A Tralee company is seeking permission to demolish all existing buildings at the former Tralee racecourse.
Ard Rí Marble has applied to Kerry County Council to demolish structures including the landmark stands, to allow future development of the derelict site.
The 100-acre site was sold in 2024 to the Ard-Rí group, owned and run by the Fitzgibbon family, for a price understood to be around €5 million.
Horse racing at the former Ballybeggan racecourse dates back to the late 19th century, with the final August meeting held in 2008.
Prior to becoming a racecourse, the site is recorded to have been a deer park, leased by the younger brother of The Liberator, Daniel O’Connell.
The Ard Rí Group purchased the site in 2024, and announced plans to use the site for warehousing, manufacturing, and potentially housing for its staff.
To do this, the company has now applied for permission to demolish all existing structures on the site.
These include the two landmark stands visible from the Tralee bypass, one of which is said to have been recorded on maps dating back as far as the early 20th century.
Other structures which will have to be demolished include reception rooms, tote kiosks, working entrance building, toilet block, stables, stewards tower, jockey’s facilities, turnstile blocks, officials tower.
The planning application says most of these buildings date back to the 1960s and 70s, with some in conditions of disrepair.
The company notes that in a previous attempt to develop the site in 2009, which included plans for a 15,000-seater stadium, both Kerry County Council and An Bórd Pleanála granted permission for the demolition of all existing structures.
The application writes that the proposed demolition works represent a necessary step in preparing the lands for future development, as the existing buildings associated with the former racecourse no longer serve an operational purpose.
It says the demolition will enable the optimal use of the lands going forward, facilitating their transition from a disused facility to a site with genuine potential for meaningful, considered, and impactful development.
Kerry County Council is due to decide on the application by 22nd January 2026.
