Harold's Cross Stadium
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Harold's Cross Stadium was a
greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...
stadium in
Harold's Cross Harold's Cross () is an affluent urban village and inner suburb on the south side of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the postal district List of Dublin postal districts, D6W. The River Poddle runs through it, though largely in an underg ...
, Dublin, owned and operated by the Irish Greyhound Board. Facilities included a grandstand restaurant, carvery, a number of bars, totalisator betting and seating. Racing took place every Tuesday and Friday evening and race distances were 325, 525, 550, 570, and 750 yards and the feature competitions at the track were the Corn Cuchulainn, the Puppy Derby and the
Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...
. The stadium closed on 13 February 2017 due to the financial constraints of its owner, state greyhound racing body Bord na gCon. Bord na gCon later sold the track to the Department of Education for €23 million in 2018 and apartments have also been built on the site. The proceeds from the sale were proposed be used to help pay a €20.3 million debt incurred from the construction of
Limerick Greyhound Stadium Limerick Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in the Dock Road (south-west) area of Limerick, Ireland. The stadium has a grandstand restaurant, hospitality suites, fast food facilities and a number of bars. Racing takes place o ...
.


Football

The stadium was used over the years by five football teams who were competing in the
League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...
: * Brideville played there for eleven seasons from 1929/30-1931/32 and from 1935/36-1942/43 *
Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...
played there from 1932/33-1933/34 *
Transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
played there from 1951/52-1961/62, a total of eleven seasons. * Shelbourne played at the stadium from 1975/76-1976/77 and again from 1982/83-1988/89 before moving to
Tolka Park Tolka Park () is an Ireland, Irish association football ground located in the Northside Dublin, north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, Dublin, Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Irelan ...
*
St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club, commonly known as Pat's or The Athletic, is a professional List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the League ...
were the last League of Ireland club to play there regularly, from 1989/90 up to November 1993, while work was being done to its
Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, Cha ...
home. Harold's Cross has hosted a number of notable matches. It staged one
League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup, also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', was an annual knockout competition in men's football in Ireland. It was contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited clubs from the lower levels of the Irish footb ...
Final when
Limerick City Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
beat St. Patrick's Athletic 2–0 in the 1992/93 decider, whilst the last League of Ireland match ever played in Harold's Cross was a home match for
Galway United Galway United Football Club () is an Irish professional football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Premier Division following promotion from the First Division in 2023. They were founded as Galway Rovers F.C. during the ...
. On the final weekend of the 1993/94 season, there was no available pitch in
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
due to persistent torrential rain for their match with Shelbourne so the game was switched to Harold's Cross. Shels won the match 5–2 with Barry O'Connor grabbing a hat-trick.


Speedway

The stadium was used for speedway racing in 1928.


Greyhound racing


Origins and opening

On 13 February 1928 a new Irish company was registered called the Dublin Greyhound and Sports Association Ltd. The nominal capital was £25,000 in shares of £1 and the directors were J.B Fraser a timber merchant, John J Flood (retired public official), Walter Butler (architect), Edward Teehan (gentleman) and John McEntagart (motor engineer). Together they would introduce the second greyhound racing track to Dublin in the form of Harold's Cross close to the centre of Dublin (the first was
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 J ...
). It became the third greyhound racing venue in Ireland following Shelbourne Park and
Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...
in
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
. The opening night was on 10 April 1928 with the first race scheduled for 8 pm.
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
advertised the fact that there was accommodation for 40,000 people and car parking for 1,000 cars. The Riordan family formed the first management with John superseded by his son John F. In 1928 Harolds Cross introduced a competition that would become the modern day
Irish Greyhound Derby The Irish Greyhound Derby held at Shelbourne Park, is the premier Greyhound racing in Ireland, greyhound racing competition in Ireland. First held at Harold's Cross Stadium, Harold's Cross in 1928, the event was unofficial until 1932 and called ...
, the race was unofficial because Harolds Cross decided to run this 'National Derby' without consulting the Irish racing fraternity. This was a practice they would continue to do until the formation of classic races in 1932.


Pre-war history

In 1929
Mick the Miller Mick the Miller (29 June 1926 – 6 May 1939) was a male brindle greyhound. He is celebrated as the first great greyhound racing, racing greyhound to compete in England (although he was born in Ireland). Despite a short three-year racing career ...
won the Spring Cup competition here over 525 yards and then finished runner up in the Stayers Cup over 600 yards. The Irish Coursing Club issued a new list of classic races in 1932 and controversy followed because Harolds Cross was given the Oaks and not the Derby. Shelbourne had been given the premier event which did not go down well based on the fact that they had introduced the event. One year later and Harolds Cross were furious that Shelbourne were issued the race again. In a meeting Mr Tynan representing the track, had pointed out that the previous year Paddy O’Donoghue had promised that they could hold the event in 1933. I.C.C chairman John Bruton explained that they could not cancel a ruling by the club already made. Tynan stormed out and Harolds Cross refused to run any classics or their qualifying races and threatened to run their own Irish Championship. Finally in 1934 they were granted permission to run the Derby as long as they contributed a minimum of £100 towards the event. The ICC added a further £50 and it was also agreed that Shelbourne and Harolds Cross would run the competition in alternate years. The first star of the track was a black bitch called Nanny Goosegog owned by the legendary Arthur Doc Callanan who happened to be the track vet as well in the early days of racing at Harolds Cross. The March 1938 whelp won 37 of her 38 races at the Harolds Cross but because some of these were handicap races the bitch did not set any official records. After 20 consecutive wins she was beaten by Lucky House who received 11 yards, another 17 consecutive victories followed so it is easy to see why she was Dublin's first superstar. In 1943 the Puppy Derby was inaugurated here. One year later the track became the first in Ireland to introduce automatic starting traps. 'Doc' Callanan had suffered from ill health in 1945 and died aged 51; Harolds Cross introduced a race in his memory called the Callanan Cup.


Post-war history

Spanish Battleship won the first and last of his Derby titles in 1953 and 1955 respectively and the 1955 edition saw the stadium overwhelmed by crowds attempting to get a look at final. The
Bord na gCon Greyhound Racing Ireland (, formerly ) is an Irish semi-state body charged with regulating and promoting Greyhound racing in Ireland. The organisation has been active in developing the sport in Ireland since its founding on 11 July 1958. Gr ...
funded a new totalisator system at the track in 1960. The Derby was last run at the track in 1967, when it was won by Russian Gun. Rumours had surfaced that developers might purchase the track so the Irish Greyhound Board acted quickly and bought Harolds Cross in 1970 to quash any future re-development plans. The Corn Cuchulainn for stayers was another major event introduced to the track in 1961 and in 1977 the track went ahead with considerable improvements that included a new stand, restaurant and other facilities. The 1978 running of the Callanan Cup and Oaks did not take place at the Cross with the latter switching to Shelbourne. Stability followed with established races taking centre stage except for the Oaks which would eventually be held at Shelbourne permanently. George Deegan became Racing Manager as the track raced on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. Despite the stadium being in the hands of the Irish Greyhound Board and Racing Manager Deegan providing security with his long tenure the Dublin track was subject once again to rumours in the early nineties. There were strong indications coming from some quarters that Harolds Cross would close to ease the burden of costs on the IGB. Luckily business began to grow after a tough period of trading and the rumours went away. The
Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...
had been held here since 2001, the second time the track has hosted the event following the previous spell during the 1930s. In 2010 Racing Manager Billy Bell decided to join
Mullingar Greyhound Stadium Mullingar Greyhound Stadium is a Greyhound racing in Ireland, greyhound racing track located in south Mullingar in Ireland. The stadium has a grandstand restaurant, a fast food outlet and a number of bars. Racing takes place on a Saturday eveni ...
as their Racing Manager leaving Harolds Cross looking for a replacement. Coincidentally Derek Frehill (part of the Mullingar management & former RM there) was the one to fill the gap switching paces when Bell left. The trading of places took place after the Puppy Derby final.


Sale

Towards the end of 2014 the Irish Greyhound Board decided to sell the stadium. It was considered that by doing so the debts of the IGB could be drastically reduced. The idea was to transfer all Dublin operations to Shelbourne Park but the decision did not sit well with those involved with Harolds Cross and many others in Irish racing. Even some at Shelbourne expressed concern that they relied on Harolds Cross as a feeder stadium. The move was confirmed on 13 February 2017, and all IGB operations have since ceased.


Competitions

* Corn Cuchulainn * Puppy Derby *
Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...
*
Irish Greyhound Derby The Irish Greyhound Derby held at Shelbourne Park, is the premier Greyhound racing in Ireland, greyhound racing competition in Ireland. First held at Harold's Cross Stadium, Harold's Cross in 1928, the event was unofficial until 1932 and called ...
* Oaks * Callanan Cup


Track records

At closing Former


References

{{League of Ireland venues Harold's Cross Shelbourne F.C. St Patrick's Athletic F.C. Sports venues in Dublin (city) Association football venues in the Republic of Ireland Transport F.C. Association football venues in County Dublin 1928 establishments in Ireland 2017 disestablishments in Ireland Defunct greyhound racing venues in Ireland Greyhound racing in Dublin (city) Dolphin F.C. (Ireland)