The highest attendance ever recorded at an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was 90,556 for Offaly v Down in 1961 . Since the introduction of seating to the Cusack stand in 1966 , the largest crowd recorded has been 84,516 . During the Irish War of Independence on 21 November 1920 Croke Park was the scene of a massacre by the Royal Irish Constabulary ( RIC ) . The Police , supported by the British Auxiliary Division , entered the ground and began shooting into the crowd , killing or fatally wounding 14 civilians during a Dublin-Tipperary Gaelic football match . The dead included 13 spectators and Tipperary player Michael Hogan . Posthumously , the Hogan stand built in 1924 was named in his honour . These shootings , on the day which became known as Bloody Sunday , were a reprisal for the killing of 15 people associated with the Cairo Gang , a group of British Intelligence officers , by Michael Collins ' ' squad ' earlier that day . In 1984 the organisation decided to investigate ways to increase the capacity of the old stadium . The design for an 80,000 capacity stadium was completed in 1991 . Gaelic sports have special requirements as they take place on a large field . A specific requirement was to ensure the spectators were not too far from the field of play . This resulted in the three-tier design from which viewing games is possible : the main concourse , a premium level incorporating hospitality facilities and an upper concourse . The premium level contains restaurants , bars and conference areas . The project was split into four phases over a 14-year period . Such was the importance of Croke Park to the GAA for hosting big games , the stadium did not close during redevelopment . During each phase different parts of the ground were redeveloped , while leaving the rest of the stadium open . Big games , including the annual All-Ireland Hurling and Football finals , were played in the stadium throughout the development
Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1920)
Croke Park