Attendance at Shelbourne Park greyhound stadium has fallen by nearly 10,000 in the past year...As more people turn away from greyhound racing, the calls to end public funding grow louder - Read the report in this week's Dublin People newspaper...

Massive drop in attendance at Shelbourne Park
Dublin People, 12 March 2025

Attendance at Shelbourne Park greyhound stadium has fallen by nearly 10,000 in the past year, newly released figures reveal, casting fresh doubt over the future of the sport. The sharp decline at Shelbourne Park, described by Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI) as its "flagship stadium”, saw attendance plummet by 9,950 compared to the previous year. Limerick Stadium, GRI'S headquarters, also saw a steep drop of 3,568 attendees.

Overall, total attendance at 14 of the country's 15 remaining tracks in 2024 (excluding greyhound owners, trainers, and bookmakers) was 266,377 - a significant drop of 24,742 compared to the previous year's figure of 291,119.

Attendance figures were released following a Dáil question from Paul Murphy TD (Solidarity- People Before Profit), and they paint a stark picture for the industry, with eight of the 14 tracks showing significant decreases.

Among them were Youghal (down 4,259), Curraheen Park (down 3,796), and Tralee (down 3,772). Mullingar, Clonmel, and Dundalk also reported notable declines.

Six tracks, however, bucked the trend, showing modest increases in attendance. Enniscorthy saw the biggest rise with 2,255 more attendees, while Thurles and Waterford gained 1,445 and 876 respectively. However, many of these increases were attributed to free promotional tickets and benefit night entries rather than paid attendance.

Indeed, the number of paid attendees across the 14 tracks was even lower at 239,792, with many of the reported figures including children and free entries.

The number of children attending races rose to 17,366 in 2024, raising concerns about their exposure to gambling environments, particularly amid Ireland's growing gambling addiction crisis.

The falling attendance aligns with increasing public awareness of welfare issues in greyhound racing. In 2024, a record- breaking 389 greyhounds were injured at races, and 202 of them were euthanised - the highest death toll on record. These numbers do not include dogs injured at tracks and later put down elsewhere or the thousands killed annually for failing to meet racing standards.

The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has called on Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to stop allocating state funds to the industry, highlighting GRI's declining popularity and what they describe as misleading attendance figures. Since 2001, the industry has received nearly €367 million in public money, with €19 million allocated for 2024 and €19.82 million earmarked for 2025. As more people turn away from greyhound racing, the calls to end public funding grow louder. Whether the government will continue to support the embattled industry remains to be seen.

Thanks to Dublin People for giving coverage to this issue. Visit the Dublin People website at https://dublinpeople.com/

ACTION ALERT

Don’t go greyhound racing. Please join us in urging the government to STOP the massive grants that are propping up this dog-killing gambling activity. Since 2001, Greyhound Racing Ireland has received €366,986,146 in funding, including €18.2 million for 2023, €19 million for 2024 and €19.82 million for 2025. This is unacceptable and must be stopped.

Tell the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein to stop the funding.

Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Tel: 01 619 4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
X: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Simon Harris TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01 281 3727
Email: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
X: http://www.twitter.com/SimonHarrisTD
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DeputySimonHarris

Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
X: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD

Please sign and share the petitions

Ban Greyhound Racing
https://my.uplift.ie/petitions/ban-greyhound-racing-4

GAA: Stop club fundraisers at greyhound tracks
https://www.change.org/p/gaa-stop-club-fundraisers-at-greyhound-tracks

Tell Gain Pet Nutrition to Stop Sponsoring Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/jimtracy-glanbia-ie-tell-gain-pet-nutrition-to-stop-sponsoring-greyhound-racing

Watch RTE’s award-winning “Greyhounds Running For Their Lives” documentary
https://youtu.be/ZYTb2qBjlMM