Dog Tracks in Ireland

Ireland has a long history of greyhound racing, and there are tracks spread throughout the country. Below you’ll find a map of all dog racing tracks in Ireland, along with information on race times, facilities and anything else you might need to know.

Note: As with our racecourse guides, we’ve included tracks located in Northern Ireland in our lists.

Map of Irish Greyhound Racing Tracks

Full List of Courses

An Overview of Dog Tracks in Ireland

As with horse racing, the island of Ireland is a place that loves to get along and watch dog racing when possible. There are tracks both north and south of the border, welcoming people on a regular basis. Just as horse racing has seen courses close over the years, the same is also true of greyhound racing.

In fact, there is an argument that it is even more prevalent in the case of the latter, given the fact that the sport has lost something of its lustre in more recent years. As the cruelty of dog racing, along with how some of them are treated as their careers end, becomes more well known, the desire to keep supporting the industry has waned.

The Body Responsible for Greyhound Racing in Ireland

Formerly known as the Irish Greyhound Board, Rásaíocht Con Éireann, or Greyhound Racing Ireland, is the body responsible for the regulation and promotion of the sport in Ireland. That has been the case since its formation on the 11th of July 1958, having come into being with several different aims. As well as adding regulation to the industry, the IGB was also given the role of operating a tote betting system, promoting the sport through both prize grants and advertising, and issuing licences to each stadium hoping to host greyhound racing events. The organisation also issued licences to officials and the on-course bookmakers.

Since being renamed as Greyhound Racing Ireland, many of the same things remain in place. The body is also responsible for the two tracks in Northern Ireland, Derry Greyhound Stadium and Drumbo Park, because they are not under the jurisdiction of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain. That being said, they don’t get any funding from GRI, nor is that where the licence comes from. It was on the first of October in 2020 that IGB officially changed its name to become Rásaíocht Con Éireann or Greyhound Racing Ireland, as part of the Greyhound Racing Act of 2019. It also saw new provisions put in place for the sport.

The Four Pillars

This included the likes of an expanded Governing Board, in addition to a new traceability system for the racing of greyhounds. Authorised officers were given more power, alongside a more robust and modern regulatory framework and the updating of sanctions. The plan for the future of greyhound racing in the country was unveiled on the 23rd of July 2025, building on four pillars. These are:

• Animal Welfare and Transparency
• Industry Sustainability
• Public Engagement
• Operational Excellence

Although greyhound racing in general has no shortage of critics, the hope of Greyhound Racing Ireland is that ensuring more traceability and accountability alongside education and the countering of misinformation will make those willing to listen more open to greyhound racing in general. There has also been a separate Care Fund set up, which is dedicated to funding a number of initiatives that will both care for greyhounds and ensure their welfare. The money for the fund comes from admissions to greyhound tracks, as well as the purchase of restaurant packages and a share of both the tote income and sponsorship.

Becoming a Trainer

If you want to be a trainer, you need to apply for a licence to do so, whilst existing trainers wishing to renew their licence will also have to contact Greyhound Racing Ireland in order to do so. The achievement of getting a licence to train either publicly or privately involves the likes of kennel inspections, compliance with all regulations and the payment of fees. Any tracks that gain a licence have to ensure that they meet the guidelines that have been put in place by the GRI, as well as putting the necessary equipment in place and establishing a management team for the running of the venue, populated by people allowed to have a licence.

Licensing

As with any other country, Ireland has its share of both licensed and unlicensed greyhound racing tracks. Often referred to as ‘flapping’ tracks, they have no oversight on a regulatory level, as well as major welfare concerns. In 2019, a documentary carried out by the Irish broadcasting RTÉ discovered that nearly 6,000 greyhounds had been slaughtered two years earlier simply because they either failed to make the qualification times or their performances had dipped. This is the sort of thing that unlicensed tracks are even more likely to engage in, which is obviously both upsetting and disturbing and therefore to be avoided.

The Closed Greyhound Racing Stadiums

Unsurprisingly, given the decline in popularity of dog racing in general, the island of Ireland has suffered its fair share of track closures over the years. This has been for numerous different reasons, as we’ll explore in further detail here:

Ballybunion Greyhound Stadium

It was in 1958 that Matt O’Sullivan, the President of the Irish Coursing Club, first applied for a licence for a new dog track in Ballybunion. It was refused on account of the fact that there was already a track in the same area, which also saw the licence refused in 1964. A year later and it finally won the right to host racing, closing briefly as the Bord na gCon went to court, losing its appeal. It reopened in the may of 1968 and held racing until 1973, being run by the Ballybunion Greyhound Racing Club.

Boyne Valley Greyhound Stadium

Constructed in the early part of 1950, the Boyne Valley Greyhound Stadium saw races run over distances of 350 yards, 525 yards, 550 yards and 600 yards. In 1960, the Caesarewitch took place at the County Meath course for the first time, later becoming a Classic. In 1983, the Bord na gCon closed the track because not all prize money had been paid, returning to action not long after. It was bought by developers in 1998, closing it a year later. In spite of this, it actually took a further ten years before it was developed into a supermarket.

Celtic Park

Not to be confused with the stadium of the same name in Glasgow, this Belfast-based venue was a greyhound racing one for most of its existence. The fact that it could host as many as 50,000 people meant that it was also used for other reasons, such as to host football matches. The first greyhound racing venue to open in Ireland, it enjoyed its opening day on the 18th of April 1927, eventually being bought by Brookmount Properties and hosting its final meeting on the 31st of October 1983.

Chapelizod Sports Stadium

Hosting both greyhound racing and speedway, Chapelizod Sports Stadium was built at a cost of £30,000 before racing started on the Boxing Day of 1949. The Dublin Greyhound Stadium Ltd took on the responsibility of organising the racing, but it was an unlicensed venue and it eventually closed at the start of the next decade.

Cork Greyhound Stadium

Cork Greyhound Stadium’s first day of business was on the 13th of June 1936, when it opened as a replacement for The Show Grounds Greyhound Track. That venue had operated between 1928 and 1935 before a decision was taken to relocate closer to Cork city centre. It became one of Ireland’s premier sites, but by the latter part of the 1980s the facilities were struggling to cope with the demand. As a result, the site was sold in 1996, with racing eventually coming to an end on the first of April 2000.

Dundalk Ramparts Greyhound Stadium

Also known as the Ramparts, thanks to its location off Rampart Lane, Dundalk Ramparts Greyhound Stadium opened when a licence to operate was granted on the 18th of September 1930. It underwent numerous changes and improvements over the years that followed, including cosmetic improvements in the early 1990s. Even so, it was closed for the final time on the 20th of November 2000.

Dungannon Greyhound Stadium

Dungannon Greyhound Stadium, sometimes called Oaks Park, opened in the July of 1930 and was the third greyhound stadium opened in Northern Ireland after Celtic Park and Dunmore Stadium. A fire destroyed a large part of the main stand in 1990, with a letter sent to the Bord na gCon threatening similar such attacks unless it stopped coursing. The Dungannon (Oaks Park) Stadium Greyhound Racing Limited took over the track in 1995 and eight years later saw a chance to make a huge profit by developing the site, closing the track as a result. In spite of racing ceasing in 2003, it took until 2011 before planning permission for housing and shops was granted.

Dunmore Stadium

The island of Ireland’s second-ever greyhound stadium hosted its first meeting on the sixth of September 1928, quickly becoming one of the sport’s largest circuits. It suffered severe damage in the Second World War, including the burning down of the main stand. Problems developed over the decades that followed, with neither the National Greyhound Racing Club nor the Bord na gCon offering support, so racing ended in the March of 1997 when 3,000 people turned up for the final meeting.

Harold’s Cross Stadium

Owned and operated by the Irish Greyhound Board, Harold’s Cross Stadium opened in 1928 and continued to host greyhound racing until financial constraints suffered by its owner resulted in closure on the 13th of February 2017. The track was later sold to the Department of Education for €23 million, the proceeds of which were spent on paying the debt incurred by the construction of Limerick Greyhound Stadium.

Markets Field

If that name sounds familiar to you, that is because it is a UEFA Category 2 stadium that was originally a Gaelic games venue. The Limerick Greyhound Company was formed in 1933, but actual racing didn’t start until 1937. It hosted the likes of the Irish St Leger, the Irish Oaks and the Irish Grand National at one point or another. It closed in 2009, seeing operations moved to Limerick Greyhound Stadium.

Pearse Park

Also known as Pearse’s Park, Pearse Park was originally known as Arklow Greyhound Track and opened on the 30th of July 1949. It hosted Irish Coursing Club events but went through some issues early on. That resulted in it being put up for auction in 1953, then again a year later, going to auction in 1956. In spite of its short-lived nature as a greyhound racing venue, some locals still call it the ‘old dog track’. Nowadays, however, it is a GAA stadium.

Show Grounds Greyhound Track

This was Ireland’s first provincial greyhound racing track, built by Southern Greyhound and Sports Company Limited. The new stadium opened on the 27th of June 1928, but closed seven years later after having been constantly criticised by the press because of its location.