Shelbourne Park

The plans to open a greyhound track in Dublin were drawn up by Paddy O’Donoghue, Jerry Collins, Patsy McAlinden and Jim Clarke.

When opening in 1927 the track employed four resident trainers in Mick Horan, Paddy Quigley, Billy Donoghue and Ben Scally.

Shelbourne Park hosted the first official Irish Greyhound Derby which had been run on four previous occasions from 1928 to 1931 at a rival track Harold's Cross Stadium.

The Grand National took place here in 1933 & 1934 and the St Leger four times in the thirties but it was decided by the Irish Coursing Club that it was better to distribute the classics between several tracks.

[8] With the closure of Celtic Park in 1983 Shelbourne became the premier track in Ireland and continues to provide most of the major events in the Irish racing calendar.

In March 2021, the Board of Rásaíocht Con Éireann (Greyhound Racing Ireland) announced a two-stage €2.3 million plan for improvements at the venue.

Shelbourne Park appeared in the British motoring programme, Top Gear where Richard Hammond using a Mazda MX5 raced against a greyhound around the track.

In 1951 it was a base for a team of American speedway riders including Nick Nicolaides, Don Hawley, Johnny Roccio, Manuel Trujillo, and Lloyd Campbell.