Then and Now

The History of the Pavilion and Pavilion Bar

1885 - 2024

Until 1885 accommodation for players in College Park was provided by a tent, with primitive arrangements for washing and for providing refreshments for visiting teams. The erection of a permanent Pavilion in College Park came about in a curious way. The College Races were inaugurated on the 28 February 1857 as “Dublin University Football Club Foot-Races”. Within a few years Dublin University Foot Races and Sports became one of the premier social sporting occasion in Dublin, attended by the Lord Lieutenant and his entourage. The organization fell to the University Foot Races Committee. With the foundation of Dublin University Athletic Club on the 6 March 1872, control of College Races fell under its aegis. The races became a two-day event from 1866 to 1878. At their zenith in the 1870’s College Races attracted up to 40,000 spectators over the two-day programme.