Shamrock Rovers - Tallaght Stadium

Shamrock Rovers FC

Tallaght Stadium

Whitestown Way

Tallaght

Dublin 24

D24 FNK6

Ireland

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1565

Tuesday 14th July 2026

Shamrock Rovers 5-1 Floriana
Champions League 1QR - 2nd Leg

SHAMROCK ROVERS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1899, although there is some dispute about the date of formation. They only played friendlies for the first couple of years of their existence. They registered with the Leinster FA in 1901, which some believe was the year they formed. The name of the club derives from Shamrock Avenue in Ringsend, where the first club rooms were secured. They played in the Leinster Senior League for five years until 1906, but then played only friendlies for a while and even disbanded after losing their home, Glenmanture Park. They played at Ringsend Park from 1914 until 1916 before disbanding again, playing only friendlies until 1921. They recovered well, winning their first league title in 1923  and have gone on to win the title a record 22 times. This includes two spells of four titles in a row, firstly between 1984 and 1987 and then again between 2020 & 2023. They've had long periods without winning a title, notably between 1964 and 1984 and then again between 1994 & 2010. They dropped down to the First Division on a couple of occasions, last winning the second-tier title in 2006.

In terms of cups, Shamrock Rovers have won the FAI Cup a record 28 times. They've also won the League of Ireland Shield 18 times and the League of Ireland Cup twice. Locally, they've won the LFA Presidents Cup a record 21 times, the Dublin Cup ten times and the Leinster Senior Cup 18 times as well as a host of other cups. In European football, Shamrock Rovers have played 137 games. Notable results include narrowly losing to the famous Busby Babes of Manchester United in 1957; later that season, tragedy would strike their opponent in the form of the Munich Air Disaster. They held Valencia, Real Zaragoza and Bayern Munich to home draws in the 1960s whilst German side Schalke were beaten towards the end of the decade. Since the expansion of European competition, Shamrock Rovers have had many runs. Shamrock Rovers progressed from the league stage of the UEFA Conference League in 2024/25, before losing to Molde of Norway on penalties in the knockout phase.

Up until 1926, the club was nomadic, without a firm place to call home. That year, they moved to Glenmalure Park, often simply known as Milltown, a football stadium on the Southside of Dublin city. It was officially opened on Sunday 19 September 1926, with a friendly game against Belfast Celtic in front of a crowd of 18,000. Bob Fullam had the honour of scoring Rovers' first ever goal at the ground. Supporters initially helped build the ground, constructing the main stand and banking. In 1987, the Kilcoyne family, who had owned Shamrock Rovers since 1972 and had recently bought Glenmalure Park from the Jesuits, decided to sell the stadium to property developers. They stated that they aimed to move Rovers to Tolka Park to share with Home Farm F.C. That turned out to happen, with the club also sharing at Morton Athletics Stadium before moving to Tallaght Stadium in 2009 after being without a home for 32 years.

MY VISIT

This game was organised on a whim, a couple of weeks before, after I got a late request for time off from work. My initial plan was to go somewhere new, probably in Eastern Europe. However, ticket and flight availability were scarce or unknown. Having booked the time off, I knew I had to do something in a rare midweek rest. A very simple option was Shamrock Rovers, not the most exciting tie, but after a rushed visit to Bray earlier this year, I wanted to have a look around Dublin and tick off the Wetherspoons. Price-wise, I was quite happy with the situation. The ticket was £18.60, some student accommodation £50.35 with my own room, and the flight back was £14. The only disappointing aspect was the flight out, which was £44. Colin, not willing to learn to do anything on his own, decided that he wanted to come with me. That would be a bit of a burden on me, but he is a mate after all, and he doesn't mind my pub crawls. He did pay the price, though, as his flights were over double the price despite only being booked three days later. Accommodation-wise, sharing a room did not save any money, so Colin booked a room in the same place as me for a couple of quid extra.

After getting my Corinthian Casuals blog up, I went back to the Cider festival and had four more halves, nine new ciders tried in total. I'd have had more, but the buses dry up around 8.30 on Amersham, and I wanted to get home. It was good that the Samosa shop was on the same platform as the Amersham train, though I baulked at paying £3.29 for a can of lukewarm energy drink. But I was thirsty, and it was a good job I lubricated my vocal cords as I joined in with singing football songs on the first part of the journey, enormous fun and great community spirit. I was back in Amersham at 8.20 and saw Colin on the platform before popping into Tesco to get some energy drinks for the morning. The bus was seven minutes early, but I went a couple of stops too far so got back home at 9.20. I only had capacity for one more pint if I wanted to drive in the morning, since it wasn't having much effect on me, so I stuck to soft drinks. England v Norway was a fairly even game, but I was dismayed when we went to extra time with the time past midnight. Jude Bellingham got his second two minutes into the extra half-hour, so I watched the rest of the game in bed, switching the TV off and going to sleep as soon as the whistle blew.

Sunday is never fun, much less so on three hours of sleep. It was OK at first with no customers, but I quickly tired, despite two energy drinks. It then got unpleasantly busy when customers were let in, so I was glad when I was offered the chance to go home early at 11. I grabbed an extra hour or so's nap as soon as I got in, as well as planning and sorting upcoming trips. Monday was busy with me making up the two hours that I'd lost on Sunday. It was a slog to the end, but finally, I had six days' parole from work. I went home and started preparing for both of my midweek trips as well as getting my hair cut. The evening was spent researching my upcoming trip to Kendal from Thursday until Sunday. I was asleep later than usual, quite nervous that my alarm wouldn't go off even though I get up at the same time every day for work. As it happened, I woke up naturally five minutes before my alarm. After freshening up and getting dressed, I had breakfast and left at 4.40. I drove to Colin's and parked outside his flat before we walked to the station. I had to help Colin check in to the flight as he didn't know how to enter his passport details. We got the 05:26, the first tube of the day. It was a scattering of people at Amersham, but by the time we got to Harrow, it was standing room only. Perhaps they should start earlier. It was an easy change at Farringdon for Gatwick.

 

Security was a breeze, and before we knew it, we were in Spoons. A pint of Stowford Press was £5.20, very reasonable for an airport but £1.99 in most Spoons. The gate was called fairly early; an energy drink was a reasonable £2.90 from the vending machine; I'd imagine it'd be double that in WH Smith. The priority boarding folk paid extra to sit on the plane for 20 minutes longer; I was quite lucky to be given a seat in the second row with Colin right in the middle of the plane due to his late check-in. We got off on time, despite someone leaving their bag in a restaurant- the fools. We got off and arrived on time and I was one of the first off. I had to wait a while for Colin but I was able to avoid the issues I had last time by purchasing 1GB of mobile data from Saily as for some reason, my Spusu data didn't work, just as in Sweden, despite it working in numerous other countries. We headed to the shop where we had got our Leap card for travel last time, but it was closed. True to form, bloodsucking leeches WH Smith were our only option, but at least it was the same good value €8 as last time. We got the 41 to Swords, a short journey to tick that Spoons, The Old Borough. Breakfast Muffin, energy drink and Strongbow were €8. Good value and decent service. From here, it was the 41C into Dublin. The Silver Penny provided another pint of Strongbow, twelve onion rings and five chicken wings for around €12. From there it was a pleasant 25 minute walk to the South Strand. This was a lot busier but had a very limited range of cider. No worries, I got a couple of new rum shots, plus two cans of Monster. One went in my bag, and one was split across the two rums as a mixer. With one of the cans split across the two rums, the other was saved for later.

Colin and PuffPuff were talking over video call, which delayed us. After a 40-minute walk, we were near our accommodation at 4.  I wanted some cans and got a new one in Ritz, the four-pack coming in at about 11 Euros from the local Spar. It was a new one but tasted weird, but there was something good about it. Check-in was fairly simple; it was a grotty area, but the student accommodation was clean and quiet, a bargain for £50 a night. Not a whole lot more than a dormitory bed, and a proper hotel would have been around three or four times more expensive. It's always nice to have your own space too, with Colin a couple of floors above, so the place was obviously popular as he only booked a few days after. We had about an hour in the room, but Colin got lost on his way down to reception so I had to help him. After a 15-minute walk, it was a simple tram to near the stadium. A very slow one, mind, with Colin falling asleep on the way. I heard that Crewe had pulled out of a friendly at Prescot Cables at the last minute, thanks to a hard pitch; I was glad of a proper game tonight where prima donnas were not involved.

 

We were near the ground at 7. There was a limited range of places so I opted for Perios where a Chicken Burrito and chips were €17.50. It was all top class and very tasty; the burrito was huge. From there, it was a walk to the club shop where I got a small pennant, nicely designed and ideal with the lack of space I have to display things. The entry was easy and relaxed; I got a soft drink before heading to my seat. It was unreserved, but the view from my chosen seat was fantastic, and it was a good atmosphere. Shamrock Rovers started on the front foot, but Floriana looked decent on the break. It was a good start for the hosts as, on five minutes, Lee Grace headed home from a corner. However, Floriana were still creating, and on 13 minutes, Tomislav Gudelj finished with a low shot from a cross. There was a long VAR break for Shamrock on 21 minutes; it took five minutes for a decision to be made, but the decision was no penalty. On 28 minutes, Shamrock retook the lead; a ball forward found Dylan Watts, who headed home. The hosts trailed on aggregate at the break, but shooting towards the vocal south stand boosted their confidence. On 48 minutes, a cross from the right found John McGovern, who finished from close range. Shamrock were in full flow, and they made it 4-1 when Graham Burke scored what looked the goal of the night with a jinking run down the right and a great low finish. Hold my Guinness, said Jack Byrne as he smashed in a shot from 25 yards out on the left into the top corner. There could have been more, but a bad night for the 20 or so Floriana fans was made a bit longer as they were ordered to remain in their seats at the end. Bizarre, as it had been a friendly atmosphere. It was a short walk to the tram stop; we had a nice chat with Tartan Groundhopper on the way back to Dublin, with us getting back to our accommodation at 11.10.

 

THE GROUND

TALLAGHT STADIUM is a good venue that looks a bit larger than its 10,500 capacity. There are four separate stands, all broadly similar, but not identical. From these seats, the legroom and views are both excellent, but it lacks a bit of personality and intimacy. The food appeared to be your standard football fare. There was no bar that I saw, but a good range of merchandise. The same could be said for around the ground. There are a few takeaways plus several shops, but not much in the way of pubs. It is around an hour from Dublin on the very slow red line tram.

Corinthian Casuals - King Georges Field

Corinthian Casuals FC

King George's Field

Queen Mary Close

Hook Rise South

Tolworth

Surrey

KT6 7NA

020 8397 3368

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 289
Tuesday 20th August 2013
Corinthian Casuals 1-2 Guernsey
Isthmian League D1 South

CORINTHIAN CASUALS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1939 as a merger of the amateur clubs Corinthian (founded in 1882) and Casuals (founded in 1883). The new club played a single match before football was suspended due to World War II. After the war, the club took Casuals' place in the Isthmian League. A 5th place finish was a great achievement in 1960. As clubs started paying players by hook or by crook, Corinthian-Casuals' results declined as they remained strictly amateur, as was the ethos of the Isthmian League at the time. Finishes at the bottom of the table were a regular occurrence, and when the league expanded in 1973, the club was relegated to Division 2 after a single season. They remained in the second tier (now renamed Division 1) until 1984, when they left to join the London Spartan League due to tightened groundsharing rules, as they were lodging at Molesey FC at the time.

Corinthian-Casuals were relegated from the Premier Division to the Senior Division in their first season in the LSL but bounced back as champions in 1986. Fortunes were mixed with a bottom-place finish in 1988, but in 1993, they finished as runners-up to Brimsdown Rovers. Season 96/97 was spent in the Combined Counties with a runners-up spot behind Ashford Town (Middx). The club then rejoined the Isthmian League, playing in Division 3. A 5th place finish was a highlight in 2001. In 2002, Corinthian-Casuals were placed in Isthmian D1 South following reorganisation. They reached playoff finals in 2017 (losing to Dorking Wanderers on penalties in the final) and in 2018 (losing to Walton Casuals in the final. Greenwich Borough were their semi-final victims on both occasions, and in the latter season, they were promoted anyway due to a vacancy occurring above. A decent finish of 14th came in 2022, but over the next two seasons, they were relegated twice and remain in the Combined Counties South to this day.

Wycombe Wanderers v Corinthian Casuals games (from Wycombe Wanderers Archive)

Corinthian Casuals first reached the FA Cup 1st Round in 1965, losing 5-1 to Watford. In 1984 they reached the same stage again, drawing 0–0 at home to Bristol City and losing the replay 4–0. In 1956, they reached the FA Amateur Cup Final. After beating St Albans City, Hitchin Town and Dulwich Hamlet, they drew 1-1 with Bishop Auckland at Wembley before losing 4-1 in the replay at Middlesbrough. The following season, they lost in the semis to Wycombe Wanderers. In 2021, they reached the FA Trophy 2nd Round, losing on penalties to Hemel Hempstead Town. In 1984, the club reached the FA Vase 5th Round, losing 4-2 to eventual finalists Stamford. Local cup wins include two Surrey Senior Cups, the Victory Cup in 1967, the Spartan League Cup in 1996, and the Egri Erbstein Tournament in 2019.  The most famous name to play for the club is Alan Pardew, who turned out during the 1983/84 season. 

After their formation, the club played their first match in the grounds of Lambeth Palace, but after World War 2 they played at Kingstonian's Richmond Road ground, which had previously been used by Casuals. However, they left in 1946 and played at numerous other grounds; the Polytechnic Ground in Chiswick (1946–1950), the Oval (1950–1963; the club played at the Vauxhall End of the ground), Dulwich Hamlet's Champion Hill (1963–1968), Tooting & Mitcham United's Sandy Lane (1968–1983), Molesey's Walton Road (1983–1984 and again from 1986 to 1988) and Wimbledon Park Athletics Stadium (1984–1986). In 1988 the club merged with Tolworth and took over their King George's Field, marking the first time the club had owned their own ground. The ground originally had a running track around the pitch, which was later removed. Covered standing was installed behind both goals and a stand built along one side of the pitch, which includes a small section of seating, with the seats coming from Plough Lane, Champion Hill and Havant & Waterlooville's Westleigh Park. The ground currently has a capacity of 2,000, of which 250 are seated.

MY FIRST VISIT

After last night's goal fest and dramatic game in the FA Cup, I was looking forward to getting back into football ASAP. Luckily I had one planned tonight, and it was the nearest one of my targets to visit, though sadly I would have to contend with the charmless M25 to get there. I hadn't been feeling like that after the previous 3 games. Two 1-0 defeats for Wycombe Wanderers had spoilt a good start to the season. The latest one especially was hard to take, a 1-0 defeat at home to Mansfield. Gareth Ainsworth's team selection was baffling for this one, dropping five players that really should have been in the team and replacing them with unfit or unworthy players. It was almost as if he had smoked or drunk something before picking the team, and I knew the moment that I saw the team sheet that we had lost the game. It was easily the daftest starting XI I have seen in 22 years of watching Wycombe Wanderers. However, I still retain 100% support for Ainsworth - a great man who cares a lot about the club and shares the passion of the fans. And prior to this, his decision-making had been pretty much spot on. Together with the Supporters' Trust's excellent work, the club had been reunited and reinvigorated from the utter shambles that it had been under the previous ownership and management. I and every other fan were grateful for this and owe a massive debt of gratitude to the Supporters' Trust members and volunteers who have worked so hard to turn the club around. We are still only partway there, with a long way to go, but the club is back in the hands of the fans, and that is where all clubs should be in my opinion.

The last game of that terrible treble was the boring 0-0 draw between Enfield and London Tigers, which, like last night's game, is covered elsewhere on this site. As well as the game, the traffic was annoying and I was hoping for better tonight. I already had one good thing to look forward to - Alex, a fellow groundhopper, was going to the game, and so at least I'd have someone to chat to if we managed to recognise each other. I left at 6, and despite 25 minutes delay on the M25 around Heathrow, I still arrived in good time at around 7.15. I paid to get in and bought a programme for £2. It was a very well produced effort, in full colour throughout and on good quality paper. I read that and checked Facebook and Twitter on my mobile while waiting for kick-off. As arranged, I met Guernsey fan Alex and stood with their support all night. They had a decent following considering the expense of flights, around 30 on a Tuesday night. Even Alex had come from Birmingham and had to leave at 2 in the afternoon, and wouldn't get home till 12 hours later. Astonishingly for a non-league team, Guernsey stream all their matches live on TV in Guernsey as well as online across the world, including mobile devices. This and highlights are available for just £2.99 a month, and the camera crew and commentary team were out in full force for tonight. Several pubs also stream their games in public, so it looks like the whole island is getting behind the team.





It was a youthful team for Guernsey, with many of their big players rested. The home side probably had slightly the better of the first half with chances falling for both sides But it was Guernsey that took the lead just before the break. Corinthian Casuals keeper Danny Bracken could only parry the initial shot and 'Knock Off' Nigel Hutton was there to give the visitors the lead. The lead was doubled 7 minutes after the restart. Marc McGrath's curling shot looped into the top corner to send the visiting fans into dreamland. The lead was reduced 7 minutes later when Jamie Byatt reduced the arrears. Looking at all the tweets that were coming in on the home team's newsfeed, they have fans all over the world, especially in Brazil, where one of their most famous teams is called Corinthians. They continued to search for an equaliser, even hitting the bar as Guernsey held gamely onto their lead. The visitors could have made it safe in the last few minutes but the striker couldn't get the ball out from under his feet. But it didn't matter in the end, as the Guernsey fans faced a long but happy trip home. I myself had a hassle-free trip home and was back by 10.30. I had enjoyed another night's football, and although it wasn't as good as the previous night's epic game at Binfield, it was still a decent game. Guernsey is another ground I want to visit now, probably as part of a holiday. They get over a thousand fans for every game, and there always seems to be a good atmosphere.

MY SECOND VISIT

1-3 v Merstham, Friendly, 11/7/26

When it was announced that the Ciderdog festival at The Miller near London Bridge was going to be this weekend, I knew that I would have to be in or near London for the day. Initially, the plan was for a Corinthian Casuals or Leatherhead revisit, but then PuffPuff suggested that I visit Rayleigh Town at their own ground as they share with Concord Rangers due to ground grading. This sounded great and would allow me to get in the Wetherspoons at Basildon. Sadly though, as I was coming and going from different stations, the contactless fares were ridiculous, as were train tickets in general. I worked out that with buses and trains and no capping, it would be £50 for trips that were 143 miles by road. Total rip-off. Out of the two revisits, Leatherhead had the more expensive fare; entry to the ground was double the price, and the ciders on offer at Wetherspoons were crappy Lilleys as opposed to Black Dragon. Corinthian Casuals had no Spoons, but entry was a fiver, and they did their own Brazilian-style cocktail which I wanted to try. The more I thought about it, the more I was buzzing for the revisit as it would be a great day out. I put in the work planning on Friday; the best bet seemed the London Bridge area before and after. One match had already fallen at Kings Langley, where it would be 5 degrees less than my game. Global warming is definitely here to stay, it appears..

9

From Ilminster the night before, I came home. I was planning on lying in until 9 after staying up until 3 with a few drinks whilst I did my blog. My body decided that I only needed four hours of sleep and so I woke up at 7.30 and couldn't get back to sleep. I got the 9.30 bus to Amersham station, making the train by a minute. It was a seamless change at Finchley Road to London Bridge. Borough Market was utopia as ever, an excellent prawn Pad Thai and pint Wildings Fieldwork were superb. It was then the main event, ten minutes walk to the Ciderdog festival at The Miller. I bought four tokens. Four excellent halves were had for £8, plus a burger. It was then to Waterloo, where I had a bit of a wait for my platform to Tolworth to be announced. Platform 4 was the destination for Tolworth, then a 20-minute walk, with me getting there at 2.35. Entry was a bargain at a fiver; I got a nice fridge magnet, but the bar was a bit limited, with no sign of the club cocktail.

 

Corinthian Casuals had chances, but it was Merstham who opened the scoring on three minutes, a shot into the top right corner. That was it for scoring for the first period but Corinthian Casuals had chances. It was 0-1 at half-time when I had an excellent Fireball burger. The hosts had more chances in the second half. A ball from out wide was put in, and home was a low finish from within the six-yard box. It was 3-0 on 74 minutes during a good spell for the visitors. Corinthian Casuals pulled one back with a penalty on 82 minutes. That was it as far as goals were concerned; it had not been a bad game considering the heat. From there it was a 17-minute walk to the station, with me not hanging about for the half-hourly service. The Casuals fans were excellent, and the club has a good feeling about it.

THE GROUND - 2013

KING GEORGE'S FIELD is a fairly basic but tidy ground, and pretty much the norm for this level. There is a main stand holding around 150, though the seating is pretty low down; the view is still OK. There is covered terracing behind both goals - around 500 at one end and 250 at the other. The rest of it is open hard standing, with room for around another thousand fans. 

There is a clubhouse with plenty of trophies and other club stuff in, as well as a bar. There is also a tea bar, but I didn't try either of these, so can't vouch for them. The town of Tolworth is nearby, with a train station and various pubs and food places, but again I have not been to any of them.

GROUND UPDATE 2026

Not a huge amount had changed but I reckon the ground would be good enough for step 2. It is well located for the station, the food and merch are excellent, but I was sadly unable to obtain the club cocktail I wanted in the bar. It was not the best selection on draught, but it was a nice bar with lots on display about the club.