A field in north Co. Dublin has seen a different type of first cut this year when its first sod harvest got underway to surface the pitch in Croke Park.
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) recently released a video explaining the process involved during the sod harvest on its farm in north Co. Dublin.
Croke Park’s pitch manager Stuart Wilson explained that Croke Park has been using turf from the UK “for many years”.
https://www.facebook.com/officialgaa/videos/951083831904463/
He noted that it was decided to try and grow the sods in Ireland and following a discussion on the idea, and a review of potential sites, the farm was purchased in north Co. Dublin.
Wilson explained: “There was a good bit of work that needed to be done because the farm had been used for years and years for animals to graze on.
Image source: GAA
“We needed to work on the drainage and the levels of the field so we went through a process that’s called ‘a cut and fill’,” Wilson explained.
Once levelled, he added that “an irrigation system was installed”.
“The field used at the moment is 40,000m², which is enough to grow turf for two Gaelic pitches.”
The pitch manager outlined: “The farm itself is 67ac and the rest of the fields are being used for growing maize at the moment.”