Croke Park Stadium Tour and GAA Museum

Croke Park is the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association and the home of Gaelic football and hurling. With a capacity of 82,300, it is a vast arena, and every year it hosts the All-Ireland finals that dominate Irish sporting life in late summer. Even if you have never seen a Gaelic game, a stadium tour is a good introduction to sports that are central to Irish identity.

The ground has a long and sometimes painful history. On 21 November 1920, Bloody Sunday, Crown forces fired into the crowd at a football match between Dublin and Tipperary, killing fourteen civilians including the Tipperary player Michael Hogan, after whom the Hogan Stand is named. The terrace known as Hill 16 was built in 1915 and renamed in honour of the 1916 Rising. Between 1991 and 2005 the stadium was rebuilt in four phases while remaining open, creating the bowl you see today.

The tour is billed as access-all-areas and takes you behind the scenes of the stadium, and your ticket includes free entry to the GAA Museum afterwards. The museum's Hall of Fame, opened in 2013, honours leading players, beginning with the Teams of the Millennium. For a different perspective, the Skyline tour follows a walkway on the stadium roof, 44 metres above ground, with views across the city.

Tours run daily, with the schedule changing by month: from September to May there are departures at 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00, and in the summer months there are more frequent slots. On match days the museum may close or tours may run to an adjusted schedule, so check before you go. Arrive ten minutes before departure. Tickets are booked online, with adult, student and senior, child and several family options, and groups use a separate online booking form. Family tickets are available, under-threes go free, and under-18s must be accompanied by an adult. Accessible drop-off can be arranged in advance by calling the museum.

Croke Park is in Dublin 3, about 20 minutes' walk north-east of O'Connell Street, or a short bus or taxi ride. If you can time your trip with a championship match in summer, the atmosphere at a big game is an experience in itself.