Tallaght Stadium - Shamrock Rovers
Home Soccer Ground
Tallaght Stadium - Home to Shamrock
Rovers |
In 2009 Tallaght Stadium became the
latest home to League of Ireland side, Shamrock
Rovers. Following almost 22 years of a nomadic existence Rovers
finally came to rest at the Tallaght Stadium in March 2009. The
stadium was completed, and is owned, by South Dublin County Council.
Located in the Sean Walsh Memorial Park, off Whitestown Way, the
football ground was officially opened by Martin Cullen T.D. and
Minister for Sport, Arts & Tourism on 27th May 2009.
The stadium comprises two all-seater
stands, East & West, and can accommodate 6,500 fans on competitive
match days. For friendly football matches the capacity of Tallaght
Stadium can be expanded to 10,000 through the addition of temporary
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seating at the Square shopping centre side
of the ground.
How Tallaght Stadium Became the Home
of Shamrock Rovers
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Following the sale of Glenmalure
Park by owner Louis Kilcoyne in 1987 Shamrock Rovers spent the next
22 years playing their home matches in a variety of football grounds
and venues. This was a huge shock to the system for most loyal Rovers
fans as Glenmalure Park had been the club's home for over 60 years.
The fact that Glenmalure was sold to property developers and that
no permanent replacement ground had been provide for the club rankled
with the supporters. In the period between the exodus from Glenmalure
Park to the arrival at promised land that was Tallaght Stadium,
Shamrock Rovers home football grounds included, Tolka Park, Dalymount
Park, the RDS, Morton Stadium, and Richmond Park.
Shamrock Rovers Football Club was
acquired by Premier Computers, fronted by Alan McGrath, in 1996
who promptly announced ambitious plans to build an fully seated
stadium in Tallaght with capacity of 10,000. Following a very protracted
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planning phase, which included objections
from local residents, work on Tallaght Stadium began on a site in the Sean
Walsh Memorial Park at Whitestown Way. The site and the planning permission
had been granted by South Dublin County Council (SDCC). Construction work
on Shamrock Rover's new stadium began in October 2000. Rovers ran into financial
difficulties and eventually had to concede that the club did not have the
resources to complete the stadium. For a number of years the half-built
stadium stood idle until the SDCC came up with plan to complete the construction
of the stadium and to grant Shamrock Rovers attractive lease terms.
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Unfortunately the long-suffering
and much-travelled Rovers fans were made to wait further due to
legal wrangling between South Dublin County Council and local GAA
club Thomas Davis, who were seeking use of Tallaght Stadium for
some of its' home matches.
Eventually the law courts ruled against
the Thomas Davis club and construction work recommenced on the stadium.
After thirteen years from the announcement of the plans for the
Tallaght Stadium Shamrock Rovers FC played it's first home match
in Tallaght in March 2009.
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Shamrock Rovers First Match in Tallaght
Stadium
Shamrock Rovers first League of Ireland
match at Tallaght Stadium was against Sligo Rovers on Friday 13th March
2009. Rovers recorded a 2-1 victory in their new home surroundings. Scotsman
Gary Twigg has the distinction of being the first footballer to score
a goal at Tallaght Stadium when he gave the home team a 1-0 lead in the
18th minute. A less honourable distinction belongs to Richie Ryan of Sligo
Rovers who earned the first yellow card at Tallaght Stadium a minute before
Twigg's goal. The other scorers on the night were Dessie Baker, and Gavin
Peers for Sligo. The teams on the night were:
Shamrock Rovers Team : Barry Murphy,
Simon Madden, Ian Bermingham, Aidan Price, Sean Webb, Shane Robinson (capt),
Stephen Rice, Gary Twigg (Greg Cameron 89 mins), Stephen Bradley (Eoin
Doyle 82 mins), Ollie Cahill, Dessie Baker (Tadhg Purcell 74 mins). Substitutes
not used: Corie Treacy, Robert Duggan.
Sligo Rovers Team : Richard Brush,
Jason Noctor (Paul McTiernan 79 mins), Shaun Holmes, Danny Ventre, Gavin
Peers, Conor O'Grady, Brian Cash (Stephen Parkhouse 57 mins), Richie Ryan
(Eoin Torpey 57 mins), Romuald Boco, Rafael Cretaro, Owen Morrison. Substitutes
not used: Steve Feeney, Ciaran Kelly.
Referee : Alan Kelly
Ronaldo Makes Debut for Real Madrid
at Tallaght Stadium
| On the 20th July 2009
Spanish soccer giants Real Madrid played against Shamrock Rovers in
Tallaght Stadium. It was a friendly match that formed part of Real
Madrid's pre-season preparation. Sports management company, Platinum
One arranged for the Spanish giants to stay and train at Carton House
in Maynooth, County Kildare and to play the match in Tallaght Stadium.
The Real Madrid squad included world record signing Ronaldo, who had
recently signed from Manchester United for a €92m. The Spanish
squad also included other world class players such as, Raul, Karim
Benzema, and Gabriel Heinze. Ronaldo's debut against Shamrock Rovers
was very exciting for the 10,000 fans present |
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on the night however the fans had to content
themselves with a single late goal by Benzema which secured a one-nil victory
for Real over over a spirited Rovers selection.
Rugby Match at Tallaght Stadium
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Tallaght Stadium was also the venue
for another first - an international rugby match in Tallaght. On
Friday, 27th November 2009, the Ireland A team took on the Argentinean
Jaguares. On a cold night the Irish comprehensively defeated the
visiting Argentina A team by a scoreline of 31-0.
Ulster's Ryan Caldwell scored the
first rugby points ever scored in the Tallaght Stadium when he touched
down for a try after twelve minutes in front of an attendance of
just over 4,000.
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Ireland A Team: 15 Felix Jones (Shannon/Munster)
14 Ian Dowling (Shannon/Munster) 13 Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
12 Keith Matthews (Buccaneers/Connacht) 11 Johne Murphy (Leicester) 10 Ian
Humphreys (Ballymena/Ulster) 9 Isaac Boss (Ballymena/Ulster) 1 Brett Wilkinson
(Galwegians/Connacht) 2 John Fogarty (De La Salle Palmerston/Leinster) 3
Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster) 4 Ryan Cauldwell (Dungannon/Ulster) 5 Mick
O'Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster) Captain 6 Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
7 Niall Ronan (Shannon/Munster) 8 John Muldoon (Buccaneers/Connacht) Replacements:
16 Andy Kyriacou (Malone/Ulster) 17 Bryan Young (Ballymena/Ulster) 18 Ed
O'Donoghue (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 19 Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster) 20 Frank
Murphy (Buccaneers/Connacht) 21 Ian Keatley (Galwegians/Connacht) 22 Denis
Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Location of Tallaght Stadium
Tallaght Stadium is situated in the Sean
Walsh Memorial Park, Whitestown Way (off the N81), Tallaght, Dublin 24.
The stadium is served by a number of buses and is within walking distance
of the Tallaght LUAS terminus (Red Line). There is car parking available
at the stadium for 500 cars however on match days parking is only allocated
to pass holders. The Square shopping centre car park, which is situated
approximately three hundred yards from the ground, charges modest parking
fees.
Stadium Contact Details: Phone:
01 4203033 / Fax: 01 4203032 / General
Enquiries / Conference
& Events
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