LONGFORD

...."it's a very sad evening here for all involved in the Longford Greyhound Stadium....it'll be closing forever at the end of the month.....the track was based on the layout of White City, London... it was the safest in the country....opened in 1939.....

...I came here first in September 1967..as a leader or jockey as we were called...be brought the greyhounds to the traps, collected them at the hare pick up, washed them down and gave them a drink....we got five shillings a night ...and the winning owner would give a tip ...about half a crown ..or on the odd occasion ten shillings....

....I had my first greyhound in '69...aged 15...about 8 other lads in the town had one ...now they weren't worth that pen you're writing with...but for us they were everything..

...the greyhound stadium was a huge part of Longford life...Longford Town played here for years...Town leagues were played here.....first Community Games with Harry Farrell involved...local sports.....the Agricultural Show was here.. famous horsemen Eddie Macken, Col Bill Ringrose and Tommy Wade jumped Dundrum here......

...over the years hundreds of thousands of euro were raised for schools, hospitals, churches, Irish Wheelchair Association, Tidy Towns...St Christopher's had their first benefit night here...the door was always open and welcoming....for free or a very small fee....all sorts of local good causes benefited from the Greyhound track.....no one was ever refused....

..in April '69 the bar & Tote were opened...average attendance then was about 500....the people of the town could bet on each of the eight races for two and six pence...so a pound let you bet on every race...then there were 25 people working in the Tote...Seamus Greene, Athlone Rd., and James Farrell of the Magnet shop Dublin St., were the Tote managers...we also had Eileen Farrell, Tommy Fahy, Mel Drumm, Esther Casey, Mrs O Connor& Tom Farrell.....

...also in '69, June, local greyhound Ayrecourt Pride trained by Jim Kane, Shhroid won the Longford Derby....he won £500....before a crowd of 1,000....

...in 1976 there were 13 Bookies on duty...all making money...one of the most famous in the country was local man Willie Padian....he drove a blue Jaguar while the punters came on a bicycle....sometimes two on a bike....

...then in '86 we had the Johnny Rooney Memorial Sweepstake....Johnny died here in the track a few months earlier.....he was Barry Mc Guigan's grandfather....so Barry who was Word Champion at the time presented the trophy...an other massive crowd..

... over the years some great characters involved here ..in Longford..Stephen Reilly, Paddy Jordan, James Farrell, the Malones of Teffia, Paddy Rehill, Gus Halligan, Joe Rawle, Billy Ryan the electrician, Frank Grealy the vet, Christy Brady Richmond St.,...and so many more.....from Shroid area Jim Kane and Pat & Eugene Sullivan, Johnny Yorke, Jodie Kane, Drummy Taylor and from Edgeworthstown Ned the County Reilly, the Mulleadys, Jackie Devine and Johnny Lynn, Ballinalee had Dr Herrity, Ronnie Gilpin, the Rawles,Mel Forde and many etcs......

...famous greyhounds here ? Some great ones started here... 1972 ..Bold Invader won the Longford Derby, the Tipperary Cup and the Kennedy Cup and was successful after as a stud dog...mid 80s Tubbercurry Lad won the Irish Derby...started here...best dog was Persi Princess, owned by PV Fallon and was unbeatable...huge money made from her offspring.....

....originally bookies could only take bets on horses but when the bookies expanded and their shops became more comfy with longer hours...it led to the downturn of attendances here .....

...also our despite no claims...our insurance costs rose by 50 %.......and when the Fire Officer visited and reported...it'd cost €20,000 to meet his standards......two years ago we were in dire straits ....in fairness, the local people and businesses helped out with €32,000....and it was all spent....we simply couldn't go back again and beg again......

...if I could I'd like to thank to thank the people of the town for their great and loyal support...even though some had no connection...they supported us...without their support the track would have closed years ago...local media have also been good to us...Leader and Shannonside.....

...I've been 52 years involved....for 40 of those years we struggled...

...by the way the track is owned by Howard Wallace...bought it about 5 years ago....he wanted €300/week rent at first but when we explained our dire financial situation....he gave it free....so we're forever indebted to him for his outstanding generosity....

...yea, very, very sad now...social outlet for so many....there's 18 counties represented here tonight...best kept & safest track in Ireland......

...yea, there's the odd rogue nationally but here.....it's different....these people here look after their dogs very well....they'd call a vet before a doctor....they feed their dogs before themselves.....

...but Longford Greyhound Stadium is a private set up.....since Bord na gCon pulled out...there's just no future.....it's the end of the road....we'd never have lasted so long without the support of the good people of Longford....but sadly...heartbreaking actually...it's the end of the road....a bit of old Longford has died too .....

...we've reached the end of the track....our final race is run...sad....sad....yea....sad....."

Bunty Dempsey