Glenmalure Park

Glenmalure Park

Milltown
Location	Milltown Road,Milltown, Dublin6,Ireland
Owner	Jesuit Order, Kilcoyne family
Operator	Shamrock Rovers F.C.
Capacity	c.20,000
Surface	Grass
Construction
Built	1926
Opened	1926
Closed	12 April 1987
Demolished	1990
Tenants
Shamrock Rovers F.C.(1926–1987)The FAI Cup match v Sligo Rovers was the last competitive match in Glanmalure Park, but the actual final match was a charity match on the following Wednesday

Glenmalure Park,often simply known asMilltown,was afootballstadiumon theSouthsideofDublincity inIreland.Located in the suburb ofMilltown,it was home toShamrock Roversfrom 1926 to 1987, when it was sold to property developers by the club's directors. It is now a housing estate called Glenmalure Square.

Ringsend to Milltown

Shamrock Rovers moved from the inner city area ofRingsendin the early 20th century to the then semi-rural suburb of Milltown. In Milltown, Rovers secured a long-term lease of land from theJesuitOrder, who were based in the area. The club's ground there was largely built by their supporters, who constructed the main stand and banked the areas on the other three sides. It was officially opened on Sunday 19 September 1926, with a friendly game againstBelfast Celticin front of a crowd of 18,000.Bob Fullamhad the honour of scoring Rovers first ever goal at the ground.

Development

When the Cunningham family took over the club in the 1930s, the stadium was named Glenmalure Park in honour of the Cunningham's ancestral home in theGlenmalurevalley in theWicklow Mountains.By the mid 1930s a social club was in operation with billiards, cards, croquet and tennis taking place. The Cunninghams completed the ground byterracingthe remainder of the ground and erecting a roof over the terrace opposite the main stand. Glenmalure Park remained almost unaltered from then until its demolition in 1990, apart from the demolition of a small area of terracing beside the main stand and the erection of floodlights in the early 1980s. The capacity of the stadium was about 20,000 (with around 1000 seats) for most of its existence, its record crowd being 28,000 people for a game against Waterford in 1968. However, bigger crowds than this were sometimes seen at the venue before this, but went unreported by the club's owners. However, with modern safety precautions its capacity would probably have been considerably less. The ground's last full house came in 1986, when 18,000 attended aEuropean Cupmatch againstGlasgow Celtic.Temporary stands had to be erected for this game.

In 1978, Glenmalure Park hosted its first European game whenApoel Nicosiawere defeated 2–0. In all seven European games were played there as well as1988 Summer Olympicsqualifiers.

Sale and demolition

In 1987, the Kilcoyne family, who owned Shamrock Rovers since 1972 and had recently bought Glenmalure Park from the Jesuits, decided to sell the stadium to property developers. They stated that their aim was to move Rovers toTolka Parkto share withHome Farm F.C.The last match at Milltown was anFAI Cupsemi-final between Shamrock Rovers andSligo Roverson Sunday 12 April 1987, attended by some 6,000 people. This game saw a pitch invasion and protest by fans objecting to the sale of the ground. Some Shamrock Rovers supporters occupied the pitch at half-time were joined by Sligo fans in solidarity. They had to be persuaded to leave the pitch before the game could restart.

The following season Shamrock Rovers fans formed an organisation called 'Keep Rovers at Milltown' (KRAM) and placed apicketon home games at Tolka Park, effectively bankrupting the club's owners.KRAM collected money to purchase Glenmalure Park but could not match the offer of a property developer to whom the Kilcoynes eventually sold the site. After a lengthy appeals process, Glenmalure Park was demolished in the summer of 1990 and an apartment complex was built there. It is now marked by a permanent memorial erected by Shamrock Rovers supporters on Thursday 21 May 1998.

On Thursday 12 April 2007 a ceremony was held at the monument to commemorate 20 years since the last competitive game was played at the famous old ground.

The sale of Glenmalure Park featured in theRTÉprogramme "Twenty Moments That Shook Irish Sport" which was broadcast in August 2007.The feature came in for some criticism on the basis of its factual correctness and bias in favour of the Kilcoynes. The last game at Milltown was featured onRTÉ'sMonday Night Soccershow on 14 April 2008.

Shamrock Rovers were without a home ground for over 20 years after the sale of Glenmalure Park, until the opening ofTallaght Stadiumin March 2009.

Shamrock Rovers F.C. and the Shamrock Rovers Heritage Trust marked the 25th anniversary of the last game at Glenmalure Park in Milltown with a Stadium to Stadium Walk in April 2012[1].

Other uses

Four other League of Ireland clubs played home matches at Glenmalure Park –Shelbourne Unitedin the1923–24season,Reds Unitedin the1935–36season,Shelbournefrom 1949 to 1951, andSt Patrick's Athleticfrom 1951 to 1954.

Milltown also regularly hosted theRepublic of Ireland women's national football teamand the last match at the venue was a 4-1 win over Wales on the 24th of May 1987.

Billy Morton ofClonliffe Harriersstaged his first athletics meeting on Saturday 14 August 1943 at Glenmalure Park.

The ground also hosted a bo xing event in August 1966

Sources

• The Hoopsby Paul Doolan and Robert Goggins (ISBN0-7171-2121-6)
• Irish Football Handbookby Dave Galvin & Gerry Desmond (ISBN0-9517987-3-1)
• Clonliffe Harriers Athletic Club, 1886-2013by Dominic Branigan (ISBN9781782373698)
• Soccer and Society in Dublin: A History of Association Football in Ireland’s Capitalby Conor Curran (ISBN9781801510394)

External links

• Photos of Glenmalure Park (1987)Archived14 March 2005 at theWayback Machine