Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick, Ireland. It is the home of Shannon RFC, UL Bohemian RFC and Munster Rugby. The stadium holds a special place in rugby due to its own unique history and atmosphere. It is at Thomond park that Munster celebrated their legendary 12-0 victory over the All Blacks in 1978. The Stadium is famed for its noise during play and the complete silence while home and away players are kicking for goal. It is also very intimidating for visiting teams, as Munster had never been beaten at home during the Heineken Cup since it was first played in 1995. This changed however when Leicester Tigers defeated them in a Heineken Cup match in the group stages on the 20th of January, 2007 with a score of 13-6. For other uses, see Limerick (disambiguation). ... Shannon Rugby Football Club is an amateur rugby union team from Ireland, they hail from Limerick near the banks of the Shannon river. ... AIL Division 1 club from Limerick, affiliated with the University of Limerick. ... Official website www. ... First international  Australia 3 - 22 New Zealand  (15 August 1903) Largest win  New Zealand 145 - 17 Japan  (4 June 1995) Worst defeat  Australia 28 - 7 New Zealand  (28 August 1999) World Cup Appearances 6 (First in 1987) Best result Champions, 1987 The All Blacks are New Zealands national rugby...

Thomond Park has a capacity of about 13,500. In 1999 the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) spent several million pounds on floodlighting, terracing, toilets, medical facilities and a new pitch for the ground. In January 2006, the Munster Branch of the IRFU made offers to buy some adjacent houses for future expansion of the stadium. In March 2006 the IRFU and Munster Rugby announced that Thomond Park was unanimously selected for the site of the branch's new stadium. On 27 May 2006 Munster Rugby unveiled the design for the re-development of the rugby stadium at Thomond Park with work due to start in early 2007. Completion is anticipated in 18 months, for a scheduled re-opening in Autumn, 2008. The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is the body managing rugby union in Ireland. ...

The principal elements of the project will see the erection of two new stands adjacent to the existing main pitch, offering a seating capacity for 15,100 and terrace capacity of 10,530, or 25,630 in all.^[1]

The highest official attendance in Thomond Park came in 1992 when a local derby in the All-Ireland League between clubs Shannon and Garryowen saw 18,000 people cram into the old ground. It has been alleged that unofficial attendances for Heineken Cup home games involving Munster have been higher than this. There is also a tongue-in-cheek suggestion that 100,000 attended the historic defeat of the All Blacks in 1978, a nod to the mythical status the game has ascended to in local folklore. The Heineken Cup sponsored by Heineken (known as the H Cup in France due to alcohol advertising laws) is an annual rugby union competition involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. ... First international  Australia 3 - 22 New Zealand  (15 August 1903) Largest win  New Zealand 145 - 17 Japan  (4 June 1995) Worst defeat  Australia 28 - 7 New Zealand  (28 August 1999) World Cup Appearances 6 (First in 1987) Best result Champions, 1987 The All Blacks are New Zealands national rugby...

As it presently stands Thomond Park consists of two pitches, the main pitch and a training pitch. The main pitch is bounded on all sides by terracing with a stand located above the west terrace. The training pitch is located behind the west stand with the Shannon R.F.C. pavilion located in the southwest corner of the ground. The UL Bohemian R.F.C. pavilion is located within the west stand. Traditionally, the terracing and four sides of the pitch have had local nicknames, however they seem to have increasingly fallen out of local parlance after the redevelopment of the ground in 1998. Shannon Rugby Football Club is an amateur rugby union team from Ireland, they hail from Limerick near the banks of the Shannon river. ... UL Bohemian is an A.I.L. Division 1 rugby club based in Thomond Park, Limerick. ...

Most famous of these is the east terrace which is known amongst fans as the "Popular side", this sits opposite the "Stand side", joining the "City End" (South Terrace) with the "Ballynanty End" (North Terrace). The "Popular side" has gained notoriety in local rugby folklore for the colourful comments that can be heard emanating from local wags and alicadoos in the direction of the pitch, occasionally drawing reaction from players and officials, to the amusement of other attendants. Ballynanty or Ballynanty Beg (Baile Uí Neachtain in Irish) is one of the older neighbourhoods on the north side of Limerick City. ...

See Also

• Stadiums of Ireland

Gaelic sport grounds in Republic of Ireland Solitude – Belfast The Oval – Belfast Windsor Park – Belfast Healy Park – Omagh Gaelic sport grounds in Northern Ireland Category: ...

Notes and references

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Official website
• Description and Gallery
• New design for Thomond Park
• Google Maps Satellite View of Thomond Park