Croke Park to host largest Eid ever on Saturday

Croke Park will extend its growing reputation as a favoured venue for people of faith on Saturday when Muslims mark Eid al-Adha there for a third year. The event is scheduled to begin at 8.30am, concluding by 10am, well before the Tailteann Cup Final between Cavan and Westmeath at 3pm and the Derry-Galway All-Ireland football semi-final at 5.30pm.

Up to 1,000 worshippers will line up on the playing surface, but Shaykh Umar al-Qadri, the chair of the Irish Muslim Council which is organising the event, emphasised that “those wishing to pray must bring their own prayer mats to avoid damage to the pitch”.

There might easily have been more people attending but, as there are the two games to be played on the pitch later that day, the council decided to restrict participating to 1,000. “We wanted to avoid any impact on the matches,” he said.

He has also advised attendees that “it would be a great way of saying thank you to the GAA if at least some of our community were to wear their club or county colours”.

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Prayers and speeches

Expected guests, who will be seated in the Hogan Stand, may number up to 150. “This year’s event promises to be the best yet, with the Eid prayers being followed by speeches from invited faith, civil and political leaders, along with performances from spoken word artists, nashid singers and the stars of last year’s programme, the Islamic Centre of Ireland Children’s Choir,” he said.

Eid al-Adha 2022 makes it a three-in-a-row at Croke Park for Ireland’s Muslim community with the first held during the pandemic in 2020 when Covid-19 restrictions meant they could not gather for Eid prayers in an indoor setting such as a mosque, as normal. Following a request to the GAA, they were allowed use Croke Park in July of that year and this has now become an annual event.

Eid al-Adha marks Hajj – the major annual pilgrimage to Mecca which healthy Muslims must undertake at least once in their lifetime. Hajj takes place from Thursday, July 7th to Tuesday of next week, July 12th. Attendance in Mecca has been severely restricted over recent years due to the pandemic, with a limit of 200 on Irish Muslims who could go there this year.

Warm welcome

Eid al-Adha also celebrates the faith of Abraham. It is the second major annual festival in Islam, after Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of the month-long fast that is Ramadan.

Extending “a warm welcome to members of the Irish Muslim community,” GAA president Larry McCarthy said “Our games and activities are for all and I believe the co-operation between the GAA and the Irish Muslim Council underlines our commitment to diversity and inclusion.”

Shaykh al-Qadri said it was “a matter of great joy for us at the Irish Muslim Council and the wider Irish Muslim community to know that this iconic event can remain a fixture, and reminds us that the GAA truly is a place where we all belong”.

Last month, the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council was renamed the Irish Muslim Council, Comhairle Mhoslamach na hÉireann, “better reflecting the breadth of our work as a representative umbrella organisation for Islamic centres, organisations and individuals in the Irish Muslim community across all 32 counties”, as stated on its new website, muslimcouncil.ie

In August 2018, Pope Francis attended celebrations marking an end to the Catholic Church’s World Meeting of Families at Croke Park, while in June 2012 the Mass marking an end to the 50th International Eucharistic Congress also took place there. It concluded with a video message from Pope Benedict XVI.

The Church of Ireland planned to hold its annual general synod at Croke Park in 2020 but this had to be postponed due to the pandemic. Its general synod next year is scheduled to be held there.