Dalymount Park
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| Dalymount Park | |
| Full name | Dalymount Park |
| Nickname | Dalyier |
| Built | 1901 |
| Opened | 1901 |
| Capacity | 8,500 |
| Home of | Bohemian FC |
Dalymount Park is a football stadium situated in north Dublin. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. It was also historically the "home of Irish football" holding Irish internationals and FAI Cup finals. It has also hosted Champions League qualifiers, UEFA Cup and 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 Bohemians.
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[edit] History
Dalymount Park was first constructed in 1901 and the first game, between Shelbourne F.C. and Bohemians was played on September 7. In March 1904 Dalymount hosted it's first international, a game which saw Ireland play Scotland. The first international to feature the Republic of Ireland came in 1924, when they played the United States.
In its heyday, Dalymount Park, or "Dalyer" as it was 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 Bohemians in 1945. The ground saw the international debuts of players such as Liam Brady and Johnny Giles.
However, by the 1980s Dalymount had been sidelined by the more modern and larger Lansdowne Road rugby 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 3000 seats. Half of the terrace on the opposite side has been knocked down, the remainder has had seats installed on the terracing, as has the old "shed end". The terrace behind the opposite goal (or "tramway end") has been sold and is therefore closed. The modern capacity of Dalymount is about 9000. Bohemians average crowd is about 1500. Shamrock Rovers also played the 2005 season at Dalymount Park.
[edit] The future
The stadium has also held concerts in the past, but is unlikely to do so again until it is redeveloped further. 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 Bob Marley and The Clash and Faith No More. The Dalymount Trust has been formed to protect the stadium into the future and fundraise for improvements to the ground in ways Bohemians cannot.
On 4 May 2006, Bohemian FC members voted to authorise the club's board's entry into negotiations which could result in the sale of the Dalymount Park site to Andorey Developments and the demolition of the ground itself. Bohemians would relocate 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. The process is not expected to be concluded until 2009 at the earliest.
[edit] External links
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