Greenpark Racecourse was a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

venue in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In 1963 the venue was used by Limerick mayor Frances Condell to host a reception for U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy on his visit to Ireland. At the venue in 1979, Irish runner John Treacy won gold at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and a stage of Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland was held here. Due to flooding problems, increasing traffic congestion and a limited fixture list it was decided in the mid-1990s to find a new venue for horse racing in Limerick. A suitable location was identified at Greenmount near Patrickswell and the land was purchased in 1996. The course at Greenpark closed in 1999 after 130 years of racing. The last race meeting at the venue took place on Sunday 21 March 1999. The final ever horse race run at the Greenpark Racecourse was the Finucane Electrical I.N.H. Flat Race (a bumper) over two miles. It was won by the Arthur Moore trained 'Well Ridden' on his racecourse debut. This horse was owned by well known judge Frank Clarke and went on to win five further races in his career including the prestigious Arkle Perpetual Challenge Cup at

Leopardstown Leopardstown (), historically called Ballinlore, is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains. With institutional lands and a large racecourse, it is divided by the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorw ...

. 11 acres of the racecourse site were sold to the Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) in 2008 to build the new Limerick Greyhound Stadium which opened in October 2010. There have been numerous attempts to develop the site for residential purposes but none have been realised In June 2017 a plan for 26 houses was rejected by An Bord Pleanála. In 2019 the 116.5 acre site was sold to a group of local businessmen for €8m. As of June 2021 development of the site is still at the planning stage with a large housing development under consideration. In April 2022 a property development company received permission to build 371 housing units on the site.

References

External links

OSI map of Greenpark Racecourse:555954,655386,11,9

Satellite view of Greenpark Racecourse on Google Maps
Former horse racing venues in the Republic of Ireland Sports venues completed in 1869 Horse racing venues in the Republic of Ireland Sports venues in County Limerick Sports venues in Limerick (city) 1869 establishments in Ireland 1999 disestablishments in Ireland Cross country running venues {{horseracing-venue-stub