The Show Grounds Greyhound Track 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 ...

track in Ballintemple,

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

Origins

This track was the first provincial greyhound racing venue to be built in Ireland and the third behind Celtic Park and

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 ...

. The track was constructed by the Southern Greyhound and Sports Company Limited, in part of the 27 acres known as Lower Park, which was owned by the Cork Agricultural Buildings Co Ltd. Lower Park was used by the County Cork Agricultural Society and ran from the present-day Centre Park Road to Blackrock. The society later became the

Munster Agricultural Society The Munster Agricultural Society, also known as the MAS, is a non-profit agricultural organisation headquartered in County Cork, Ireland. Founded in 1805, its stated charitable purpose is “to encourage and promote Agricultural, Industrial, Educ ...

, and buildings were constructed in .

Opening

In early 1928, the new stadium took shape; the construction was simple because there was already much in place such as the jumping enclosure where spectators viewed the show jumping from previous shows. There was accommodation for 20,000 people, car parking was for 1,000 cars and the kennels were listed as exhibition kennels allowing the public to view them. There was a tram service to Ballintemple and there were three price bands for the three areas of the grandstand, the 'special enclosure' and the 'popular enclosure'. The secretary of the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) and a representative from the Greyhound Racing Control Board visited the facilities and gave the green light by issuing a licence under ICC rules. The racing started on Wednesday 27 June 1928 and events were held over 525 and 550 yards.

Closure

The choice of venue had been constantly criticised by the press due to the fact that it was too far east and outside of the city, which ultimately led to closure on 20 September 1935 because a new venue was being constructed. The new venue was called the

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 ...

and was on Western Road which allowed the Cork public easier access.

References

{{Greyhound stadiums in Ireland 1928 establishments in Ireland Defunct greyhound racing venues in Ireland Sport in County Cork Sports venues in County Cork