What have Thin Lizzy, ZZ Top, The Kinks, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Billy Joel, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Michael Jackson, Radiohead, Tina Turner, Guns N’ Roses, George Michael, Neil Young, Rod Stewart, Snoop Dogg, Kings of Leon, The Foo Fighters, WWE luminaries Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Kurt Angle, Rey Mysteri, and the Leinster rugby team got in common?
The short answer is that they have all been headline acts at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS), a venue that will undergo another facelift with construction due to commence in August. On Friday night, Leinster will play their final game before the redevelopment against Connacht (7.35pm).
It’s also housed other marquee music events, the Eurovision song contest on two occasions – 1981 won by Bucks Fizz and seven years later by Celine Dion – in the Simmonscourt pavilion and the Self Aid gig (1986), promoted by Jim Aitken, the purpose of which was to highlight Ireland’s chronic unemployment problem with 250,000 out of work.
The 14-hour concert, in which artists gave their time free, included a tribute to Phil Lynott who had died four months earlier; his former bandmates in Thin Lizzy performed with Gary Moore on vocals. Christy Moore and Paul Doran co-wrote the song Let’s Make it Work for the finale.
It’s been an iconic Dublin sporting venue. Shamrock Rovers made it their home following the sale of Milltown and played there for six years starting in the 1989-1990 season, including the league title winning season of ‘93-’94 under Ray Treacy.
The RDS has hosted a couple of FAI Cup finals and friendly internationals in which the Republic of Ireland played Wales, Paraguay, and Algeria. The extended grounds of the RDS have also hosted the Bolshoi Ballet, a Davis Cup tie between Ireland and a John McEnroe led USA team and the Irish Poker Open.
The RDS staged a rugby Test between Ireland and Fiji in 2009 while the old Lansdowne Road was being redeveloped. Its primary function since the Ballsbridge grounds were acquired in 1879 was as a showjumping arena, home to the world-renowned Dublin Horse Show. Once this year’s iteration has been completed in August, work will begin on the €50 million redevelopment.
The Anglesea stand and terrace, built in the 1930s, will be demolished to be replaced by a new three-tiered construction that will house 6,775 and a two-storey hospitality building with the overall capacity of the venue for rugby matches increasing from 18,500 to about 21,500.
It follows on from the work done in 2008 when a roof was built over the grandstand while the addition of the North and South stands - they are removed during the Horse Show – provided added capacity. In October 2022, Leinster signed a new 25-year lease to play their home games at the RDS.
Irrespective of the result against Connacht, Leinster will host a URC quarter-final the following weekend at the Aviva Stadium, where they will play the majority of their home matches next season while they will also use Croke Park for a European match or two.
Memorable Rugby Matches At The RDS
January 12th, 2019: Leinster 29 Toulouse 13
Toulouse, unbeaten, made the trip to the RDS having squeezed past Leinster 28-27 at home in an earlier pool match. Inspired by a man of the match performance from centre Garry Ringrose, the home side turned the tables.
In a correlation to last weekend’s Champions Cup final, three players started that day from the respective run-on teams in London, Jordan Larmour, Ross Byrne, and Tadhg Furlong from Leinster while Toulouse’s trio were Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont, and Francois Cros; a host of others who played in the Tottenham Hotspur stadium were among the replacements that January afternoon.
Leinster led 10-6 at the interval thanks to a try from Jack Conan and with the wind in their sails post interval added tries from Dave Kearney, Sean Cronin, and Adam Byrne for a bonus point win. There is an added poignant link between past and present as Rhys Ruddock, who retires from rugby after Friday’s match, and Ross Molony, joining Bath this summer, played in that Toulouse match.
May 17th, 2013: Leinster 34 Stade Français 13
Joe Schmidt’s Leinster won a fourth European Trophy in five years, this time the Amlin Challenge Cup. The French visitors might have fancied their chances when apprised of the fact that the home side would be without the injured Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy. Current head coach Leo Cullen and the outgoing backs coach Andrew Goodman, who joins Ireland in the summer, were on the bench that day.
The Parisian club, led by Sergio Parisse, dominated possession but Leinster were on top on the scoreboard thanks to tries from Ian Madigan, Sean Cronin and Rob Kearney, all converted by man-of-the-match Johnny Sexton to give the home side a 21-6 half-time lead.
Sexton added a couple of penalties before Cian Healy, a replacement alongside Richardt Strauss, Cullen, Goodman, Shane Jennings, and Jamie Hagan, all introduced around the hour mark, crashed over for the final try of the game. Leinster returned to the RDS the following week to beat Ulster 24-18 in the Pro12 Grand Final.
April 9th, 2010: Leinster 29 Clermont Auvergne 28
To say that Clermont Auvergne should have won is a gross understatement, when considering that their Australian outhalf Brock James missed five kicks at goal and three drop goal attempts. Leinster were handed a get-out-of-jail free card that enabled them to somehow progress to a Heineken Cup semi-final.
French wing Julien Malzieu grabbed a hat-trick of tries while Leinster and Ireland number eight Jamie Heaslip replied with a brace for the home side. The difference was the place-kicking, Johnny Sexton knocking over seven from seven attempts before a capacity crowd.
Heaslip admitted in the aftermath: “We dug deep and got momentum at key stages in the game. We’re happy with the win but we know that there’s a lot of work still to be done. In this competition sometimes you need a bit of luck. I’m sure it was a great game to watch, but it was nervous enough to play in.”
Saturday, November 21st, 2009: Ireland 41 Fiji 6
It was a day of landmarks, the first Test match to be played at the Dublin venue, and also the occasion of first caps for Johnny Sexton, Sean Cronin, and Sean O’Brien. Lansdowne Road was in the process of being redeveloped into the Aviva Stadium, so this November international moved half a mile down the road.
Declan Kidney’s Ireland team, who had won a Six Nations Grand Slam earlier that year, was dominant on a night when Sexton celebrated his debut by kicking seven from seven attempts to defy the squally conditions and win the man-of-the-match award.
Keith Earls, the Munster outlier in an all-Leinster backline, scored a brace of tries, Brian O’Driscoll, Rob Kearney and Shane Horgan also crossed the Fiji line. O’Brien replaced Denis Leamy early in the second half to earn his first cap while Cronin had to wait until seven minutes from time when called upon as Jerry Flannery was withdrawn.
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