Galway Greyhound Stadium
On College Road, between the railway line and Lough Atalia, a greyhound track wraps around a rugby pitch. The Galway Greyhound Racing Company was formed in 1929, but it was three more years before the first dogs ran, on the evening of 1 July 1932, slightly delayed. Ninety years on the dogs still run at weekends and Connacht play inside the oval, when the ground goes by its old name, the Sportsground.
Checked against the source on 2026-09-19.
Stephenlong89, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Connacht Rugby Gym, Train Station Galway on the 3D model; tap a pin for its page and directions.
1932 and after
The company was set up with 2,000 pounds of capital by eleven directors, Joseph Young, Henry Anderson, Martin Brennan and others, and Eugene Kelly was the first racing manager. After a good first season the track reopened for 1933 with improvements to what was then called the Sports Field. Today Greyhound Racing Ireland runs fixtures through the year, mainly on Friday and Saturday evenings, over 350, 525, 550 and 575 yards, with the Champion Bitch Stake the feature event.
Rugby inside the track
The grass pitch inside the greyhound track is home to Connacht Rugby, and on rugby days the ground is known as the Sportsground for sponsorship. Galway United played here in 1993 while Terryland Park was rebuilt and for a European tie in 1985. The model on this page pins the Connacht Rugby gym on the ground and the station across the lough; the Connacht Rugby guide has the club's history.
Questions people ask
When is greyhound racing in Galway?
Is the Sportsground the same as the greyhound stadium?
When did the Galway greyhound track open?
Written from Wikipedia, "Galway Greyhound Stadium" (CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2026-09-19, and from the OpenStreetMap places on the model. Nothing has been added from memory; follow the source for its footnotes.