Injunction sought to reopen stadium at Harold’s Cross

A director of the recently closed Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium is to seek an injunction to have the stadium reopened.

Alan Redmond told the Sunday Independent he would argue that proper governance procedures were not followed because there was no board meeting giving directors a chance to vote on the closure.

Redmond, one of four independent directors on the board of the company behind the stadium, acknowledged that Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) representatives would have had enough votes to approve the closure.

He said he was receiving legal advice before making a formal application.

“Harold’s Cross is there for 89 years, and hopefully we’ll keep it open for another 89 years,” Redmond said.

The controversial decision to close the stadium was announced in February, with the IGB saying it needed to sell the land to tackle its legacy debts.

Pickets are being organised four nights a week at Shelbourne Park, where Dublin greyhound racing has been concentrated after the closure of Harold’s Cross.

“The decision to cease racing at Harold’s Cross was made by the board of IGB and the decision to do so was within its remit,” an IGB spokesman said.

Redmond said security staff had blocked him from entering the stadium after the closure, saying he was not on an approved list of entrants.

The IGB spokesman said there had been no conscious attempt to lock out the independent directors, and that security personnel were working from a list of contractors and staff who were to be let in to carry out work.