This photo was taken at the Steeplechase for the Metropolitan Plate at Baldoyle Racecourse March 16 1923

Baldoyle Racecourse
For most of the 20th century, Baldoyle was well known for its racecourse, which was one of three in the Dublin metropolitan area. Open land in the village had been an informal venue for horse races in the early nineteenth century, and annual race meetings at the site were proposed in 1842. A new enclosed course was opened in May 1874, which continued in regular use for more than a century, until it was closed in August 1972 due to financial difficulties related to the potential costs of necessary renovations. The following year, on 31 October 1973, one of the most spectacular and audacious escapes from an Irish prison took place when three of the Provisional IRA’s key personnel were airlifted to freedom in a hijacked helicopter from Mountjoy Prison. The helicopter touched down at the disused racecourse where the IRA members escaped in waiting cars.
Baldoyle Racecourse
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