The original Irishtown Stadium was the brainchild of a local man Charles (Charlie) Kenny who lived in Ringsend Park up to his death in 1990. His daughter Phyllis Byrne, who still lives at the family home, told me he would have been thrilled to see the new development at the Stadium, which was built on the original footprint.

The story takes us back to the 1940s. Shelbourne Association, Football Club had to relinquish its lease on the grounds at Shelbourne Park. The club, which was the oldest professional football club in the 26 counties, found itself homeless. They were, according to newspaper reports of the time, in a dire state and desperately trying to find new grounds for the club.

Charlie Kenny, who was a Director of Shelbourne AFC (Shels) and a member of the League of Ireland Management Committee, is reported to have said that at the time he was feeling very despondent as he prepared to attend a Board meeting of Shelbourne AFC. The main item on the agenda was the gloomy fact that the club’s lease at Shelbourne Park had been terminated.

While preparing for the meeting he was shaving himself in a backroom of his home and as he looked out of the window what caught his eye was a vast stretch of infilled land which had been reclaimed from the sea.

It stretched from Ringsend across Irishtown and into Sandymount. The reclamation of the site had been undertaken by the local authority through ‘dumping’ of waste to create the new ground. This, he thought, will make an ideal site for the new stadium.

A long lease was obtained on the land and the foreshore landlords, the Pembroke and Herbert estate, co-operated. The club obtained almost 21 acres of the reclaimed land. The builder enclosed approximately. 8 acres. Charlie and his fellow directors, who included A. Byrne, chairman; C.V. Herbert; W. Darby and J. L. Brennan decided that to achieve their goal and invest in this ambitious venture they would have to channel as much money as possible into the project.

Shelbourne’s expenses were cut drastically, the wage bill was kept at a minimum and no dividends were paid to the directors. But there was no expense to be spared on the stadium. Charlie was quoted at the time as saying “only the best is good enough, no matter what the expense, for this is going to be Ireland’s number one all-sport stadium.” This was to be a state of the art home for Shel’s.

Studies of stadiums in Britain, Europe and America were undertaken. A Leinster firm laid the cinder running track, on the model of that of the English Wembley stadium, and it was reputed to be even better as it was outside the football pitch, so it didn’t have to be covered at any time during matches.

The stadium was capable of holding 100,000 people. It was to cater for athletics, open-air boxing, indoor tennis and be capable of facilitating a number of other events, which would attract large attendances. There were also plans to build a swimming pool. A large car park for 2,500 vehicles was to be provided. The cost of the project was estimated to be £21,000.

Shelbourne signed the lease for the Irishtown stadium on 19th November 1950. When the boundary wall and a temporary pavilion were erected and the surface was ready, Shels moved from Glenmalure Park, which they shared with Shamrock Rovers. As well as many football and athletic legacies left to the area by those who chose to pursue a dream they also left us the site of the New 21st century state-of-the-art stadium.

Above: Signing on the line.