Tolka Park (Drumcondra)

Tolka Park is an Irish football ground located in the north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is the home ground of League of Ireland club Shelbourne.

General information

Arena capacity: 4,400 spectators

Address: Tolka Park, Richmond Rd, Drumcondra, Dublin, D03 A6K6, Ireland

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 53°22′03.05″N 6°15′07.14″W

Year of construction: 1920s

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 110 x 75 yards

Seating plan of Tolka Park

Without wishing to sound too cliché a visit to Tolka Park is a unique experience but the ground itself faces an uncertain future, with proposals to groundshare a new stadium to be built at Bohemians FC (see below), plus for different reasons only two sides of the ground are open.

Located in the Drumcondra District in the northern suburbs of Dublin, not far from Croke Park GAA Stadium the ground finds itself hemmed in by the River Tolka and the residential streets of Richmond Road and Grace Park Road. Approaching the ground from the bustling shopping street of Drumcondra Road Lower the stadium emerges from behind a row of Victorian terrace houses and low-level flats to the right side of Richmond Road. Here, opposite the playing field and Drumcondra FC changing room hut we find the Main Stand, with its whitewashed stone walls and red barrel roof boldly displaying Shelbourne’s club colours.

The Main Stand runs almost the full length of the pitch and has a deck of modern red plastic seats raised above a narrow paddock, with a pair of perspex dugouts on the pitch centre line somehow squeezed in along the touchline. There are a number of columns along the front of the stand which may impede your view of the pitch however with the low roof you will always stay dry in the rain and the slightly claustrophobic nature of this side of the ground means you always feel like you could reach out and touch the players from the bottom row of seats.

Opposite is the Riverside Stand which is also shaped by the curving path of the River Tolka, as can be seen from the tapering open ends. The stand, formerly a steep pitch length terrace is built on a concrete base raised above the riverbank, with the whitewashed rear boundary wall being good few metres above the river level. The stand as it looks today still has a central covered section with a television gantry. The roof has five supporting columns which, along with the pitchside floodlight pylons, may impede your view of the game. The colourful seats on this side are bolted to the concrete steps with around 21 rows beneath the roof. Since photos for this website were taken, the seats have been removed from the open portions of the stand either side of the covered area and these are now unused for spectators.

Both ends are unused. The Ballybough End has effectively fallen into disrepair. What was an open terrace that had a large seating deck installed upon it, now looks a sorry state, with around half of the seats now removed, leaving only the upper half of the SFC outline letters visible. The Drumcondra End on the West side contains a modern seated stand but is closed due to structural concerns.

The Club at the time did well to squeeze in this stand as this end of the ground has always been a narrow wedge of land shaped by both the post-war housing on Richmond Road and a bend in the River Tolka. This box-shaped cantilever roofed stand makes the most of the land available, with a single deck of red seats elevated above the ground floor players dressing rooms. Every seat offers an unobstructed view of the pitch, and despite being only half the width of the pitch, it looks quite imposing.

Tolka Park itself is owned by Dublin City Council and Shelbourne are just one of seven football clubs to use the ground since its opening in 1953. Shelbourne moved to the ground in 1989 to take up a long-term lease previously held by Home Farm FC.

For all Premier League matches then segregation is put in place, with away fans being allocated the Riverside Stand which is accessed from the Richmond Road turnstiles to the right of the Main Stand. Just the central covered central seated section of the Riverside Stand is open and although there are a couple of columns and the pitchside floodlight pylons which may impede the view of the pitch the stand roof is low enough to keep you dry on a rainy day as well as allowing fans to get a good atmosphere going.

How to get there?

Tolka Valley Park is located on both sides of the Tolka River between Pelletstown, Finglas and Glasnevin, in Dublin City.

From the North

Follow the M1 Southbound past Dublin Airport, the road then becomes the N1 at Santry. Keep following the N1 towards Dublin City Centre. You will see the entrance gates to Tolka Park on the right-hand side.

From the West

Follow the N4 from Lucan towards the western suburbs of Dublin. At the M50 Junction 7 join the motorway and head north, exiting at Junction 6. Turn right and head towards Dublin on the N3 Navan Road. You will see Phoenix Park on the right-hand side then as the road kinks round to the left you will then see the spire of St Peters Church on the right hand side with the floodlights of Bohemian’s Dalymount Park on the left. Continue over the next crossroads then at the following crossroads turn left onto the N1 Drumcondra Road Lower, passing beneath the railway bridge of Drumcondra Station. Turn right onto Richmond Road. Tolka Park is on the right-hand side with turnstiles for all parts of the ground at the rear of the barrel roofed old Main Stand.

From the South

Follow the N11 from Bray into the South suburbs of Dublin. Once past Donnybrook Rugby Ground, you may find it quickest to use Dublin’s Outer Orbital Route rather than continue towards the busy Saint Stephens Green, Dublin Castle, River Liffey and City Centre Shopping area route. To do this turn left at Junction 54 onto Grand Parade which runs alongside the canal. Continue on the road to Junction 64 at Phoenix Park then turn left at Junction 65 onto Infirmary Road. Follow the North Circular Road to the right and head away from Pheonix Park.

Once you have reached Junction 67 turn left into Old Cabra Road, then at the crossroads turn right into the N3 Cabra Road. You will then see the floodlights of Bohemian’s Dalymount Park on the left. Continue over the next crossroads then at the following crossroads turn left onto the N1 Drumcondra Road Lower, passing beneath the railway bridge of Drumcondra Station. Turn right onto Richmond Road. Tolka Park is on the right-hand side with turnstiles for all parts of the ground at the rear of the barrel roofed old Main Stand.

Car Parking

There is no parking for visiting supporters at the ground itself, but there is plenty of street parking available in the surrounding area. However, the club requests supporters not to park in Grace Park Gardens or Grace Park Avenue.

By Bus

A number of buses travel along Drumcondra Road from Dublin City Centre close to Tolka Park. From O’Connell Street, you can catch either number 1, 11, 13, 16 or 44. After crossing at the bridge over the River Tolka and going through a set of traffic lights (with Millmount House on the left and Insomnia on the right), get off at the next stop. Then walk back to the traffic lights, cross the road and turn left at Insomnia into Richmond Road. The entrance to the ground is down on the right.

By Train

The nearest station is Drumcondra which is situated just under a mile from the ground. It is served by trains from Dublin Connolly which a three-minute train ride away. Dublin Connolly can be reached by tram via the red line. Drumcondra can also be reached from Tara Street and Dublin Pearse Stations which are more central to Dublin.

As you come out of Drumcondra station turn left and walk along this road for around half a mile. Cross over to the other side of the road. After crossing the Tolka River turn right into Richmond Road and the ground is down on the right.

Where to eat and sleep?

There is a bar under the Main Stand, but this is for home supporters only. Around 5-10 minutes to the West along Richmond Road and then onto the Drumcondra Road and you will find a good selection of pubs, including Kennedy’s and the Ivy House. There are also plenty of eating places and convenience stores around this area and Drumcondra Railway Station. To find these pubs then with the Main Stand behind you turn left along Richmond Road and then left at the traffic lights onto Drumcondra Road for Kennedy’s or right at the traffic lights for the Ivy House.

Anyone coming from the Clontarf / Fairview direction could go Brú House, which is just over a kilometre from Tolka Park and close to the Clontarf Road DART station. Brú House is run by the Brú brewery, but has a good selection of beers from other Irish microbreweries, and also does food. Finally, and probably most importantly, there is a bar under the Main Stand in Tolka Park, which can be accessed by anyone in the home sections. The beer is very reasonably priced, and the walls are covered in memorabilia. It gets busy before the game and at half time, so early entry into the ground is recommended.

Up the Richmond Road away from the city centre there is the Skylon Hotel which is very reasonably priced and offers good quality rooms and facilities. On the Clonliffe Road there is the Croke Park View Guesthouse and, on Iona Park, you will find Egan’s Guesthouse. All are reasonably priced and within walking distance of the ground.

History

Over the years, seven different League of Ireland clubs have used Tolka Park for home league matches on a regular basis. They are Drumcondra, Shelbourne, Dolphin, Home Farm, Dublin City, Shamrock Rovers and St James Gate F.C. The stadium formerly held 9,680 people, but this has been scaled down in recent times due to health and safety regulations in the venue, mainly concerning the ‘New’ and Ballybough stands. Tolka Park has hosted national cup finals along with international matches, Champions League qualifiers, UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup ties and was a venue for the 1994 UEFA European Under-16 Championship and 2000 Rugby League World Cup.