Ireland’s most iconic football grounds were replaced in three waves: the phased modernisation of Croke Park from 1990s through to 2005, the total rebuild of Lansdowne Road and switch to multi-purpose Aviva Stadium from 2007 to 2010, and the long-delayed rebuild of Dalymount Park, now due to welcome the team of Bohemians again at the start of 2029 League of Ireland season. What is strange about the Irish situation is that the two largest ‘football’ grounds in the country have never been solely for football.
The Aviva is used for rugby as well, and Croke Park is the venue for the Gaelic Athletic Association. This joint ownership affected virtually everything about the construction, funding and rebuilding of both stadiums and left domestic club football craving a proper stadium of its own for much longer.
From Lansdowne Road to the Aviva: Ireland’s Biggest Rebuild
Most stadium construction in modern Irish football was the project to replace Lansdowne Road, at that point the world’s oldest international rugby ground, which had been staged on the original site since 1872. By the noughties it was clearly no longer viable, with an infamous set of railway tracks running underneath the West Stand, and a maximum attendance of just 36,000 for what was to be a dual-codes international venue. The demolition of the old stadium, took place in 2007 with the new Stadium opening in May 2010 for a fee of approximately 410 million, with approximately 191 million of this paid from the government’s coffers.
The project was managed by a joint company between the Irish Rugby Football Union and the Football Association of Ireland, allowing the pitch to be used by both the national rugby team and the Republic of Ireland football team. The completed stadium holds 51,711 where its standout feature is the curved polycarbonate roof rise at the northern end to prevent overshadowing of the neighboring houses.
That asymmetric ‘three and a bit stands’ look was not a stylistic flourish; the northern terraces, the railway and the constrained urban site forced junction, and the lower north stand reduced construction risk and cost and buffered the streetscape.
How Croke Park Became a Football Venue
Croke Park lies a little outside of the normal football narration because it is a GAA Stadium, that has been redeveloped in stages from the early 1990’s through to 2005 rather than all at the one time. The Cusack Stand, Canal End, Hogan Stand and Hill 16 area have been completely rebuilt over time leading to a stadium capacity of 82,300 making it the second largest of Europe’s football arenas. Until recently the GAA prohibited other field sports from using their facilities.
This changed when the rules were loosened to permit the FAI and IRFU to operate out of Croke Park while the new Dublin stadium was constructed. From 2007 to 2010 the Republic of Ireland’s international team played their home matches there, before sell-out crowds so large they could never have fitted into Lansdowne Road. For a few seasons, Irish football enjoyed a late boost on a truly huge platform and these matches are still some of the most well-supported in the team’s history.
The Long Wait to Rebuild Dalymount Park
If the Aviva demonstrates what combined effort by state funds and two authorities can achieve, Dalymount Park demonstrates the effects of what can go wrong without it. The Phibsborough outfield, the BEO’s home since 1901 and host to Ireland internationals from 1954 to 1990, has been caught in a decade of planning delays. All the existing buildings will be bulldozed, with the pitch repositioned from its original east/west axis.
The land is owned by Dublin City Council, who have overhauled the redevelopment on more than one occasion due to financial constraints. The current proposals include the construction of an 8, 020 capacity UEFA Category 3 stadium, club offices, communityuse spaces and gym accessible to the public and a new plaza connection the land to the adjacent streets. Construction has been delayed several times, and the club are now anticipating that their first competitive match in the renovated stadium will come at the beginning of the 2029 season, having initially planned to share a stadium with Shelbourne.
For supporters who still talk about the old Dalymount roar and the international nights at Lansdowne Road, the rebuild carries real emotional weight, the same nostalgia that keeps demand strong for retro Ireland football shirts from those decades. A modern stand is welcome, but plenty of fans will miss the cramped, atmospheric terraces these projects are replacing.
Why League of Ireland Grounds Lagged Behind
Elsewhere in the headline venues, the reconstruction has been patchy. In Tallaght Stadium, which is home to Shamrock Rovers, was opened around 2009 following its own lengthy planning processionit has since been grown towards a four stand stadium for about 10,000long-standing Irish provincial grounds like Cork’s Turner’s Cross and Dublin’s Tolka Park; did not receive wholesale reconstructions but have been piecemealed with individual upgrades, typically funded by a combination of club income, council grants or the FAI’s small infrastructure grants. The explanation returns to ownership and money.
International football was able to benefit from government funding and a rich rugby partner, allowing the Aviva to be constructed swiftly and to a high standard. League of Ireland clubs, by comparison, have largely been dependent on Council ownership of the land and sluggish public budgets, which explains why Dalymount could spend ten years going through the planning process. Various parts of Irish football have just progressed at various rates and the smaller the club, the longer the delay.
