Dalymount Park
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| 'Dalyer' | |
| Location | Dublin, Ireland |
|---|---|
| Broke ground | 1901 |
| Opened | September 7, 1901 |
| Renovated | 1999 |
| Owner | Bohemian FC |
| Surface | Grass 125yds x 75yds |
| Capacity | 7,955 |
| Tenants | |
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Dalymount Park is an Irish football stadium situated on Dublin's Northside. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as 'Dalyer' by fans, it was also historically the "home of Irish football" holding Irish internationals and FAI Cup finals. It has also hosted UEFA Champions League qualifiers, UEFA Cup and UEFA Cup Winners Cup matches. However, the ground was hardly developed from the 1940s until the early years of the new century and has fallen out of use as major venue, except for the home games of Bohs.
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[edit] Dalymount 1901–1932
Dalymount Park was originally common land with a large vegetable plot and known as Pisser Dignam's Field until it was taken over by Bohemian F.C.. It hosted its first game on September 7 1901, between Bohemians and Shelbourne F.C. and in front of an attendance of around 5,000. Harold Sloan scored the first ever goal at the ground in a 4–2 win for Bohs. On that day, it was just an ordinary field enclosed by a corrugated iron fence, the playing pitch being separated from the spectators by a roped barrier and a tent at one end served as dressing rooms for the players.
Within a few weeks, paling had replaced the ropes and the line of demarcation between "reserved" and "unreserved" was fixed by a 6ft high hoarding. An "unreserved" entrance was then erected at the Connaught Street side. A small wooden stand to the east of the reserved entrance soon appeared as did a similar stand behind each goal.
Dalymount was chosen as the venue for the Irish Cup Final in 1903 between Bohemians and Distillery and on the 26th of March 1904, it hosted its first international, a game which saw Ireland play Scotland in a 1–1 draw, between 1904 and 1913 Dalymount hosted at least one Irish international in the years when Ireland had more than one home match in the British Home Championship.[1]
By the 1907/08 season, the ground had been considerably widened, large wooden stands were erected behind both goals, another was built in the centre of the "popular" side and in the reserved enclosure an additional wooden stand appeared to the west of the entrance. Over the following years, the main stand on the reserved side was roofed and a similar addition made on the unreserved side.
In 1915 Dalymount hosted the IFA Intermediate Cup final when UCD beat Portadown 2-1.
Huge improvements happened to the ground during the 1927/28 season; the galvanised iron boundary was replaced by a 10ft wall having 20 turnstile houses and entrance and exit gates at a cost of £2,520.[2] A new steel stand was erected in the reserved enclosure and provision was made for fitting out club rooms, offices, etc when more money was available. Entrance to the stand was by steps placed at points along the front and facing the field of play. This stand cost £5,833. Other additions included an iron railing along the pitch on the reserved side, new banking on both reserved and unreserved sides and a gymnasium and kicking alley.
Within a few years, the Bohemian F.C. committee engaged the services of famous Scottish architect Archibald Leitch (he had designed many of the most famous grounds in England and Scotand) who drew up plans for future building of Dalyer. Another section was added to the reserved stand, new entrances and exits were placed at the rear. More banking and terracing around the entire pitch were completed, crush barriers erected and new stile houses installed (bringing the total to 28). This new work meant that between 1925/26 and 1932, a total of £17,000 had been spent on upgrading the stadium[3]
[edit] History
In its heyday, Dalymount Park, or "Dalyer" as it is popularly known, regularly saw crowds of up to 40,000 for big games, however, whether it was ever able to accommodate this number of spectators safely is open to question. The stadium consisted of three sides of open terracing, one side the "Shed End" or "School End" being partly covered with a roof over half the terrace since 1945. The fourth side was the main stand, which held only 1500 seats. The stand was constructed in 1928, from iron and wood, with wooden benches and terraced standing room at the front. Floodlights were added to the ground in 1962.
Dalymount's record attendance was put at 48,000, for an Irish international game against England on May 19 1957. A similar crowd attended the first entry of an Irish team into the European Cup, when Shamrock Rovers played Manchester United in 1957. The record attendance at the venue for an FAI Cup Final is 45,000, achieved when Shamrock Rovers beat Bohs in 1945. The ground saw the international debuts of players such as Liam Brady, Johnny Giles and Denis Irwin.
However, by the 1980s Dalymount had been sidelined by the more modern and larger Lansdowne Road rugby union ground for Irish football internationals. Parts of the ground had also become somewhat dilapidated, some of terracing was in bad shape – with grass growing on it in places – and one access route to the ground (behind the old "Tramway End") had been cut off completely. In February 1985, when Ireland played, the then World Champions, Italy at Dalymount Park, it was clear that the old ground could not accommodate the 40,000 or so spectators who turned up to see the game. Fans had to passed down to the sidelines to avoid being crushed and serious questions were raised about whether Dalymount was a viable venue for modern sport. After a safety review, the capacity of the stadium was cut in half to only 22,000. Thereafter, Dalymount only rarely hosted senior internationals and rarer still competitive ones. The last full Irish international game to be played there was friendly against Morocco in 1990. Dalymount also lost the FAI Cup Final in 1990, when it was switched to Lansdowne Road. It briefly recovered the final in 1996, when it held the replayed final between Shelbourne and St Patrick's Athletic and in 1997 and 1998, when it hosted Cup Final again. However, in 1999, the final was switched to Tolka Park and in 2003 back to Lansdowne Road.
[edit] Present day
Bohemians have recently redeveloped the ground to some extent. The old main stand has been replaced by a modern structure with 2742 seats, known as the "Jodi Stand". Half of the terrace on the opposite side has been knocked down, the remainder has had seats installed on the terracing and now holds 3720. The old "Shed End", now called "The Des Kelly Carpets Stand" has similarly had seats added and now has a capacity of 1485. The terrace behind the opposite goal (or "Tramway End") has been sold and is therefore closed. The modern capacity of Dalymount is about 7955. Bohs' average crowd is between 1500 and 2000.
Shamrock Rovers also played the 2005 season at Dalymount Park, as did the now defunct team Dublin City F.C. in 2006, who drew very low crowds, including a reported attendance of 52 for one game against Galway United.[4]
The stadium has also been used to host European games of other teams when their own stadia were deemed unsuitable, such as Drogheda United's Champions League qualifiers and UEFA Cup games of 2006, 2007 and 2008. Shamrock Rovers played their first 11 European games at Dalymount as Milltown was deemed too small at the time.
[edit] Other Uses
The stadium has also held concerts in the past, but is unlikely to do so again. In 2003, a planned Destiny's Child concert was moved from the venue when safety inspectors found it to be unsuitable. Famous performers to have played at Dalymount include Black Sabbath, Motörhead, Bob Marley, Thin Lizzy, Boomtown Rats, The Clash and Faith No More.
[edit] The future
On 4 May 2006, Bohemian FC members voted to authorise the club's board's entry into negotiations which would have resulted in the sale of the Dalymount Park site to property developer Liam Carroll and the demolition of the ground itself. Bohemians would have relocated to a purpose built (at a projected cost of €21 million, to be met by the developer) 10,000 seater stadium near Dublin Airport off the M50 motorway, four miles from the club's current home. On November 7, 2008, Bohemian F.C. lost a court case versus Albion Ltd over the ownership of a section of Dalymount Park at the Tramway End of the ground which put the contract with Liam Carroll in serious doubt. This also put the club's financial future in doubt and reopened speculation on possible alternatives such as the previously mooted groundshare with Shelbourne F.C..[5]
[edit] Irish International Matches in Dalymount
[edit] Notes
- ^ Match was 1–1 up until the 51st minute, when the game was abandoned due to fog.
- ^ Classified as a full international by FIFA.
[edit] Cup Finals at Dalymount
Dalymount has hosted many cup finals before partition of Ireland it hosted six Irish Cup(IFA) finals and two replays, it also has hosted the Irish Free State Cup final and is successor the FAI Cup final on numerous occasions. A number of cross border cup competition finals were hosted in Dalymount such as the Blaxnit Cup and Dublin and Belfast Intercity Cup.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Ireland(IFA) International Football Results
- ^ Bohemian F.C. Golden Jubilee Souvenir Book, 1940
- ^ Bohemian F.C. Programme, 20th November 1988
- ^ Galway United director Nial O'Reilly claimed to have seen "52 spectators at the match" when his club played away to Dublin City [1]
- ^ http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2006/0126/dalymount.html
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Coordinates: 53°21′42.80″N 6°16′30.00″W / 53.3618889°N 6.275°W
