Carlisle Grounds

{{Short description|Football stadium in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}

{{Use Hiberno-English|date=November 2020}}

{{Infobox venue

| stadium_name = Carlisle Grounds

| image = Carlisle Stand.jpg

| image_size = 300px

| fullname =

| nickname =

| built = 1862

| opened =

| seating_capacity = 3,200{{cite web |title=Bray Wanderers: 'There's no plan to move from our stadium, but it has to be fixed' |url=https://www.the42.ie/bray-wanderers-carlisle-grounds-upgrade-needed-3257531-Feb2017/ |website=the42 |access-date=28 April 2021}}

|publictransit = Bray Daly railway station

| tenants = Bray Wanderers A.F.C.
Ireland national rugby league team (2015–present)

| dimensions = 113 x 70 yards

}}

The Carlisle Grounds is a football stadium in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. Situated directly behind the Bray D.A.R.T. station, it is home to Bray Wanderers A.F.C.

History

The Carlisle Grounds can claim to be the Football Association of Ireland ground with the longest history as a sports venue. Opened in 1862 as the Bray Athletic Ground, it was renamed the Carlisle Cricket and Archery Ground later that year, in honour of the 7th Earl of Carlisle who performed the opening ceremony as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Later it was shortened to the Carlisle Grounds.

A new stand seating 985 was constructed in 2006 bringing the seating capacity of the ground up to about 2,000. The League of Ireland side Transport F.C. played at the Carlisle Grounds from 1948-1951 before moving to Harold's Cross Stadium. In July 2009 a section of the wall around the pitch collapsed after Shamrock Rovers fans rushed down to the wall to celebrate a goal.[http://www.airtricityleague.ie/index.php/matchzone/premier-division/match-reports/127-series-19/920-bray-wanderers-v-shamrock-rovers?format=pdf]{{dead link|date=November 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} The following year another section of the wall fell as a result of fans rushing forward, this time while hosting their league promotion playoff against Monaghan United, prompting an FAI investigation.{{cite web |url=https://www.extratime.com/fixtures/detail/12419/2/ |accessdate=5 December 2021 |title=Bray Wanderers 1–1 Monaghan United (7-6 on penalties) | website=Extratime.com | date=November 9, 2010 | author=DAIRE WALSH }} The Carlisle Grounds hosted a 2011 UEFA Regions' Cup match. The Carlisle Grounds also hosted two match's in the 2015 UEFA Regions' Cup.

Rugby League

Ireland played against Belgium in an international friendly on Sunday 12 July 2015 winning the match 34–0.{{Cite web|title=Bray Wanderers 1–1 Monaghan United (7-6 on penalties)|url=http://www.extratime.com/matches/detail/12419/2/|access-date=2021-07-28|website=ExtraTime.com|language=en}} 7 November 2015 saw the Carlisle Grounds host the match between Ireland and Wales as part of the 2015 European Cup.

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;text-align: center;"
colspan=6| International Rugby League Matches
Date

! Home

! Score

! Opponent

! Competition

! Attendance

12 July 2015{{rl|IRE}}34–0{{rl|BEL}}Test match{{cite web |title=Ireland vs. Belgium |url=https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/dates/12-july-2015/ireland-vs-belgium.html |website=Rugby League Project |access-date=26 May 2021}}
7 November 2015{{rl|IRE}}4–30{{rl|WAL}}2015 European Championship1,405{{cite web |title=Ireland vs. Wales |url=https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/dates/7-november-2015/ireland-vs-wales.html |website=Rugby League Project |access-date=26 May 2021}}
8 October 2016{{rl|IRE}}58–10{{Rl|Malta}}Test Match{{cite web |title=Ireland vs. Malta |url=https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/dates/8-october-2016/ireland-vs-malta.html |website=Rugby League Project |access-date=26 May 2021}}
16 October 2016{{rl|IRE}}16–68{{Rl|JAM}}Test Match{{cite web |title=Ireland vs. Jamaica |url=https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/dates/16-october-2016/ireland-vs-jamaica.html |website=Rugby League Project |access-date=26 May 2021}}
30 October 2016{{rl|IRE}}70–16{{Rl|RUS}}2017 RLWC qualifying867{{cite web |title=Round 2 |url=https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/2017-rlwc-group-b-qualifying-tour-2016/round-2/ireland-vs-russia/summary.html |website=Rugby League Project |access-date=26 May 2021}}

Future redevelopment

In October 2009, details were released of a planned large scale redevelopment of the ground.[http://www.braypeople.ie/news/seagulls-soar-with-euro5m-plan-1890879.html braypeople.ie] This would involve a new stadium being built on the site as well as a major retailer moving in. A scale model of the redevelopment was displayed on the club's website around this time.{{Cite web |url=http://braywanderers.ie/index.php?eID=tx_cms_showpic&file=uploads%2Fpics%2FCarlisle_development.jpg&width=800m&height=600m&bodyTag=%3Cbody%20bgcolor%3D%22black%22%3E&wrap=%3Ca%20href%3D%22javascript%3Aclose%28%29%3B%22%3E%20%7C%20%3C%2Fa%3E&md5=6b99ce608a2be75972c3d53b9cd79df7 |title=braywanderers.ie |access-date=17 October 2009 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721122324/http://braywanderers.ie/index.php?eID=tx_cms_showpic&file=uploads%2Fpics%2FCarlisle_development.jpg&width=800m&height=600m&bodyTag=%3Cbody%20bgcolor=%22black%22%3E&wrap=%3Ca%20href=%22javascript:close()%3B%22%3E%20%7C%20%3C%2Fa%3E&md5=6b99ce608a2be75972c3d53b9cd79df7 |url-status=dead }}

Bibliography

  • {{cite book|last=Kennedy|first=Brian|title=Just Follow the Floodlights!|publisher=The Liffey Press|year=2011|isbn=978-1-908308-03-0}}

References

{{reflist}}