Arts Council urged to remove listing for greyhound racing

There are renewed calls on the Arts Council to remove greyhound racing from its Culture Night website.

Further to appeals earlier this month, a listing for Shelbourne Park stadium was removed from the site but it is now back on display. The page encourages members of the public to "celebrate Culture Night at Shelbourne Park".

In an appeal to Culture Night and the Arts Council, the Irish Council Against Bloodsports pointed out that greyhound racing is cruelty, not culture.

"Shelbourne Park is one of the worst tracks in Ireland for greyhound injuries and deaths," we stated. "At least 394 greyhounds suffered injuries there and 119 were killed over the past 11 years alone, Greyhound Racing Ireland statistics show. This includes 39 injuries and 15 deaths last year and 16 injuries and 5 deaths so far this year. Please show compassion and join the many companies, clubs and charities which have rejected greyhound racing."

The Arts Council was told that among the victims at Shelbourne Park were a greyhound who died at the track after suffering a “severe fracture of the neck”, another who collapsed and died with a “haemorrhage into the abdomen from a rupture of the aorta”, a greyhound who died of a heart attack after a race and another who was carried away bleeding with a leg bone “popped out”.

At races around Ireland since 2014, at least 4,191 greyhounds suffered injuries and 1,682 were killed. The Greyhound Racing Ireland figures do not include the greyhounds injured at tracks and later killed elsewhere, or the thousands of greyhounds who are killed every year because they are not fast enough to win races.

The full horrors of greyhound racing were exposed in the award-winning “RTE Investigates: Greyhounds running for their lives” documentary. This revealed that thousands of greyhounds are killed behind the scenes every year simply because they are not fast enough. It included disturbing footage of dogs being delivered to a knackery where they were shot in the head and dumped in a skip. One shot dog was seen writhing on the ground in agony as his merciless owner drove away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM

The programme featured a damning report which Greyhound Racing Ireland attempted to hide. This showed that around 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year because they don’t make the grade. The report estimated that, for example, a total of 17,962 greyhounds were culled in 2013, 2014 and 2015. They were killed for “failure to produce qualifying times”, “failure to produce desired entry level times” and for an “unacceptable decline in performance”.

In a recent “Gone to the Dogs” report on RTE's Prime Time (31 March 2026), the CEO of Greyhound Racing Ireland admitted that thousands of greyhounds continue to be killed in Ireland every year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt-OzDlyPik

Greyhound racing is responsible for so much suffering and death that many of the biggest animal welfare charities in Ireland, the US and the UK are calling for it to be ended. They include the RSPCA, Dogs Trust UK, Blue Cross, GREY2K USA, the League Against Cruel Sports and Scottish SPCA. Here in the Ireland, Dogs Trust has announced that it wants to see greyhound racing ended as soon as possible. The NSPCA also wants it ended and has highlighted "the appalling animal welfare and export issues linked with the greyhound industry" and raised concerns about "the welfare of greyhounds and that includes before, during and after their racing lives".

ACTION ALERT

Please contact the Arts Council and Culture Night and urge them to show compassion for the many dogs who suffer and die and remove greyhound racing from its website.

Email: info@culturenightdublin.ie, info@culturenight.ie, reception@artscouncil.ie, appealsandcomplaints@artscouncil.ie
  
Telephone The Arts Council: 01 6180200 or 01 6180243

Don’t go greyhound racing. Tell the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein to stop supporting funding to greyhound racing and back a ban on this dog-killing gambling activity.

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
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DeputySimonHarris
X: http://www.twitter.com/SimonHarrisTD

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

SEE ALSO

89 greyhounds killed at races in first 7 months of 2026
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1377244911214774&set=a.603523135253626

197 greyhounds killed at races in 2025
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2026/02/06/197-greyhounds-killed-at-races-in-2025/

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