Today is the Tenth Anniversary of Tallaght Stadium Opening!

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the opening of Tallaght Stadium and Shamrock Rovers’ first game at the venue!

In the decade since, Tallaght Stadium — which is owned and operated by South Dublin County Council — has increased capacity, improved facilities and hosted the Special Olympics’ Opening Ceremony in 2018 and some huge games at international level and in the League of Ireland.

It is a great time to look back as we prepare for the opening of the new South Stand, bringing capacity up to 8,000. We look forward to key events like the 2019 Gaelforce Adventure Race and Stephen Kenny’s first match in charge of the Republic of Ireland’s under-21s team as they take on Luxemburg in the European Championship qualifiers!

History

Located close to the foothills of the Dublin Mountains, Tallaght Stadium is home to both Shamrock Rovers and the Football Association of Irelands women’s national team. A multipurpose venue, the stadium has played host to a variety of other sports including rugby, American football, hurling and Gaelic football.

On the 10 of February 1997, South Dublin County Council passed a resolution to lease 12.18 acres at Whitestown Way to Shamrock Rovers for the construction of a new Stadium to replace their former home in Milltown which they had left almost 10 years previously.

Planning permission was granted in March 2000 but it would be nine years before Rovers would play their first game at the Tallaght Stadium.

A New Home for Football

The first game in the new stadium took place on 13 March 2009 in front of 3,000 fans. Rovers made a winning start to life in Tallaght as they beat Sligo Rovers 2-1. Scottish striker Gary Twigg entered the history books as the first man to score at the new stadium.

On 20 July 2009, Shamrock Rovers and SDCC welcomed Real Madrid to Tallaght Stadium as part of a “festival of football” which also included games against Newcastle United F.C. and Hibernian F.C. Thanks to the addition of temporary seating 10,900 fans were present on the night as Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut for Real Madrid.

The second (East) stand was opened on 22 August 2009. Dundalk FC were the visitors for a game watched by over 4,500 fans. The first full house with the new capacity came against Bohemian FC on 2 October 2009, when 6,000 fans packed the stadium for the Dublin Derby.

The stadium hosted its first UEFA Champions League game in July 2011 and hosted Rovers’ games in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League group stage against APOEL, Ruben Kazan and English giants Tottenham Hotspur.

The Future

The Council commissioned a report from Cooney Architects in recent months that explored the option of developing the North Stand in Tallaght Stadium and boosting capacity to 10,000. The report also looked at developing improved press facilities and seating as well as additional corporate facilities on a new second floor to be developed in the existing Main Stand. It is anticipated that this will be progressed in line with the Part 8 process this year.

On Saturday 23 March Tallaght Stadium will be the starting point of the 2019 Gaelforce Adventure Race before hosting Stephen Kenny's Under-21 Republic of Ireland team on the 24 of March for a European Championship Qualifier. Hope to see you there!