Tolka Park

Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = Tolka Park


fullname = Tolka Park
location = Drumcondra, Dublin, Ireland
nickname =
built =
opened =
seating_capacity = 9,500
tenants = Shelbourne (landlords)
Shamrock Rovers (tenants)
dimensions =

Tolka Park (irish place name|Páirc Tolca) is a football ground located in the north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Ireland clubs Shelbourne and tenants, Shamrock Rovers. It holds a capacity crowd of around 9,500 and has hosted national cup finals along with international matches, Champions League qualifiers, UEFA Cup, and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup matches.

Tolka Park was originally home to Drumcondra, who in the 1950s and 1960s were one of the most popular teams in Dublin. The ground hosted its first floodlit game on the 30th of March 1953 [http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1953/0331/Pg003.html#Ar00305:52811B55513C56011C58213D] .

However "Drums" unexpectedly went out of business in 1970 and their place in the league and in Tolka Park was taken by Home Farm. However, Home Farm never drew large crowds and Tolka fell into disrepair (though it did host the replay of the 1984 FAI Cup final). In 1987, the then owners of Shamrock Rovers, the Kilcoyne family, attempted to move the club to Tolka Park. Rovers played there for a season, but the games were boycotted by their fans, who were trying to save Glenmalure Park from demolition.

In 1989, Shelbourne, who had played home games regularly in Tolka during the fifties, sixties, seventies, and early eighties, acquired Home Farm's long term lease from Dublin Corporation on the ground. Home Farm moved to their own ground in nearby Whitehall. Shelbourne invested heavily in the stadium, converting it into an all-seater ground and building a new stand behind the Drumcondra end goal in 1999. In recognition of the work done with the stadium, a Republic of Ireland senior international match against Wales was played there in 1993, as were youth, League of Ireland XI and Republic of Ireland B games. From 1999 to 2002 it hosted the FAI Cup final, until the fixture was shifted to Lansdowne Road.

Over the last number of years, Shelbourne have been planning to relocate to a new ground especially since the Tolka river flooded at the start of the decade and caused extensive damage to Tolka Park and the surrounding areas. Plans for a new stadium in Finglas and Swords have come to nothing, as has an FAI-backed proposed groundshare with North Dublin neighbours Bohemians.

Trivia

*Tolka Park has staged two full internationals for the Republic of Ireland. Both matches were friendlies against Wales.
*Tolka Park has been used regularly by the Irish Rugby League Team in recent years for some of their home internationals.
*The first ever Setanta Cup Final was played at Tolka Park in 2005. Linfield were the victors in the inaugural tournament.
*The first ever League of Ireland match to be broadcast live on TV was a fixture between Shelbourne and Derry City, staged at Tolka Park during the 1996/97 season.
*The ground has appeared in the fictional football drama Dream Team when Harchester United were drawn to play Shelbourne in the UEFA Cup.
*Over the years, seven different League of Ireland clubs have used Tolka Park for home league matches on a regular basis. They are Drumcondra, Shelbourne, Dolphin, Home Farm, Dublin City, Shamrock Rovers and St James Gate F.C.