and the FAI with the GAA.

“They can’t depend upon one contingency or another contingency occurring or not occurring. People who say otherwise are not living in the real world.”

Over 100 objections have been lodged against the plans to redevel-op Lansdowne, but O’Donoghue is still adamant that the builders will be on site next year.

He added, “We will try to start construction of the stadium in the year 2007. Since we commenced this project we have met every deadline.”

Meanwhile, the Dublin GAA hierarchy are to seek a meeting with O’Donoghue after he again insisted that the new stadium in Tallaght will be a soccer only venue.

“So far as I am concerned, we made an agreement in relation to Tallaght and when we make agreements we stick to them,” said O’Donoghue.

“Tallaght Stadium is to be a home for Shamrock Rovers. That was always the intention. If we were to change now, we’d have to change our plans in midstream, we’d have to reduce the capacity of the ground if one were to cater for the GAA. So quite frankly, we’re not in a position to cater for the GAA and that was never the intention.”