Disused LOI football grounds

**Paddyfield** · 28/10/2014, 10:48 PM

Now that The Market's Field is about to be rejuvinated for Limerick FC, it made me think about all of the other football grounds. I know Glenmalure aka Milltown is now residential but what ever happened to...

Lourdes Stadium (Drogheda)
St Mel's Park (Athlone)
Rathbane (Limerick)
Buckely Park (Kilkenny)
Gortakeegan (Monaghan)

Any other suggestions?

**Aaron** · 28/10/2014, 10:52 PM

Always remember a ground called Harolds Cross from some Derry City videos I have, who played there?

**PartySaint** · 28/10/2014, 10:57 PM

Originally Posted by Aaron

Always remember a ground called Harolds Cross from some Derry City videos I have, who played there?

Pats and Shels. It's a greyhound track in South Dublin. Think I saw an article about it the other day saying it's been sold and they're getting rid of the track.

Edit: here it is http://m.independent.ie/business/commercial-property/harolds-cross-greyhound-stadium-to-be-sold-30681851.html

**Lim till i die** · 28/10/2014, 10:57 PM

Pats played in Harolds Cross.

Maybe Shels at some stage as well??

Rathbane has never been less disused funnily enough.

Dressing rooms are being refurbished at the moment and there's dugouts and a tv tower gone in.

Hill Celtic play junior games there and it's the home ground of the Limerick FC schoolboy section, pitch is in good nick.

**White Horse** · 28/10/2014, 11:02 PM

Lourdes Stadium is now an athletics venue, and quite a good one too.

**atfconline** · 28/10/2014, 11:04 PM

Mel's is just waste ground, nothing left standing in the place.

**Charlie Darwin** · 28/10/2014, 11:30 PM

Originally Posted by PartySaint

Pats and Shels. It's a greyhound track in South Dublin. Think I saw an article about it the other day saying it's been sold and they're getting rid of the track.

Edit: here it is http://m.independent.ie/business/com...-30681851.html

Shame. Glad the greyhound racing will be gone, but would be an ideal location for Shels to relocate in their traditional catchment area if they had any money. Will just be houses now.

**MeathDrog** · 28/10/2014, 11:34 PM

Originally Posted by White Horse

Lourdes Stadium is now an athletics venue, and quite a good one too.

Is that where the terrace used to be on the right?

I've only ever been to an MDL game at the old Lourdes stadium.

**kksaints** · 28/10/2014, 11:36 PM

Pretty sure Buckley Park is still used for some Kilkenny district league matches.

**wonder88** · 28/10/2014, 11:41 PM

I think Thurles Town played at the Greyhound Track there, across from Semple Stadium. Never been, but I suppose you still fit a soccer pitch in there. Is Newcatlewest ground still there? St James Gate Iveagh Grounds?
St Francis amalgamated with St Pats, don't know what happened to their ground. Remember watching on telly St Patrick (Pat Dolan) coming out of a helicopter at City West to meet St Francis and announce the deal. Anyone know what year?

**MeathDrog** · 28/10/2014, 11:50 PM

Irishtown Stadium, former home of Shels.

**Charlie Darwin** · 28/10/2014, 11:56 PM

St Pat's YC play at Irishtown still, I think.

**Pablo Escobar** · 29/10/2014, 5:41 AM

In Cork, we have the infamous Bishopstown. Home to Cork City in the early to mid 90's. It's recently become home to our ladies team so is now back in LOI use. The Mardyke is home to the UCC rugby, but used to be home to Cork United and Cork Athletic in the 40's and 50's. It even hosted a full Irish international in the 30's. Flower Lodge, now Pairc Ui Rinn is now used as a 2nd ground to Cork GAA, but used to play host to Cork Hibernians in the 50's, 60's and 70's. It was finally used by Cork City in the 80's before the GAA bought the ground.

**PartySaint** · 29/10/2014, 7:03 AM

Originally Posted by wonder88

I think Thurles Town played at the Greyhound Track there, across from Semple Stadium. Never been, but I suppose you still fit a soccer pitch in there. Is Newcatlewest ground still there? St James Gate Iveagh Grounds?
St Francis amalgamated with St Pats, don't know what happened to their ground. Remember watching on telly St Patrick (Pat Dolan) coming out of a helicopter at City West to meet St Francis and announce the deal. Anyone know what year?

St Francis still have their pitches, they still use them. Good pitches as well.

**red bellied** · 29/10/2014, 7:08 AM

The Mardyke (Cork), Kilcohan Park, Whitehall (Home Farm), Abbeycarton, RDS, and Baldonnel (St Francis), I don't think any of these have been mentioned so far.

**Town Legend** · 29/10/2014, 7:20 AM

Longford schoolboy soccer league play out of Abbeycarton these days.

Belgium Park - Mons first LOI ground

**Nah Nah Nah Nah** · 29/10/2014, 7:34 AM

Morton Stadium in Santry. Hated going there.

**pineapple stu** · 29/10/2014, 8:14 AM

Snuck into Belfield Park a couple of years ago (can't remember when exactly)

At the time, it was pretty much untouched except that it hadn't been maintained in four or five years. So falling apart in a way that Acornvilla would be thrilled to explore with his camera.

I think they were building a new campus building inside the ground, but the red brick wall was to be left standing.

Edit - actually, you can still see Belfield Park on Google Maps, and you can see the faint traces of the new roads there as well. You can drop the little man figure onto the new roads and see the current lay of the land in Street View. There's now a road to a car park along where the main stand was - the brick wall beside the road is the one which was behind the main stand - and the new buildings are presumably built on the pitch and the hill.

**Dodge** · 29/10/2014, 8:47 AM

Pats were in Harolds Cross from August 89 to December 93. Won a league there but poxy ground. Shels were there for a good few years before that. Galway actually played a home game there too

**WoodquayBoy** · 29/10/2014, 10:28 AM

Yeah, not sure of date but it was in the 1990s, we played an away game in Dublin and in order to finish season, we played a home game at Harold's Cross the following day!