22-560: Shelbourne Park is a greyhound racing stadium in the south Dublin inner city suburb of Ringsend . The plans to open a greyhound track in Dublin were drawn up by Paddy O’Donoghue, Jerry Collins, Patsy McAlinden and Jim Clarke. Shelbourne Park opened on 14 May 1927 hot on the heels of Celtic Park (Belfast) . The stadium located in the docklands in Ringsend was Dublin's answer to the Belfast track and
44-496: A base for a team of American speedway riders including Nick Nicolaides, Don Hawley, Johnny Roccio, Manuel Trujillo, and Lloyd Campbell. The team raced at most of the UK tracks and often featured Ernie Roccio who was based at Wimbledon . Shelbourne Park provides pay and display car parking on days without major events. Hourly, daily, weekly and monthly rates are available. The car park is open on weekdays 6am to 10pm and not accessible during
66-614: A minority there. As a result, the Irish inhabitants of Dublin were expelled from the city proper in about 1454, in line with the Statutes of Kilkenny . The Irish population were only allowed to trade inside the city limits by daylight. At the end of the day's trading, they would leave and set up camp in what was to become known as "the Irishtown". In 1794 Richard Power , judge of the Court of Exchequer , who
88-651: A range of inspections under the Welfare of Greyhounds Act, including a traceability system. There are many types of competitions in Ireland but the primary race is the Irish Greyhound Derby held at Shelbourne Park. Along with the English Greyhound Derby it is considered to be one of the "Big Two" in greyhound racing. Greyhound Racing Ireland publishes an annual list of feature events. Leading events include
110-484: A regulatory limbo due to the fact that they are licensed neither by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) nor Greyhound Racing Ireland (named Bord na gCon until 2020). To confuse matters still further, the industry regards racing as either UK or Irish, the latter including Northern Ireland. Greyhound Racing Ireland provides all of the results from Northern Ireland. The vast majority of greyhounds running in
132-524: Is an inner suburb of Dublin , Ireland . It is situated on the southside of the River Liffey , between Ringsend to the north and Sandymount to the south, and is to the east of the River Dodder . Irishtown grew outside of Dublin, about 2 km east of the medieval city walls (see also Ringsend ). Dublin was originally a Viking city and after 1171, when an Anglo-Norman army seized it, Dublin became
154-774: Is seen today evolved from a sport called coursing . In 1926 the oval form of racing arrived in Britain at Belle Vue Stadium in Manchester which resulted in the creation of hundreds of tracks all over the United Kingdom and Ireland in the following ten years. The sport of greyhound racing in Ireland mainly takes place in the Republic of Ireland but also in Northern Ireland . However, any tracks in Northern Ireland have always been in
176-753: The St Leger four times in the thirties but it was decided by the Irish Coursing Club that it was better to distribute the classics between several tracks. Another event was inaugurated in 1939 and that was the McAlinden Cup . The remarkable greyhound called Tanist reached the final of the Easter Cup in April 1940, by smashing the track record at Shelbourne Park in 29.66sec and the legendary Spanish Battleship claimed his second of three Derby victories in 1954, also breaking
198-508: The Board of Rásaíocht Con Éireann (Greyhound Racing Ireland) announced a two-stage €2.3 million plan for improvements at the venue. The 2024 Irish Greyhound Derby was moved from its traditional Summer slot due to a major refurbishment of Shelbourne Park. The stadium also played host to the home matches of Shelbourne FC , who play in the League of Ireland , from 1913/14 to 1948/49. The first match
220-661: The Easter Cup, Champion Stakes, Cesarewitch, Oaks, Laurels and St Leger. This is any minor race staged at a track, with prize money varying widely. This kind of racing is the most common at the various stadia. Greyhound racing in Ireland has a standard colour scheme (the same as in the UK). A racing jacket worn by a reserve bears an additional letter 'R' shown prominently on each side. Former competitions Former competitions Current competitions Former competitions Irishtown, Dublin Irishtown ( Irish : An Baile Gaelach )
242-515: The UK are bred in Ireland (95% in 2017). In 2019, the Irish government created the Greyhound Racing Act 2019, which set out new legislation. This came about because the industry came under scrutiny regarding the welfare of greyhounds from multiple newspaper articles, which reported various stories primarily about the breeding of greyhounds and racing greyhounds after they retire from racing. The Rásaíocht Con Éireann are now required to conduct
SECTION 10
#1732876571013264-460: The centre of English rule in Ireland. The native Gaelic Irish were therefore viewed as an alien force in the city, and suspicion of them was deepened by continual raids on Dublin and its environs by the O'Byrne and O'Toole clans from the nearby Wicklow Mountains . By the 15th century, Gaelic migration to the city had made the English authorities fearful that the English language and culture would become
286-560: The first official Irish Greyhound Derby which had been run on four previous occasions from 1928 to 1931 at a rival track Harold's Cross Stadium . The first winner of the Irish Derby at Shelbourne was Guideless Joe owned by champion Irish jockey Jack Moyland and trained by local trainer Mick Horan. The Oaks came to Shelbourne Park in 1935 and like the Irish Derby, was normally run every other year with Harolds Cross hosting in between. The Grand National took place here in 1933 & 1934 and
308-763: The night and on weekends. Greyhound racing in Ireland Greyhound racing is a popular sport in Ireland . There are 17 stadiums operating in Ireland (two in Northern Ireland) of which nine are fully operated by Rásaíocht Con Éireann / Greyhound Racing Ireland (formerly named Irish Greyhound Board IGB, Bord na gCon ) with the remaining six owned and operated by private enterprise but licensed by GRI. Most have modern facilities including grandstand restaurants and parimutuel betting tote system with on-course and off-course betting available. Greyhound racing as it
330-529: The pair became the two most greyhound prestigious tracks in Irish racing. When opening in 1927 the track employed four resident trainers in Mick Horan, Paddy Quigley, Billy Donoghue and Ben Scally. One year later it was decided to introduce the Easter Cup which commemorated the 1916 Easter Monday Rising in Dublin . However, the race soon became known for its own fame rather than its naming origins. The first winner
352-480: The position for over 30 years before becoming general manager and then retiring in 2009. The Derby distance changed to 550 yards in 1986 and after a successful one-off feature in 1979, the Champion Stakes became an annual event in 1986. With the closure of Celtic Park in 1983 Shelbourne became the premier track in Ireland and continues to provide most of the major events in the Irish racing calendar. In March 2021,
374-540: The threat of redevelopment that was hanging over the stadium. A £240,000 investment followed and the same year that the Irish Derby found a permanent home at Shelbourne to the dismay of Harolds Cross supporters. The Shelbourne 600 sponsored by Guinness started in 1964 and the Oaks also became permanent at Shelbourne in 1980. Paddy Ryan who became the Racing Manager in 1974 after taking over the reins from Jack O'Shea would hold
396-476: The track record in the process. On 25 June 1946 Shelbourne used the first photo finish in Ireland during the semi-finals of the McAlinden Cup. An extraordinary 1956 Irish Derby saw 'Keep Moving' break the track record twice before the sub-29-second barrier was broken by Prince of Bermuda. Bord na gCon installed a new totalisator system in 1960 and eight years later they purchased the stadium itself to stop
418-527: Was a 1–1 draw against Bohemians and their last match there was a 2–2 draw against Waterford . Shels left Shelbourne Park with the intention of building a new stadium in the nearby district of Irishtown . While Shelbourne Park was the home of Shelbourne FC, they won one Irish Cup while competing in the Irish League and upon becoming founder members of the League of Ireland in 1921, won five league titles and one FAI Cup before moving on. Shelbourne Park
440-480: Was a greyhound called Odd Blade and the brindle dog went on to successfully defend his title the following year. Famously Mick the Miller equalled the world record time for 500 yards when recording 28.80 in 1928 but he only managed a runner-up spot to Odd Blade in that previously mentioned 1929 Easter Cup final. Mick went on to win the English Greyhound Derby that year for Shelbourne trainer Horan. Shelbourne Park hosted
462-551: Was facing charges of corruption, drowned himself in the river at Irishtown. At the end of the 19th century and into the early 20th century, Irishtown was the location of the Waxies' Dargle , an annual outing by Dublin cobblers ("waxies"), which a well-known folk song recalls. Irishtown formed part of the Pembroke Township created in 1863. Pembroke was redesignated an urban district in 1899, before being abolished and brought into
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#1732876571013484-450: Was the venue for two FAI Cup Final replays, in 1927 and 1929. Shelbourne Park appeared in the British motoring programme, Top Gear where Richard Hammond using a Mazda MX5 raced against a greyhound around the track. Despite Hammond's best efforts, the greyhound won. Shelbourne Park staged Motorcycle speedway racing from 1950 to 1954, again in 1961 and again in 1970 and 1971. In 1951 it was
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