1.
Ringsend
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It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the terminus of the East Link Toll Bridge. Areas included in Ringsend are the side of the Dublin Docklands. Neighbouring areas include Irishtown, Sandymount and the Beggars Bush part of Ballsbridge to the south, at 207.8 metres and 207.48 metres, the Poolbeg Generating Station chimneys in Ringsend are the tallest structures in Dublin. The Poolbeg chimneys have been defunct since 2010 and were due to be dismantled, Ringsend was originally a long narrow peninsula separated from the rest of Dublin by the then much broader estuary of the River Dodder. On early maps its name is given as Rings Ende and the nearest settlements to it are given the names Merryon, the original village of Ringsend would have been where Sandymount Green is now. At about the time as the River Dodder was diverted at what is now the junction of Newbridge Avenue and Lansdowne Bridge. The English having moved the Irish outside the city started referring to the area towards the Ringsend peninsula as an Irishtown. Oliver Cromwell arrives in Ringsend Historical articles report of the controversial figure. Cromwell landed in Ireland on behalf of the English parliamentary forces with an army of 4,000 Horses and 8,000 foot soldiers, Ringsend was used as the initial staging point for the siege of Drogheda and for the conquest of Ireland. At the time Cromwell was received well by locals, little did they know of the atrocities he would go on to commit in Ireland, from the 15th to 19th century Ringsend was a very strategic disembarking point for ships entering Dublin. Areas of deep water off Ringsend Point were used as staging places where goods were trans-shipped for transport by boat from here to the city. In 1640 the first Ringsend Bridge over the Dodder was built so that Ringsend and Dublin were linked by road, the English name Ringsend is a corruption of Rinn-abhann, which in the Irish language means the end point of the tide - the end spit of the land. Ringsend has long been known colloquially as Raytown, reflecting its history as a village and popularity of the Stingray fish. It was once within the administration of Pembroke Urban District Council, Ringsend and the southern part of Dublin Port are also home to the Great South Wall, connecting the Poolbeg Lighthouse to the mainland. The lighthouse lies at the extreme east end of the wall and was constructed in 1767, the stone wall that now stands was constructed over a period of many years and was completed in 1795. The wall and lighthouse are a popular walk destination, the area around Poolbeg also contains Dublins main power station, with its two huge chimneys for steam - Dublins tallest structures, the former Pigeon House Fort and a range of industrial buildings. South of the Poolbeg peninsula and the Great South Wall lies the area known as the South Bull
2.
Dublin
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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Greyhound racing
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Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhound dogs are raced around a track. There are two forms of racing, track racing and coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure that travels ahead of the dogs on a rail until the cross the finish line. As with horse racing, greyhound races often allow the public to bet on the outcome, in coursing the dogs chase a lure. In many countries greyhound racing is purely amateur and solely for enjoyment, Animal rights and animal welfare groups are critical of the welfare of dogs in the commercial racing industry where, in some countries, dog trainers illegally use live baiting. A greyhound adoption movement has arisen to assist retired racing dogs in finding homes as pets, modern greyhound racing has its origins in coursing. The first recorded attempt at racing greyhounds on a track was made beside the Welsh Harp reservoir, Hendon, England, in 1876. The industry emerged in its modern form, featuring circular or oval tracks, with the invention of the mechanical or artificial hare, in 1912, by an American. O. P. Smith had altruistic aims for the industry to stop the killing of the jack rabbits, in 1919, Smith opened the first professional dog-racing track with stands in Emeryville, California. The certificates system led the way to parimutuel betting, as quarry and on-course gambling, in the United States during the 1930s. The oval track and mechanical hare were introduced to Britain, in 1926, by another American, Charles Munn, in association with Major Lyne-Dixson, a Canadian, who was a key figure in coursing. Finding other supporters proved to rather difficult however and with the General Strike of 1926 looming, eventually they met Brigadier-General Critchley, who in turn introduced them to Sir William Gentle. The industry was successful in cities and towns throughout the U. K. – by the end of 1927, Betting has always been a key ingredient of greyhound racing, both through on-course bookmakers and the totalisator, first introduced in 1930. Like horse racing, it is popular to bet on the races as a form of parimutuel gambling. Greyhound racing enjoyed its highest UK attendances just after the Second World War— for example, the industry experienced a decline from the early 1960s- after the 1960 UK Betting and Gaming Act permitted off-course cash betting. Sponsorship, limited coverage, and the later abolition of on-course betting tax have partially offset this decline. In addition to the eight countries where commercial greyhound racing exists, in 2016, a bill was passed through the government of the state New South Wales, in Australia to ban greyhound racing. This new law was to come into effect in the middle of 2017 but was reversed in late 2016, Greyhound adoption groups frequently report that the dogs from the tracks have tooth problems, the cause of which is debated
5.
Easter Rising
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The Easter Rising, also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week, April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans to end British rule in Ireland and it was the most significant uprising in Ireland since the rebellion of 1798, and the first armed action of the Irish revolutionary period. Organised by a seven-man Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Rising began on Easter Monday,24 April 1916, the British Army brought in thousands of reinforcements as well as artillery and a gunboat. There was fierce fighting on the routes into the city centre. Elsewhere in Dublin, the fighting consisted of sniping and long-range gun battles. The main rebel positions were surrounded and bombarded with artillery. Germany had sent a shipment of arms to the rebels, Volunteer leader Eoin MacNeill had then issued a countermand in a bid to halt the Rising, which greatly reduced the number of rebels who mobilised. With much greater numbers and heavier weapons, the British Army suppressed the Rising, Pearse agreed to an unconditional surrender on Saturday 29 April, although sporadic fighting continued until Sunday, when word reached the other rebel positions. After the surrender the country remained under martial law, about 3,500 people were taken prisoner by the British, many of whom had played no part in the Rising, and 1,800 of them were sent to internment camps or prisons in Britain. Most of the leaders of the Rising were executed following courts-martial, the Rising brought physical force republicanism back to the forefront of Irish politics, which for nearly 50 years had been dominated by constitutional nationalism. It, and the British reaction to it, led to increased support for Irish independence. In December 1918, republicans, represented by the reconstituted Sinn Féin party and they did not take their seats, but instead convened the First Dáil and declared the independence of the Irish Republic, which led to the War of Independence. 485 people were killed in the Easter Rising, about 54% were civilians, 30% were British military and police, and 16% were Irish rebels. Many of the civilians were killed as a result of the British using artillery and heavy machine guns, others were caught in the crossfire in a crowded city. The shelling and the fires it caused left parts of inner city Dublin in ruins, from early on, many Irish nationalists opposed the union and the ensuing exploitation and impoverishment of the island, which led to a high level of depopulation. Opposition took various forms, constitutional, social and revolutionary, the Irish Home Rule movement sought to achieve self-government for Ireland, within the United Kingdom. In 1886, the Irish Parliamentary Party under Charles Stewart Parnell succeeded in having the First Home Rule Bill introduced in the British parliament, the Second Home Rule Bill of 1893 was passed by the House of Commons but rejected by the House of Lords. After the fall of Parnell, younger and more radical nationalists became disillusioned with parliamentary politics, the Gaelic Athletic Association, the Gaelic League and the cultural revival under W. B
6.
Mick the Miller
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Mick the Miller was a male brindle Greyhound. He is celebrated as the first great racing greyhound to compete in England, despite a short three year racing career, his achievements were highly publicised around the world and by the end of his career he had become an icon in the sport. His achievements include winning nineteen races in a row, including the English Greyhound Derby on two successive occasions and he suffered an injury at Wimbledon Stadium whilst racing which broke the streak in 1931, and once recovered was beaten in the attempt to win a third Derby title. He went on to appear in films, and is considered one of the greatest sporting heroes in the UK. Mick, a male brindle Greyhound, was born in Killeigh, County Offaly, Ireland before the introduction of Greyhound track racing in Ireland, and before the sport became popular in Britain. The smallest of a litter of ten puppies, his father was a descendant of Master McGrath. Originally expected to be used for coursing, a deal was discussed with dog owner Moses Rebenschied to take Mick to America to compete in the Greyhound racing circuit. In a letter from Rebenschied calling off the deal he stated his reason, I repeat, a Catholic priest, Father Martin Brophy, brought Mick to race in England, although nearly sold the dog as a puppy to another priest, Father Maurice Browne. In the first round, Mick pulled away down the straight, beating Captured Half by eight lengths and setting a time of 29.82. Father Browne sold Mick for £800, plus any money that the dog would win on the night. By 8, 45pm, when the took place, some 40,000 spectators were in the ground. The lineup was four dogs, in one was Beadsman at 20–1. Palatinus made the best start, at the first bend both Mick and Entomb attempted to move inside to the rail, but Beadsman collided with both of them, sending all three dogs sprawling, the no–race klaxon went off, and the race had to be restarted. The re–run began, with Palatinus again getting away first, however at the first corner, catching him down the back straight, Mick pulled away around the third bend going on to beat him by three lengths in a time of 29.96. Although Palatinus completed the first run through, his time was one fifth of a slower than that made by Mick in the second. When villagers in his town of Killeigh heard of his success. He won the Derby again in the year, in front of 50,000 spectators including King Alfonso XIII of Spain. His victory there was his eleventh in succession, Mick won the Welsh Greyhound Derby in 1930 at the Sloper Road Stadium, setting the world record again, this time at 29.55 seconds over 525 yards
7.
English Greyhound Derby
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The English Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious race on the British greyhound racing calendar, with a history stretching back to 1927. It was first held at White City Stadium, but moved to Wimbledon Stadium in 1985, in 2017 the winner at Towcester will receive £175,000 and total prize-money exceeds £350,000, making it the richest greyhound race in the world. The first venue of the English Greyhound Derby was at White City Stadium, Greyhound racing had only recently started to take place there, with the first greyhound race only taking place a couple of weeks prior to the first Derby being run. Entry Badge won the first race to be held, winning a prize for the dogs trainer. Two years later, racing greyhound Mick the Miller became the first dog to win multiple Derbys, the 1940 final was held at Harringay stadium due to the outbreak of war. Spillers continued to sponsor the race, increasing the money to £35,000 by 1980. The Derby was moved to Wimbledon Stadium for the 1985, and has remained ever since. The Daily Mirror continued to be the sole sponsor the race until 1990, in 1998, bookmakers William Hill became the sole sponsor, and in 2006 bookmakers Blue Square took over. William Hill renewed their involvement with greyhounds and the Wimbledon Stadium with a deal for 2010 and it is likely that the 2016 Derby will be the last to be held at Wimbledon, as part-owners Galliard Homes have plans to build over 800 homes on the site. The redevelopment is currently on hold and this could result in the Derby being located outside London for the first time, as Wimbledon is the last greyhound stadium in the capital. Charlie Lister holds the record as the most successful trainer at the Derby and he is hailed as the greatest Greyhound Trainer of all time and referred to as the Derby King. No greyhound has won the race on more than two occasions, with four dogs tied for most successful, Mick the Miller, Patricias Hope, Rapid Ranger and Westmead Hawk. On the 30th January, It was announced that from 2017 Onwards and this deal will run for 5 years
8.
Tote board
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A tote board is a large numeric or alphanumeric display used to convey information, typically at a race track or at a telethon. Parimutuel systems had used totalisator boards since the 1860s and they were housed in substantial buildings. However the manual systems often resulted in delays in calculations of better payouts. The first all-mechanical totalisator was invented by George Julius, Julius was a consulting engineer, based in Sydney. That attitude had changed by late 1907 when he argued that the totalisator removed much of the evil of gambling with bookmakers, bishop Julius was himself a noted amateur mechanic with a reputation for fixing clocks and organs in parishes he visited. The first all-mechanical machine was installed at Ellerslie Racecourse in New Zealand in 1913, George Julius founded Automatic Totalisators Limited in 1917, which supplied the Premier Totalisator, now including electrical components. The first totalisators installed in the United States were at Hialeah Park, Florida, in 1932, the first entirely electronic totalisator was developed in 1966. Totalisators have been superseded by general purpose computers running specialised wagering software such as Autotote, in many cases beyond older systems, telethon tote boards have either been replaced by LCD displays showing totals, or scoreboards adapted to display dollar amounts. An automatic totalisator is a device to add up the bets in a betting system. The whole of the pot is divided pro rata to the placed on the winning competitor. Essentially it implements a system of starting price betting, the machine did not actually calculate the payout
9.
Guinness
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Guinness is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. Jamess Gate brewery in the capital city of Dublin, Ireland. Guinness, produced by the Diageo beverages company, is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide and it is brewed in almost 50 countries and is available in over 120. Annual sales total of Guinness in 2011 was 850 million litres, Guinness features a burnt flavour that is derived from roasted, unmalted barley, although this is a relatively modern development, not becoming part of the grist until the mid-20th century. For many years, a portion of aged brew was blended with freshly brewed beer to give a sharp lactic flavour, although Guinnesss palate still features a characteristic tang, the company has refused to confirm whether this type of blending still occurs. The draught beers thick, creamy head comes from mixing the beer with nitrogen and it is popular with the Irish, both in Ireland and abroad. In spite of declining consumption since 2001, it is still the best-selling alcoholic drink in Ireland where Guinness & Co, Brewery makes almost €2 billion worth of the beverage annually. The company was started in 1759 in Dublin, but had to move its headquarters to London at the beginning of the Anglo-Irish Trade War in 1932, in 1997, Guinness plc merged with Grand Metropolitan to form the multinational alcoholic drinks producer Diageo. Arthur Guinness started brewing ales in 1759 at the St. Jamess Gate Brewery, on 31 December 1759, he signed a 9,000 year lease at £45 per annum for the unused brewery. Ten years later, on 19 May 1769, Guinness first exported his ale, there have been claims that Arthur Price, a Welshman, took the original recipe with him to Ireland where he hired a servant, Richard Guinness, whose son later opened the brewery. Stout originally referred to a strength, but eventually shifted meaning toward body. Arthur Guinness started selling the dark beer porter in 1778, the first Guinness beers to use the term were Single Stout and Double Stout in the 1840s. Throughout the bulk of its history, Guinness produced only three variations of a beer type, porter or single stout, double or extra. Porter was also referred to as plain, as mentioned in the refrain of Flann OBriens poem The Workmans Friend. Already one of the top-three British and Irish brewers, Guinnesss sales soared from 350,000 barrels in 1868 to 779,000 barrels in 1876, in October 1886 Guinness became a public company, and was averaging sales of 1,138,000 barrels a year. This was despite the refusal to either advertise or offer its beer at a discount. The breweries pioneered several quality control efforts, by 1900 the brewery was operating unparalleled welfare schemes for its 5,000 employees. By 1907 the welfare schemes were costing the brewery £40,000 a year, the improvements were suggested and supervised by Sir John Lumsden. By 1914, Guinness was producing 2,652,000 barrels of beer a year, which was more than double that of its nearest competitor Bass, in the 1930s, Guinness became the seventh largest company in the world
10.
Shelbourne F.C.
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Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Drumcondra, Dublin, who play in the League of Ireland First Division. Shelbourne were founded in Dublin in 1895, in 1904 the club joined the Irish Football League, which was then an all Ireland competition, before becoming founding members of the League of Ireland in 1921. Shelbourne have won the league 13 times and are one of three clubs to have won both the IFA Cup and the FAI Cup and they play their home matches at Tolka Park, in the Dublin suburb of Drumcondra. The club colours are red and white, with home jerseys being predominantly red. Shels is the clubs most common nickname, an abbreviation of Shelbourne, in the 2004/2005 European season, Shelbourne became the first Irish club to reach the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. Their performances in European competition and former striker Jason Byrne being capped for the Republic of Ireland whilst with the club, the club lost their Premier Division licence for the 2007 season due to the clubs debt situation. Since then, Shelbourne have mainly played in the tier of the League of Ireland. Shelbourne Football Club was formed in 1895 in the Ringsend area of Dublin by a group of men led by Mr. James Rowan, the club took its name from the nearby Shelbourne Road. The clubs first pitch was at Havelock Square just behind the stand at the present day Aviva Stadium. Shelbournes second season was their first in competitive competition, Shelbourne played 28 matches, won 25, drew 2 and lost only 1. Their goal tally was 109 for and 15 against, Shelbourne won the principal junior competitions, the Leinster Junior Cup and League Championship. The club decided to enter the ranks for the 1897–98 Season and reached the Leinster Senior Cup Final at their first attempt. They also finished runners-up in the Leinster Senior League, the club won their first Leinster Senior Cup in 1899/1900, Shelbourne won the competition again in 1901 and 1904. The club made it into the Final of the IFA Cup in 1905 but were beaten by Distillery, in 1906 Shelbourne player Val Harris became the clubs first player to line out for Ireland. Shelbourne reached the IFA Cup Final again in 1907 and 1908 but were beaten on both occasion in replays against Cliftonville and Bohemians, in 1907 Shelbourne were also Irish Football League runners-up to Linfield. They won the Leinster Senior Cup again in 1908 and 1909, in 1909 Shelbourne were City Cup winners and finished 3rd place in the Irish Football League, behind champions Linfield and Glentoran. In 1911 Shelbourne won the IFA Cup for their second time, Shelbourne won the Leinster Senior Cup again in 1913 and 1914. Shelbourne were 1914 Gold Cup runners-up, and then winners in 1915, Shelbourne were Leinster Senior Cup winners again in 1917 and 1919
11.
League of Ireland
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The League of Ireland, together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was used to refer to a single division league. However today the League of Ireland features four divisions – the Premier Division, the First Division, an U19 Division, the League of Ireland has always worked closely with the FAI and in 2006 the two bodies formally merged. All the divisions are currently sponsored by Airtricity and as a result the league is known as the SSE Airtricity League. In 2007, it one of the first leagues in Europe to introduce a salary cap. The leagues most successful club is Shamrock Rovers who have won 17 titles, together with Dundalk, Bohemians and Shelbourne they are one of four clubs in the league to feature a golden star above their badge in recognition of winning ten titles. Bohemians are the club in the league to have played every season in the top division. The League of Ireland was founded in 1921 as a division known as the A Division. The first season featured eight teams, all from County Dublin, the teams that competed in the first season were Bohemians, Dublin United, Frankfort, Jacobs, Olympia, St. Jamess Gate, Shelbourne and YMCA. The eight founding members had spent the 1920–21 season playing in the Leinster Senior League, Bohemians and Shelbourne had played in the 1919–20 Irish League. St Jamess Gate were the inaugural champions, Gate also went on to complete a treble having already won both the 1921–22 FAI Cup and 1921–22 Leinster Senior Cup. In 1922–23 the league was expanded to twelve clubs, among the new members were Shamrock Rovers, who finished as champions, and Athlone Town who became the first team from outside of County Dublin to compete in the league. Together with fellow Dublin clubs teams, Bohemians and Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers would go onto dominate the league during the 1920s, in 1924–25 Bray Unknowns and Fordsons became the second and third teams from outside of County Dublin to join the league. Fordsons also became the first team from Munster to play in the league, the league continued to expand numerically and geographically during its first two decades of existence. In 1926–27 Dundalk were elected to the league and in 1932–33 became the first club from outside of County Dublin to win the title, Dundalk were subsequently joined by Waterford in 1930–31, Cork Bohemians in 1932–33, Sligo Rovers in 1934–35 and Limerick F. C. in 1937–38. In 1936–37, Sligo Rovers became the club from outside of County Dublin to win the title. During The Emergency/Second World War era Cork United emerged as the leagues strongest team, the club won five league titles between 1940–41 and 1945–46, including three in succession. However they subsequently resigned from the league in 1948, the 1950s was marked by the emergence of St Patricks Athletic and the re-emergence of Shamrock Rovers
12.
Bohemian F.C.
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Bohemian Football Club, more commonly referred to as Bohs, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland, during that period they won the Irish Cup once and finished runners up 5 times. They share the record for most wins in European competition with archrivals Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians were founded on 6 September 1890 in the Phoenix Park Gate Lodge beside the North Circular Road entrance and played its first games in the Parks Polo Grounds. One of the members of the League of Ireland in 1921. Bohemians dropped their amateur ethos in 1969 and proceeded to win 2 League titles,2 FAI Cups and 2 League cups during the 1970s. They suffered a further decline throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s before claiming League and Cup doubles in 2001 and 2008, alongside the 2003, Bohemians play their home matches at Dalymount Park in the Northside neighbourhood of Phibsborough. They are owned 100% by the members of the club and their club colours are red and black, which they adopted at the 4th AGM in October 1893. Bohemians supporters often refer to their club by a number of nicknames including Bohs and The Gypsies, seasons Bohemians were founded on 6 September 1890. They were members of the Irish Football League from 1902 to 1911, during this time the clubs greatest success was winning the Irish Cup in 1908. In its first season it finished second in the league, just two points behind St. James Gate, the club won its first league title in 1924. In 1928 the club won its league title and completed a double that season by winning its first FAI Cup also. The club was one of the forces in the early years of the league. The club went 34 seasons without winning a major trophy, in 1969 the club ended its amateur status, and the first player to sign professional terms was Tony OConnell, who signed on 11 March 1969. The club then went on to win two titles, two FAI Cups and two league cups in the 1970s, more trophies than any other club that decade. In 1970 the club entered European competition for the first time where it was beaten in the first qualifying round of the European Cup Winners Cup. The club went through another trophy-less spell after its 1979 league cup victory and it was not until 2001 that it regained the league title, also winning the FAI Cup that season to complete its second double. In September 2009, Bohemians claimed the League Cup for the time in the clubs history with a 3–1 win over Waterford United in the final. On 6 November 2009, Bohemians retained the title after a 1–1 draw against Bray Wanderers and they were already assured of the league title before the final round of matches as they held a three-point lead and 16-goal difference advantage over their nearest rivals Shamrock Rovers
13.
Waterford F.C.
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Waterford Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford. They currently play in the League of Ireland First Division, the club was founded and elected to the league in 1930 Originally the club was based at the greyhound stadium known as Kilcohan Park, but have now moved to the Waterford Regional Sports Centre. Waterford first participated in the league in the 1930–31 season finishing ninth, Waterford re-entered the league in the 1935–36 season along with Sligo Rovers. Waterford won the Shield in their first season, Waterford won the FAI cup for the first time in their history in 1937 beating St. James Gate and also won the Shield. The club were runners up in 1937–38 season and again in the 1940–41 season. At the end of the campaign, the original Waterford resigned from the League of Ireland, only for a new entity, with the name, to be elected in. Waterford won the Shield again in the 1952–53 season and were again runners-up in the League this time to St. Patricks Athletic in the 1954–55 season and again in the 1962–63 season. The club eventually won the title for the first time in the 1965–66 season. The 1965/66 title was the beginning of a successful spell for the club domestically. The following season played in the preliminary round of the Champions cup against Vorwärts Berlin. They won the Shield once again in 1968–69 season, Waterford won the league title three times in a row, in 1968,1969 and in 1970. The title was won by Cork Hibernians in 1971 but returned to Waterford in the 1971–1972 season, the following season Waterford won the League of Ireland Cup, however failed to regain the league title. The Club won the FAI Cup in 1980 beating St. Patricks Athletic with the winner from Brian Gardner, waterfords success in the league brought European football playing against famous clubs such as Manchester United and Celtic. Bobby Charlton had a spell at the club in 1976. In May 1982, the Club changed its name to Waterford United, in 1985 the leagues membership rose to 22 clubs with the election of six new clubs in 1985. This resulted in the introduction of the present two Division structure in 1985/86 of which Waterford was a member of the Premier Division, Waterford were relegated to the First Division in the 1988–89 season. Their stay there was short, gaining promotion and winning the First Division title the following season 1989–90 and they were unable to retain their Premier Division status the following season finishing in eleventh. The club was promoted to the top flight in the 1991–92 season finishing as runners up to Limerick, but again the club were unable to remain in the Premier Division for more than a single season suffering relegation on goal difference to Drogheda United
14.
Irishtown, Dublin
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Irishtown is a district of Dublin, Ireland. It is situated on the southside of the River Liffey, between Ringsend to the north and Sandymount to the south, and is to the east of the River Dodder, Irishtown lay outside of Dublin, about 2,000 metres west of the medieval city walls. Dublin was originally a Viking city and after 1171, when an Anglo-Norman army seized it, the native Gaelic Irish were therefore viewed as an alien force in the city. Suspicion of them was deepened by continual raids on Dublin and its environs by the OByrne, by the 15th century, Gaelic migration to the city had made the English authorities fearful that English language and culture would become a minority there. As a result, the Irish inhabitants of Dublin were expelled from the city proper circa 1454, the Irish population were only allowed to trade inside the city limits by daylight. At the end of the trading they would leave and set up camp in what was to become known as the Irishtown. Irishtown formed part of the Pembroke Urban District Council area, at the end of the 19th and early 20th century Irishtown was the location of the Waxies Dargle, an annual outing by Dublin cobblers, which a well-known folk song recalls. Irishtown Nature Park is a park with a walkway which offers several kilometres of walking trails along the Poolbeg Peninsula. History of Dublin List of towns and villages in Ireland
15.
NIFL Premiership
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At the end of the season, the champion club is presented with the Gibson Cup. The current Premiership format was introduced for the 2008–09 season after the League system for Northern Ireland was re-organised. The top flight was reduced in size from 16 to 12 clubs, included on the not only of their performance in the 2007–08 season. Finance – based on solvency, debt management and cash-flow projection, the Premiership remained under IFA control for five seasons until the creation of the Northern Ireland Football League in 2013, when it became the NIFL Premiership. Each team plays a total of 38 fixtures during the season, each team initially plays every other team three times for a total of 33 fixtures per team. The post-split fixtures are usually arranged in such a way as to result in the teams in each half playing each other twice at home and twice away. After the split, teams in the top six cannot finish lower than 6th place, the League campaign begins in August and continues until late April or early May. Most fixtures are played on Saturday afternoons, with fixtures on Friday evenings. Traditionally, there are Bank Holiday afternoon fixtures on Boxing Day, New Years Day, three points are awarded for a win, and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss, points can be deducted for breaches of rules e. g. fielding an ineligible player. The teams are first and foremost ranked by number of points, the team with the most points at the end of the season wins the championship. A tiebreaker other than goal difference has not been required since the 1961–62 season, the league champions qualify for the following seasons UEFA Champions League, with the league runners-up and Irish Cup winners qualifying for the UEFA Europa League. If, however, the Irish Cup winners have qualified for Europe by finishing as champions or runners-up in the league. In order to compete in any of these European competitions, however, in the event that a team qualifies without such a licence, lower-placed teams may take their place. A new method of Europa League qualification was introduced for the 2015–16 season, the play-offs are seeded, with the two higher-placed qualifiers given home advantage when facing the two lower-placed qualifiers in the semi-finals. The two semi-final winners then meet in the final, if, however, the Irish Cup winners finish lower than seventh in the league, all five teams that finish in third to seventh will qualify for the play-offs. This will require an additional match to be played by the two lowest-placed qualifiers in sixth and seventh, with the winner joining the other three clubs in the semi-finals. Additionally, the two highest-placed teams in the Premiership also qualify automatically for the next seasons all-Ireland Setanta Cup, the third and fourth-placed teams may also qualify if either or both of the winners of the Irish Cup and League Cup have qualified via the League
16.
Richard Hammond
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Richard Mark Hammond is a British presenter, writer, and journalist, known for co-hosting the BBC Two motoring programme Top Gear from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James May. He has also presented Brainiac, Science Abuse, Total Wipeout, in 2016, Hammond began presenting The Grand Tour television series, produced by W. Chump & Sons. The show is co-presented with his former Top Gear co-hosts, Clarkson and May, Hammond was born in Solihull, Warwickshire, and is the grandson of workers in the Birmingham car industry. In the mid-1980s Hammond moved with his family to the North Yorkshire cathedral city of Ripon where his father ran a business in the market square. He attended Blossomfield Infant School in Shirley from the age of 3–7, originally a pupil of Solihull School, a fee-paying boys independent school, he moved to Ripon Grammar School, and from 1986 to 1988 attended Harrogate College of Art and Technology. Hammond became a presenter on Top Gear in 2002, when the show began in its present format and he is sometimes referred to as The Hamster by fans and his co-presenters on Top Gear due to his name and comparatively small stature. His nickname was further reinforced when on three occasions in series 7, he ate cardboard, mimicking hamster-like behaviour. The show also contained images of the crash, which had made international headlines, Hammond then requested that the crash never be mentioned on the show again, though all three Top Gear presenters have since referred to it in jokes during the news segment of the programme. He told his colleagues, The only difference between me now, and before the crash, is that I like celery now and I didnt before, Hammond finished with the remark Im sorry, but can you imagine waking up and remembering youre Mexican. Following complaints, the BBC defended the broadcast of this segment on the grounds that such national stereotyping was a robust part of traditional British humour, following the BBCs decision not to renew Clarksons contract with the show on 25 March 2015, Hammonds contract expired on 31 March. It aired in the UK on BBC Two on 28 June at 8 p. m, in 2003, Hammond became the first presenter of Brainiac, Science Abuse, he was joined by Jon Tickle with Charlotte Hudson in series 2. After the fourth series it was announced that Hammond was no longer going to present the Sky1 show after he signed a deal with the BBC. Vic Reeves took his place as main presenter. Early in his career, as well as his work, Hammond presented a number of daytime lifestyle shows. He has also presented The Gunpowder Plot, Exploding The Legend, along with his work on Top Gear, he presented Should I Worry About. On BBC One, Time Commanders on BBC Two and the first four series of Brainiac, in 2006, Hammond fronted the Richard Hammonds 5 OClock Show with his co-presenter Mel Giedroyc. The programme, which discussed a range of topics, was shown every weekday on ITV between 17,00 and 18,00. In July 2005, Hammond was voted number one in a Heat magazine poll of top weird celebrity crushes, also in 2005 he was voted one of the top 10 British TV talents. He presented Richard Hammond and the Holy Grail in 2006, during the special, he travelled to various locations around the world, including the Vatican Secret Archives, exploring the history of the Holy Grail
17.
Motorcycle speedway
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Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes, racing takes place on an oval track usually consisting of dirt, loosely packed shale. Competitors use this surface to slide their machines sideways, powersliding or broadsiding into the bends, on the straight sections of the track the motorcycles reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. The exact origins of the sport are unknown but there is evidence of a type of speedway racing being practised in the USA before the First World War and in Australia in the late 1910s and early 1920s. Speedway is popular in central and northern Europe and to an extent in Australia. A variant of racing, speedway is administered internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme. Domestic speedway events are regulated by FIM affiliated national motor sport federations, the early history of speedway race meetings is a subject of much debate and controversy. There is evidence to show that meetings were held on dirt tracks in Australia. An American rider named Don Johns was known to have used broadsiding before 1914 and it was said that he would ride the entire race course wide open, throwing great showers of dirt into the air at each turn. By the early 1920s, Johns style of cornering was followed in the US – where the sport was initially called Short Track Racing – by riders such as Albert Shrimp Burns, Maldwyn Jones and Eddie Brinck. For instance, a newspaper report of this meeting, in the Maitland Mercury. The first meeting in the United Kingdom took place at High Beech on 19 February 1928, there are, however, claims that meetings were held in 1927 at Camberley, Surrey and Droylsden, Lancashire. Despite being described as the first British Dirt Track meeting at the time, both featured in the 1928 High Beech meeting. Proto speedway was staged in Glasgow at the Olympic Stadium on April 9,1928, the first meeting in Wales was staged at Cardiff White City on Boxing Day 1928. In the 1928/29 season at the Melbourne Exhibition Speedway, Australian Colin Stewart won the prestigious Silver Gauntlet and he won it 12 times.00 points per match. He also raced in the 1930 Scottish Championship which was won by Wembley Lions Harry Whitfield, frank Arthur won the Overseas Section and Roger Frogley the British. The following year the two sections were amalgamated and Vic Huxley proved to be the winner, Huxley was also runner-up three times and won the first British Match Race championship in 1931. Each track is between 260 and 425 metres long and it approximately one minute to complete four laps
18.
Wimbledon Stadium
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Wimbledon Stadium, also known as Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium was a greyhound racing track located in Wimbledon in southwest London, England. It also hosted car and other small circuit motor racing events. The stadium hosted the English Greyhound Derby every year from 1985 to 2016, the stadium closed in March 2017 and Galliard Homes are to build more than 600 flats on the site. There will also be an 11,000 seater football stadium built on the site to be the new home of AFC Wimbledon with capacity to increase it to a 20,000 seater stadium at a later date. The club hope to be playing at the stadium from the summer of 2019. The facilities include a brick fronted grandstand seating 8,000, executive suites, several bars and catering facilities, the stadium is surrounded by a large open-air car park. The greyhound stadium was constructed east of the River Wandle on a section of land that was difficult to build on due to the fact that it was land and was prone to flooding. The only buildings near this plot of land were a chamois leather mills, a sewage works. Slightly to the east was Summerstown Road which held the only housing in the immediate area, the difficult plot did not deter South London Greyhound Racecourses Ltd who went ahead with plans to build a large stadium ready for 1928. The opening night was on 19 May 1928 with the first race being won by a greyhound called Ballindura trained by Harry Leader. The Burhill kennels in Walton-on-Thames would become renowned within the housing the hounds for Wimbledon and were initially used by trainers Stanley Biss, Harry Leader. Paddy McEllistrim a Norfolk farmer and breeder of greyhounds and Sidney Orton would soon join the training kennels soon after, Wimbledon was the first track to introduce weighing scales in 1929 at their kennels so that the racing public could be issued with the greyhounds weights before racing. The same year Harry Leader returned to Ireland and was replaced by Sidney Orton, New events called the Puppy Derby, International, Wimbledon Gold Cup and Wimbledon Spring Stakes were all inaugurated. In December 1929 Arundel Kempton purchased Mick the Miller for £2,000 as a present for his wife placing him with Sidney Orton. The track had already associated with Mick the Miller because the champion took up residence at the kennels of Paddy McEllistrim during the duration of the 1929 English Greyhound Derby. Con Stevens was the first Racing Manager and was instrumental in bringing the first classic race to Wimbledon in the form of the Laurels in 1930, Mick the Miller claimed his second Derby crown in 1930 propelling himself, the sport and Wimbledon into national fame. The Two Year Old Produce Stakes was introduced in 1935 and another event called The Key started in 1936, during World War II the stadium suffered bomb damage but continued to race. The well known Irish dog Tanist was put with Paddy McEllistrim but found it hard to cope with the turns at Wimbledon
19.
Galway Sportsgrounds
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Galway Sportsground, also known as The Sportsground and the Galway Greyhound Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Galway, Ireland. It opened in 1927, with the playing of a match and has been used to host Connacht Rugby matches. It is currently used as a base by Connacht Rugby for training and hosting matches at all levels, Greyhound racing takes place on Friday and Saturday evenings. The stadium has been leased on a term basis to the Irish Greyhound Board who run the greyhound meetings at the Stadium. It is co-leased to Connacht Rugby who use it as their stadium to play rugby union matches in the Pro12. Up until 2011, the capacity of the Sportsground was 5,500. The stadium was modified and extended in 2011, and again in 2016, the Sportsground recorded its record attendance on 19 November 2011, when a crowd of 9,120 watched Connacht take on Toulouse in the teams first ever Heineken Cup match at home. Connacht Rugby first participated in European Rugbys blue ribbon competition, the European Rugby Champions Cup and this spurred a new phase of development at the Sportsground to extend formal capacity to 7,500 supporters. The existing Clubhouse terrace was knocked down to be replaced by the new covered Clan Terrace and this terrace primarily houses season ticket holders. Ancillary work was also undertaken behind the terrace which saw the construction of a new bar, food outlets, a temporary covered and seated West Stand, adjacent to the existing main stand was also erected for the season. In 2011 planning permission was granted to redevelop the Clan Terrace by building a tier above the terrace on the Clubhouse side of the ground. So far this has not been developed, in the summer of 2016, work was completed on an additional seated and covered stand which can hold 300 people. The stand, situated next to the Main Stand, increased the regular capacity to 8,100. The facilities include a restaurant, fast food facilities, a number of bars. Racing takes place every Friday and Saturday evening, distances are 350,525,550, and 575 yards. The feature competition at the track is the Champion Bitch Stake, the Galway Greyhound Company was established in 1932 but it took a further three years for the first greyhound racing to take place at the west coast venue on the west side of the Lough Atalia. The opening night was during 1935, by 1978 the stadium required a facelift and the management decided that improvements could only be completed with the closure of the greyhound track. Therefore in 1978 a new stand with bars and tote facilities was built, the grand re-opening was on 25 May 1979 with the modernisation costing over £500,000
20.
Brandywell Stadium
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The Brandywell Stadium is a municipal dual-use football and greyhound racing stadium located in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the ground of League of Ireland team Derry City F. C. The football team play on Friday evenings usually at 7. 45pm, the stadium is situated on the Lone Moor Road just south-west of the Bogside in the Brandywell area and shares the road with another sports-ground, Celtic Park, the headquarters of the Derry GAA. The ground, which is within walking distance of the city centre, is commonly referred to as simply, the Brandywell. Previously it was the home of St Columbs Court and Derry Celtic. The ground, as well as the stadium, features a large training area, a club shop, a club house, from which the club and ticket offices operate. This began an association between the club and the ground which has survived until the present day, the club are still operating under the constraints of the Honourable the Irish Society charter limitations which declare that the Brandywell must be available for the recreation of the community. In effect, the club do not have private ownership over the ground and, thus, Derry Citys first game at the Brandywell was against Glentoran on 22 August 1929. The stadium has played host to many matches, such as Derry Citys 1-0 victory IFK Göteborg on 27 July 2006 in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round. However, current facilities for spectators and media simply cannot cope with the demand for some matches, the ground also hosted the FAI League Cup final in 2006 between Derry City and Dublin rivals, Shelbourne FC. Derry won the game after it went to a penalty shoot-out. The dimensions of the pitch itself measure 111 yards in length by 72 yards in width. The area surrounding the stadium was considered to be too dangerous by the Irish League for the visit of a number of opposing teams, especially those with unionist support, due to the Troubles. 1985 saw Derry admitted into the Republics league, the League of Ireland, unusually, The Brandywell do not usually have a police presence inside it during Derry City games however the PSNI do have the ability to enter the stadium in an emergency. The Brandywell Stadium also hosts the games of the Foyle Cup tournament. In 2002, the stadium was voted the tenth favourite sporting venue in the UK by BBCs Radio Five Live, the Brandywell has undergone large-scale redevelopment is recent years with the curved cantilever New Stand being constructed in 1991 and the terraced Jungle being demolished in 2004. The Jungle section was the home of Derrys noisier hardcore element of fans, many of these fanatics now occupy the area of and surrounding Block J in the New Stand. The quieter blocks of the New Stand, where the remainder of the spectators sit, are sometimes referred to as the Library in jest by the louder group
21.
New Grosvenor Stadium
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New Grosvenor Stadium and Drumbo Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Ballyskeagh, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is currently used for matches and greyhound racing, the latter under the operating name Drumbo Park. The stadium currently has a capacity of 8,000 of which 790 can be seated, however this is split to a capacity for Football matches of 7,000. It used to host 1 Irish Cup Semi - Final every year until the Greyhound Association took the franchise of the ground of Lisburn Distillery, the road is served by Ulsterbus rural services to and from Belfast-Lisburn. The stand seats 527 spectators, including 25 seats in the directors box, the stand also houses a journalists commentary box to its rear. The Distillery social club and offices sit on the side of the stadium as the Morton McKnight stand occupying the area situated on the other side of the half way line. The club and offices is a two story building containing a social club on the level with bar, television and a small dance floor for social events. The windows on one side of the club are whitewashed to prevent patrons from being able to view the football from inside. The club is most commonly accessed from an escape, which leads spectators down to the paddock between the social club and Morton McKnight Stand. The upper floor contains a small toilet block and executive lounge. The executive lounge is the only spectator facility in the building and consists of a small function room with its own private bar. The box offers seating for thirteen spectators while the lounge accommodates around thirty, the Executive lounge is open to any spectator wishing to purchase a season ticket to view matches there and also hosts the match sponsors. Irish League clubs do not officially record attendances but Lisburn Distillery receipts suggest their average attendances sit at around 300 to 400, beside the social club is a large undeveloped paddock where the only food on offer on match days is provided by a fixed burger van. The covered terrace is situated on the west or Belfast side of the ground and is essentially a covered terrace of fifteen tiers with a paddock at the back, the terrace can safely accommodate 1,500 spectators. The terrace occupies an area of one third the length of the ground. Neither end of the ground has been developed and each end has been claimed by the two operating companies for their use. The Ballyskeagh end of the ground is more than a loose gravel track that takes spectators from the Lambeg side of the ground to the covered terrace on match days. Viewing of Football from here is allowed but few fans view from here as the location of the Greyhound track places the path some distance away from the goal
