The McAlinden Cup was a

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

competition held annually at

Shelbourne Park Shelbourne Park is a greyhound racing stadium in the south Dublin inner city suburb of Ringsend. Greyhound Racing Opening The plans to open a greyhound track in Dublin were drawn up by Paddy O’Donoghue, Jerry Collins, Patsy McAlinden and Jim ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The race was also known by the name the Hugh McAlinden Memorial Cup. Hugh McAlinden was the chairman of Belfast Celtic F.C. and one of the founders of greyhound racing in Ireland introducing racing to

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

in 1927. The competition was a feature competition in the Irish racing calendar and was seen as a good test for the

Irish Greyhound Derby The Irish Greyhound Derby held at Shelbourne Park, is the premier greyhound racing competition in Ireland. First held at Harold's Cross in 1928, the event was unofficial until 1932 and called the National Derby. The first winner in 1928 was T ...

because it was held over the same race distance and course. The event was inaugurated in 1939. In 1942 it was run at

Cork Greyhound Stadium Cork Greyhound Stadium was a greyhound racing stadium on Western Road in Cork, Munster. It is not to be confused with Curraheen Park. Origins The first greyhound track in Cork was known as The Show Grounds Greyhound Track and ran from 192 ...

for the only time in its history when it was won by

1942 Irish Greyhound Derby The 1942 Irish Greyhound Derby took place during May with the final being held at Cork Greyhound Stadium in Cork on 30 May. The winner Uacterlainn Riac won £175 but despite the poor prize money the track experienced record crowds. John Crowley ...

champion Uacterlainn Riac. In 1944 Robeen Printer recorded 29.90 sec in the heats which was the fastest ever time recorded at Shelbourne Park by a bitch at the time. The event lost its status as a major race and was replaced by the

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlong ...

Past winners

Venues & Distances

*1939-1941 (Shelbourne Park, 525y) *1942 (Cork, 525y) *1943-1976 (Shelbourne Park, 525y)

References

{{UK & Irish greyhound competitions Greyhound racing competitions in Dublin (city) 1939 establishments in Ireland Recurring sporting events established in 1939