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Markets Field is a stadium in
Garryowen, Limerick Garryowen () is a neighbourhood in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The word Garryowen is a transliteration of the Irish Garraí Eoin - "the garden of Owen" - and relates to the association in the 12th century between St John's Church and ...
, Ireland. It has been redeveloped since 5 June 2015 when it hosted a
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
match between
Limerick FC Limerick Football Club ( ga, Club Peile Luimnigh) was an association football club based in Limerick, Ireland who played in the League of Ireland and currently have teams competing in the underage National League of Ireland. The first Limerick ...
and
Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...
in the
League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...
. It has been graded a UEFA Category Two stadium with a capacity of around 4,500. The ground has hosted underage international fixtures in 2015 and 2021. The EA Sports Cup final between Limerick FC and St Patrick's Athletic was played in Markets Field on Saturday, 17 September 2016.


History

The site was originally a
Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...
ground, having been used as a venue for Munster championship games in both
hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...
and
Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
. Most of the All-Ireland semi-finals between
Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
and
Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...
teams also took place there in the early years of the 1900s. It was also the home of Garryowen, a rugby club founded in Limerick in 1884, from 1886 until 1957. Garryowen have since moved to new facilities in the
Dooradoyle Dooradoyle ( Irish: ''Tuar an Daill'') is a large suburb of Limerick, Ireland. It is one of Limerick's newer suburbs, and is home to the campus of University Hospital Limerick and the Crescent Shopping Centre. Etymology The name Dooradoyle ( g ...
area of Limerick. For most of its life it has been
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 ...
stadium. Greyhound racing ceased on 17 July 2010 with the opening of a new greyhound stadium at Greenpark in the south of the city. The Markets Field is also the former home of
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
side
Limerick FC Limerick Football Club ( ga, Club Peile Luimnigh) was an association football club based in Limerick, Ireland who played in the League of Ireland and currently have teams competing in the underage National League of Ireland. The first Limerick ...
. In 1962 Limerick F.C. played
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in a friendly at Markets Field with Liverpool winning 5–3. It has hosted two of Limerick's six European ties. First in 1981 they lost 3–0 to
Southampton FC Southampton Football Club () is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, which competes in the . Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, before which they were based at The Dell. The club play in ...
of England in the
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
. Then in 1982 they drew 1–1 in the
Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
against Dutch side
AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and ho ...
.
Limerick F.C. Limerick Football Club ( ga, Club Peile Luimnigh) was an association football club based in Limerick, Ireland who played in the League of Ireland and currently have teams competing in the underage National League of Ireland. The first Limerick ...
were the principal license holder until their demise in 2019, after the ground was purchased by LEDP (Limerick Enterprise Development Partnership) with funds provided by the
JP McManus John Patrick McManus (born 10 March 1951) is an Irish businessman and racehorse owner. His career lasted from the 1980s to the 2010s. He was one of the biggest shareholders of Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, until his stake was Glazer ...
charitable foundation. During late 2013, Limerick Enterprise Development Partnership (LEDP) redeveloped the pitch, investing €400k in a brand new playing surface. In early 2014, after the granting of planning permission for the ground redevelopment the government announced additional funding to redevelop the stadium. The stadium hosted its first match in the refurbished ground on 5 June 2015.


Current use

Currently, the ground is predominantly used by
Treaty United Treaty United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Limerick. The club was founded in 2020 following the demise of Limerick F.C. and began playing in the League of Ireland in 2021. They play their home matches at Market ...
, a soccer club born in Limerick and now represents the city and Mid-West region in the
2021 League of Ireland First Division The 2021 League of Ireland First Division season was the 37th season of the League of Ireland First Division, the second tier of Ireland's association football league. The fixture list was released on 8 February 2021 and the competition commenc ...
.


Layout

The refurbished Main Stand holds 1,350 spectators for the home supporters. Away support are housed in a new stand with 360 seats behind the Geraldine Villas goal. The Popular side and the Cathedral End are both standing areas with a corporate box beside the Main Stand. These terrace areas are grassy banks at present. The score board is situated at the Cathedral End. The new tunnel and dressing rooms are under the Main Stand and there are 3 turnstiles named after Limerick football legends. The dugout is at the Popular Side, across the pitch from the tunnel. In 2015 the playing surface at the ground won the "Pitch of the Year Award" from FAI.


Greyhound racing

The Limerick Greyhound Company was formed in 1933 but it was not until 1937 when the opening night took place at Markets Field. The first directors were T.F.Ryan & J.P.Frost. The 465 yard circuit came to prominence in 1939 when it was selected by the Irish Coursing Club to hold 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 ...
for first and only time. The event was won by Marchin' Thro' Georgia who won the final in a new track record time of 30.05. The track then hosted the classic race the
Irish St Leger The Irish St Leger is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it i ...
in 1940 before it moved permanently to Limerick in 1944. The track also staged the
Irish Oaks The Irish Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it is s ...
in 1942. The allocation of the 1943
Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...
did not help because due to the lack of hurdlers during the war Mr Ryan the chairman of Limerick Stadium was left with no choice but to cancel the event. Other events that took place at Limerick were the Bulger Cup and Kennedy Memorial Cup and
J. P. McManus John Patrick McManus (born 10 March 1951) is an Irish businessman and racehorse owner. His career lasted from the 1980s to the 2010s. He was one of the biggest shareholders of Manchester United, until his stake was bought out by Malcolm Glazer ...
started as a
bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...
at the track and earned the nickname 'Sundance Kid'. In 1958 the Irish Greyhound Board (Bord Na gCon based in Limerick) was given the responsibility of all tracks in Ireland with the exception of the
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
tracks that would remain under the jurisdiction of the Irish Coursing Club. They installed a new totalisator system in 1960 as improvements became common place under the new ownership. Major changes in 1966 included a new stand costing over £60,000 and Brendan O’Connell was Racing Manager for over thirty years from 1966. The track closed in 2009 with the entire operation moving to the newly built
Limerick Greyhound Stadium Limerick Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in south-west Limerick in Ireland. The stadium has a grandstand restaurant, hospitality suites, fast food facilities and a number of bars. Racing takes place on a Thursday (6:30pm) ...
at Greenpark, Dock Road. Racing Manager Gus Ryan retired after 42 years in racing.


Track records


References

{{Greyhound stadiums in Ireland Gaelic games grounds in the Republic of Ireland Limerick GAA Limerick F.C. Sports venues in County Limerick Sports venues in Limerick (city) Greyhound racing venues in the Republic of Ireland Defunct greyhound racing venues in Ireland Association football venues in the Republic of Ireland Treaty United W.F.C. Treaty United F.C.