Shamrock Rovers confirm they are to leave Glenmalure Park in Milltown and cross Dublin to share Tolka Park with Home Farm in Drumcondra.
Attendances at the Shamrock Rovers Football Club had been falling and it is hoped the move to Tolka Park will bring the fans back again. Both clubs can also share the costs of running one stadium.
However, many supporters let the bosses know how they felt about the move when they staged a pitch invasion at half time during Shamrock Rovers v Sligo Rovers on 12 April 1987, the last ever match in Glenmalure Park.
Speculation is rife about what will happen to the ground and there are rumours it will be used for housing and apartment blocks. Property developers the Kilcoynes bought Shamrock Rovers in 1972. Just before moving from Milltown, they negotiated an option on the freehold with the Jesuits who own the land, in spite of the fact that it cannot be developed into a soccer stadium.
Director of Shamrock Rovers Patrick Kilcoyne explains the rationale behind the decision to take out a new lease on the Milltown ground and says
There are no commitments one way or the other to do anything with the ground yet other than to move Shamrock Rovers across to Tolka Park.
However, Fr Senan Timoney says when the Jesuits were renegotiating the freehold they thought it was to keep Rovers at Milltown. When he heard about the move he was
Flabbergasted.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 14 April 1987. The reporter is Brian O’Connell.
