Morton Stadium
Santry | |
 | |
  Morton Stadium Location within Dublin | |
| Location | Santry, Dublin, Ireland |
|---|---|
| Public transit | Dublin Airport Swords Road bus stop (Dublin Bus) |
| Capacity | 4,000 (800 seated) |
| Opened | 1958 |
| Tenants | |
| Current Clonliffe Harriers Shelbourne Ladies F.C. Drumcondra F.C. Former Raheny United F.C. Shamrock Rovers F.C. Dublin City F.C. Sporting Fingal F.C. | |
Morton Stadium, or the National Athletics Stadium, is an athletics stadium in Santry Demense, Santry in Ireland. Often called Santry Stadium, it is the centre for athletics events in Dublin city and the home track of Clonliffe Harriers. It has also been the home ground for several Irish association football clubs. The modern capacity of the ground is 4,000 [1] with a single 800 seat, covered stand.
History
1958-1990
The stadium was opened in 1958 with a cinder track. An inaugural series of meetings was held, and on 6 August 1958, Australian Herb Elliott shattered the world record for the mile run with a time of 3 minutes 54.5 seconds. This was the first race in which five athletes had run a four-minute mile.
In June 1959, the stadium was damaged when a bomb exploded (planted by Irish Republicans),[citation needed] this was prior to a cycling meeting which was to include Fausto Coppi a former Tour de France and Giro Italia champion, the stadium was being prepared with banked sides funded by Guinness (who were celebrating their 200 anniversary).
In 1978 the stadium was resurfaced with a tartan track, making it the second such facility in the Republic of Ireland, after the now-defunct UCD track at Belfield.[2]
1990-
In the early 1990s it was renamed after Billy Morton, the administrator who had initiated the original track and who brought famous athletes to compete in the stadium. It hosted the athletics events of the Special Olympics World Games in 2003.
On 25 July 2008, a special event was held in the stadium, the Morton Memorial Meeting, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the aforementioned world mile record in an event promoted by Billy Morton. The event website is www.mortonmemorial.com where there are photos of the 1958 event.
The track (both indoor and outdoor) was re-laid in late 2010. The indoor track is now blue.
Facilities
The stadium consists of a small covered stand with 800 seats and three sides of open terracing, bringing the total capacity up to 4,000. The stand encompasses dressing rooms and other facilities; there are also separate clubhouses for the associated clubs.
The stadium complex also has indoor athletics training facilities.
Usage
Morton Stadium is the centre for athletics events in Dublin city. It is also the home track for the Clonliffe Harriers athletics club.
The stadium hosts Shelbourne Ladies F.C. and Drumcondra F.C., and has also been home ground for Shamrock Rovers (from 1999–2001), Dublin City, Raheny United F.C. and the now-defunct Sporting Fingal F.C..
American Football games have also been held here.
See also
References
- ^ irl.worldfootball.net
- ^ Kilfeather, S. 1977. Agreement on Future of Santry Stadium Is Imminent. The Irish Times, Sept. 23, p3.
External links
- Morton Stadium from Clonliffe Harriers website
- Shamrock Rovers F.C.
- Athletics (track and field) venues in the Republic of Ireland
- Association football venues in the Republic of Ireland
- Sports venues in Fingal
- Drumcondra F.C.
- Association football venues in County Dublin
- Raheny United F.C.
- 1958 establishments in Ireland
- Sporting Fingal F.C.
- American football venues