speedyguy 20 Posted April 5, 2009 By JOHN HYAM A HISTORY OF SPEEDWAY: THE DUBLIN EXPERIENCE Author: George P Kearns 220 pages: fully illustrated ISBN: 1-906027-33-1 Euros 20 plus Euros five post and packing, payment by cheque, postal or money order in favour George P Kearns. Or by electronic transfer. Email georgemamie@eircom.net for instructions From: George P Kearns, 22 Griffith Parade, Finglas East, Dublin 11, Republic of Ireland. THE book records most of the speedway meetings that have taken place in the Republic of Ireland. There are also details of most of the riders who have taken part in Irish speedway meetings. But author George Kearns admits some details are not given. He explains: “The Irish Newspaper Industry was hit by a strike between July 11 and the end of August, 1952. As the Irish newspapers were my only source of information for that period, I dare say I missed a couple of meetings.” Speedway arrived Dublin in 1928 at the new Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium but there is evidence that that motorcle races took place on a dirt track in Dublin on a dirt track in 1902. There were three meetings at Harold’s Cross Stadium, then speedway disappeared until a revival took place in 1948 at Santry Stadium. Speedway on a higher level started in 1950 at Shelbourne Park Greyhound Stadium and this venue was soon rated as Dublin’s most popular race track. It was there that the 17-year-old New Zealander Ronnie Moore, won the hearts of every speedway goer in Ireland. Later in 1950, Chapelizod Stadium opened and all three venues were in active until speedway was finally ousted by midget car racing. The last major speedway of the decade was at Shelbourne Park on July 4, 1954. There was a mini-revival at Shelbourne Park in 1961 when three meetinsg took place, then the sport disappeared again until 1970 when Shelbourne Park operated for two seasons. While there was no competitive racing in the 1960s, Irish riders practiced on a trotting track in Portmarnock. Fans were welcome free of charge at these training sessions. Then, in an attempt to revive the sport in Ireland a meeting took place on August 30, 1986, but no more took place. Dublin also lays claim to staging one of the first meetings on a dirt track at Ashtown on October 18 1902. Ashtown was half-a-mile to the lap and average speeds were less than 30mph. There were two main events. A 10-mile handicap won by R W Stevens from H A Huet and M Thomas. Stevens and Huet also took the first two place in a one-mile scratch race with JJ Cahill coming third. Although mainly covering the sport at Shelbourne Park in the Republic of Ireland in the 1950s, there is such a strong Wimbledon link to the book its like recapturing the great Dons’ riders of that period. This is because then Wimbledon promoter Ronnie Greene was also at the helm at Shelbourne Park. And the majority of the riders who raced there were also members of his Wimbledon team. The doubling up method was simple and effective: riders went to Ireland by ferry on a Saturday, raced in Ireland on a Sunday afternoon, then went back for the Monday night racing at Plough Lane. The book is essentially a chronological record of the few post-war seasons when there was speedway in Ireland. The flavour is there, and besides Shelbourne Park, details of two other Dublin tracks of the period - Santry and Chapleizoid are covered (and there’s Wimbledon rider involvement at these venues). For its historical value, I commend the work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
speedyguy 20 Posted April 5, 2009 A photo of the book cover is in the photo album 'Ireland and Speedway' in http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/oldtimespeedway Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
