The architect of the Croke Park redevelopment has defended his design against criticism that it took too little account of Irish weather conditions. Negative comment on the design of the New Stand centres on the number of seats uncovered in the New Stand, a feature which led to a few severe drenchings for spectators at the front of the new structure.

Des McMahon of the firm Gilroy McMahon estimates that by the time the stadium is completed, the amount of exposure to rain will be cut by 50 per cent. Last year the ground was at its most vulnerable to the elements with the Hogan Stand demolished, allowing wind and rain direct access to the New Stand.

Attention was recently drawn to the situation by the comments of Kildare manager Mick O'Dwyer after Christmas. Criticising the money spent, he also took issue with what he regarded as the flawed design of the New Stand. Referring to the trans-global fact-finding missions conducted on behalf of the GAA prior to the design, O'Dwyer was scathing.

"They must have got their plans out in California. I mean the climate in Ireland is one of plenty of rain and if you go and sit at the front of the new stand where the Cusack once was, you will get drenched. I have seen people running to get from the front to the back. If you were to design a house in a similar fashion where the wind blew into your sittingroom while you watched Coronation Street you would nearly be certified."

McMahon, the architect, explains the thinking behind the decision not to cover all the seats. "There were two considerations in the design. The first was budget, we had to cut our cloth according to the measure.

"We had to weigh up the benefits and consider if they were worth the cost. Every additional metre to a cantilevered roof would require about 10 metres' extension below and behind the stand. That's a huge engineering cost.

"But it wasn't just a matter of finance. We conducted studies, meteorological and on wind effects, when designing the stand. In the Aerospace facility in Bristol a lot of wind-tunnel tests were run and showed that the New Stand is so high that it's a bit like an umbrella catching wind. The meteorological study showed that a vast amount of the rain in Ireland is carried by prevailing winds and is not vertical."

McMahon and his team were assured in Bristol that, because of this, it would be impossible to guarantee spectators a dry vantage point even were the vertical cover to be extended to all seats. Short of `doming' or building a cover on the stadium, a certain amount of rainfall would get through.

Talk of a retracting roof is also fanciful, according to McMahon. "People forget that this technology is a lot easier in the US because American football pitches are far shorter than GAA fields. You could nearly play American football across the width of a football or hurling pitch." As a result, the cost of roofing Croke Park would have been "the same as the rest of the stadium".

He admits to frustration at criticism directed at what is as yet an unfinished article. "Of course I feel for people who were caught up in the temporary discomfort and I felt bad at matches last summer when that was so obvious. But the studies in Bristol showed that the situation couldn't be worse than it was last year. When the building is complete it will be sealed. The air above the pitch will create its own pressure and there will be a 50 per cent reduction in rainfall both on the pitch and on the seats."

Next week's Eircell Player of the Month awards will go to three of last year's most prominent referees; in hurling, Willie Barrett of Tipperary, and the football pair of Monaghan's Pat McEneaney and Brian White of Wexford.