Earliest meeting: Tuesday 21st March 1899
Final meeting: Monday 1st May 1922
The county Limerick village of Croom, on the River Maigue, is located 5 miles south east of Adare and is the home of the Islanmore Stud which was originally an 18th century house built for the Earl of Dunraven. In the middle of the 19th century the villagers enjoyed their racing at the Banogue Hunt meetings, but at the very end of the century, and into the early part of the 20th century, Croom races held greater importance. The course, on the outskirts of the village, offered a programme of hurdle races over 2 miles and steeplechases over 3 miles and one of the early noteworthy steeplechase meetings was held on Tuesday 21st March 1899. Meetings continued on a regular basis, including during World War I.  At the meeting on Thursday 15th November 1917, a half-holiday in Southern Ireland, the opening Croom Plate went to the even money favourite Palmer’s Hill; the Tory Hill Plate was won by Mr J J Manning’s Treaty Stone; the Toureen Plate to Heartless Maud and the Alston Plate to Submarine. The final meeting took place on Monday 1st May 1922.

Thursday 15th November 1917
Croom Hurdle Plate over 1 ½ miles
1. Palmer’s Hill, 6 year old owned by Mr John Kelly
2. Recuerdo, 4 year old owned by Mr T D Sinnott
3. Oriella, 6 year old owned by Mr B Kirby
Betting: Evens Plamer’s Hill, 4/1 Waving Queen, 6/1 Oriella, 10/1 Recuerdo

Much of the information about this course has been found using internet research and is in the public domain. However, useful research sources have been:-

London Illustrated News

Racing Illustrated 1895-1899

The Sporting & Dramatic Illustrated

Northern Turf History Volumes 1-4 by J.Fairfax-Blakeborough

The Sporting Magazine

A Long Time Gone by Chris Pitt first published in 1996 ISBN 0 900599 89 8

Racing Calendars which were first published in 1727

ISBN 978-0-9957632-0-3

652 pages

774 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-1-0

352 pages

400 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-2-7

180 pages

140 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-3-4

264 pages

235 former courses