FORMER Kerry star and broadcaster Dara Ó Cinnéide will present a TV series where he visits some most famous sports stadiums, including Anfield in Liverpool the Azteca in Mexico, Seoul’s Olympic Stadium and our own Fitzgerald Stadium.
Na Goirt Órga is a new series of three hour-long programmes that celebrates the world’s great sporting arenas, at home and abroad.
This series was produced by Loosehorse for TG4 in co-production with Cwmni Da and S4C (Wales), JTV and KCA (Korea) and LIC (China) and begins on Thursday, March 23rd at 9.30pm on TG4.
Continued below…
This series peeks behind the curtains of three of Ireland’s most revered sporting locations, while also bringing TG4 viewers on a trip around the world to venues in Mexico, China, Korea, Croatia, Portugal, Wales and England.
We’ll learnt about the culture, history, architecture and design in more than a dozen stadiums, and meet the people that bring these incredible constructions to life.
In episode one, Dara Ó Cinnéide heads to the work-in-progress refurbishment at Anfield, where Irish links with Liverpool FC run deep.
A lifelong reds fan, Dara is thrilled to gain privileged access to the dressing rooms and the famous ‘boot room’ and is delighted to learn that the name of the world famous stadium was inspired by a small townland in Wexford called Baile na hAbhann!
Continued below…
He also visits Braga in Portugal, where the architect Eduardo Souta De Moura fashioned a unique arena in his home town for the 2004 Euro, Jeonju in Korea and Derry’s Brandywell.
In episode two, Dara’s journey begins at home as he is granted unique access behind the scenes of the All Ireland hurling final in Croke Park.
Next stop, is North Wales, and the Racecourse at Wrexham, one of the oldest football stadiums in the entire world.
Back in the Kingdom, Dara reflects on his home turf and spends a morning in the storied Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney, reminiscing in the company of his close friend Tomás Ó Sé.
Finally, in episode three, the Azteca stadium in Mexico City beckons. It was here that Bob Beamon set a world record for the Long Jump in the 1968 Olympics and where Pelé won his third World Cup two years later.
Dara also heads to North London where England’s most cutting edge stadium at Tottenham Hotspur was constructed over the footprint of its old stadium: White Hart Lane.
Finally, on the flat grass plains of the Curragh in Kildare, Dara explores the enduring spectacle of horse racing in a natural amphitheatre that has attracted spectators for thousands of years.
Tune in for the first episode on Thursday, March 23 at 9.30pm on TG4.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..