Greyhound Racing Ireland ( ga, Rásaíocht Con Éireann, formerly ga, Bord na gCon) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

semi-state body A State-Sponsored Body is the name given in Ireland to a state-owned enterprise (a government-owned corporation), that is to say, a commercial business which is beneficially owned, either completely or majority, by the Irish Government. Each state-s ...

charged with regulating and promoting

Greyhound racing in Ireland Greyhound racing is a popular sport in Ireland. There are 17 stadiums operating in Ireland (two in Northern Ireland) of which nine are fully operated by Rásaíocht Con Éireann / Greyhound Racing Ireland (formerly named Irish Greyhound Board IG ...

. The organisation has been active in developing the sport in Ireland since its founding on 11 July 1958. Greyhound Racing Ireland, formerly the Irish Greyhound Board (IGB), is a commercial semi-state body and reports to the

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine ( ga, An Roinn Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara) is a Department of State (Ireland), department of the Government of Ireland. According to the department, its mission is to "lead the sustainable dev ...

History

The original governing body for Irish Greyhound Racing was established under the Greyhound Industry Act of 1958 with a number of aims. The body was formed to regulate the industry, operate a tote betting system, licence and authorise each stadium, its officials, and its on-course

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Book ...

s, and promote the sport through advertising and prize grants. It became responsible for all tracks in Ireland, with the exception of the Ulster tracks that would remain under the jurisdiction of the

Irish Coursing Club The Irish Coursing Club (ICC) is the national association for hare coursing in Ireland. Founded in 1916, it consists of 89 affiliated clubs on the Island of Ireland and acts as the official authority for the Irish variety of the sport. It sol ...

. Rásaíocht Con Éireann / Greyhound Racing Ireland report on the results of Northern Irish tracks, of which two remain today Derry Greyhound Stadium and Drumbo Park. The reason for the involvement is because Northern Irish tracks do not come under the jurisdiction of the

Greyhound Board of Great Britain The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) is the organisation that governs licensed greyhound racing in Great Britain. It does not govern independent tracks or Northern Irish tracks and therefore has no jurisdiction over them. History It was f ...

(GBGB). However the tracks do not receive funding or licensing from Greyhound Racing Ireland (Irish: Rásaíocht) In 1960 a new totalisator system was installed at four tracks

Harolds Cross Harold's Cross () is an affluent urban village and inner suburb on the south side of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district D6W. The River Poddle runs through it, though largely in an underground culvert, and it holds a major cemetery, M ...

Shelbourne Park Shelbourne Park is a greyhound racing stadium in the south Dublin inner city suburb of Ringsend. Greyhound Racing Opening The plans to open a greyhound track in Dublin were drawn up by Paddy O’Donoghue, Jerry Collins, Patsy McAlinden and Ji ...

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, in addition to obtaining

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Drogheda and Wexford. With the exception of the townland ...

from the Morris family headed by T.A.Morris the former secretary of the

. Des Hanrahan became chairman of Bord na gCon in 1965 (taking over from Dr Paddy Maguire ) and actively sought to buy any Irish tracks in danger of being sold to developers. They bought Shelbourne Park in 1968. Bord na gCon/ Irish Greyhound Board officially changed its name to Rásaíocht Con Éireann/ Greyhound Racing Ireland on 1 October 2020 as part of the implementation of the Greyhound Racing Act 2019. The provisions enacted provide for an expanded Governing Board of nine members as well as laying the foundation for a new traceability system for racing greyhounds; enhanced powers for authorised officers; a more robust and modern regulatory framework and ultimately the updating of racing sanctions to be administered by an independent Control Committee and an Appeal Committee, the members of which will be appointed by the Minister following an open selection process.

Irish Greyhound Care Fund

In August 2019, it was announced that a separate Care Fund dedicated to funding a variety of initiatives for the care and welfare of the greyhound was being established. The Greyhound Care Fund is a fund that is dedicated to funding a variety of initiative for the care and welfare of the greyhound and the GRI is targeting the sum of €1 million to be raised for the Greyhound Care Fund in its first year of operation. The fund will accrue from the admissions and restaurant packages, a percentage of tote income and sponsorship. Care Fund arrangements for Shelbourne Park were brought into effect from 21 August 2019 and other stadia came into effect from 1 November 2019.

Racing venues

Greyhound Racing Ireland regulates all of Ireland's greyhound racing venues. There are racing venues in the following locations: Connacht *Galway,

Galway Sportsgrounds The Sportsground, also known as The Galway Sportsgrounds and the Galway Greyhound Stadium and the Connacht Rugby Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Galway, Ireland. It opened in 1927, with the playing of a football match and has been used to ...

Leinster *Dublin,

*Dundalk, Dundalk Stadium *Enniscorthy,

Enniscorthy Greyhound Stadium Enniscorthy Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located on the west side of Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. T ...

*Kilkenny, Kilkenny Greyhound Stadium *Mullingar,

Mullingar Greyhound Stadium Mullingar Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in south Mullingar in Ireland. The stadium has a grandstand restaurant, a fast food outlet and a number of bars. Racing takes place on a Saturday evening at 7.30pm and early Sunday ...

*Newbridge,

Newbridge Greyhound Stadium Newbridge Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located northwest of Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. Racing takes place every Friday evening and the facilities include the grandstand Masters Restaurant and Barkers Bar which offers am ...

Munster *Clonmel,

Clonmel Greyhound Stadium Clonmel Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland. Racing takes place every Friday and Sunday evening and the facilities include a grandstand restaurant, fast food facilities, a number of bars, ...

*Cork,

Curraheen Park Curraheen Park Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in Bishopstown, west of Cork, County Cork, Ireland. Racing takes place every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening and the facilities include the grandstand Laurels restaurant, ...

*Limerick,

Limerick Greyhound Stadium Limerick Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in south-west Limerick in Ireland. The stadium has a grandstand restaurant, hospitality suites, fast food facilities and a number of bars. Racing takes place on a Thursday (6:30pm) ...

*Thurles,

Thurles Greyhound Stadium Thurles Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located on Castlemeadows opposite the Semple Stadium in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland. Racing takes place every Thursday and Saturday evening and the facilities include a trackside res ...

*Tralee,

Kingdom Greyhound Stadium Kingdom Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. It has been known as Oakview Park and the Tralee Greyhound Stadium previously. Racing takes place every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday evening and the ...

*Waterford,

Kilcohan Park Kilcohan Park Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track and former soccer stadium located in the south of Waterford, Ireland. Operations Racing takes place every Friday and Saturday evening. Race distances are 325, 525, 550, 575 and 731 ya ...

*Youghal,

Youghal Greyhound Stadium Youghal Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located south of Youghal, County Cork, Ireland. The stadium is ten minutes walk from the town centre. History On 30 July 1948 a greyhound called Hackles Spring won the first ever race at Youg ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greyhound Racing Ireland State-sponsored bodies of the Republic of Ireland

Greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

1958 establishments in Ireland Greyhound racing in Ireland

History

Irish Greyhound Care Fund

Racing venues

See also

References

External links