Stadium of legend

With the launch of the new Aviva Stadium, the attention of sports lovers has been firmly focused on Lansdowne Road in Dublin. So perfect timing then for a new book on the original stadium, which holds a romantic draw for all generations.

Lansdowne Road: The Stadium; the Matches; the Greatest Days by Gerard Siggins and Malachy Clerkin (O’Brien Press, €17.99) is an engaging look at the history of the beloved sports grounds, which stood on the site from 1873 until it was demolished in 2006. With an impressive array of illustrations and photographs, amassed over the years by Siggins, the book is a fond look back at the life that once pulsed through the stadium. Lansdowne’s history heaves with stories and trivia going back almost to the Famine (the image below is from April 1920 and shows action from France’s 15-7 victory). From its original incarnation as an athletics club to its use as a venue for everything from live pigeon shooting, baseball and American football to croquet and lacrosse, it has hosted everyone from Ollie Campbell to Roy Keane and Frank Sinatra through the years. All the comedy and tragedy of generations of handed-down stories are in this book.