The home of Irish Football is secure

Comparing it to Wembley in terms of the prestige and honour it held for Irish footballers, it was quite fitting and appropriate that the new faces of the Bohemians board made sure Honorary Life President and former international player Tony O’Connell was part of the assembled cast that briefed the media in Dalymount on Monday as a new era for Irish Football enfolded.

On Friday the 3^rd of July over 300 hundred Bohemian club members were part of a meeting whom voted in favour of the club selling their Dalymount Stadium to Dublin City Council for redevelopment.  With debts roughly given at over 6 million euro, it was only one member who voted against the proposed deal with DDC that will see the famous stadium in Phibsboro become a hub for sports and community facilities in the area, with Bohemian FC as the anchor tenant.

The deal which will be run by Cormac Healy as the Project Manager for DCC, has being received with great optimism by current Bohemian President Matt Devaney and Club Director Daniel Lambert.  With a few day to day creditors, as per normal, Bohemian FC is practically debt free as of this landmark deal that was passed over the weekend

The deal of course has the full backing and support of the Football Association of Ireland, with the FAI’s very own League Director Fran Gavin in attendance, alongside TD Joe Costello and of course Honorary Life President Tony O’Connell.

The six men spoke of the history of Dalymount ground and their own personal memories of it. The famous playing surface has featured such celebrated players as Liam Brady, Johnny Giles, Paolo Rossi, Zinedine Zidane and World Cup winner Bobby Moore, whom O’Connell played against three years before Moore lifted the World Cup for England. It was O’Connell himself who seemed suited to draw on the grounds most magical moments.

Talking with a great spirit he also reflected on seeing the Busby Babes feature against Shamrock Rovers, with Duncan Edwards and our very own Liam Whelan thrilling the crowd of over 40.000. O’Connell also pointed out that crowds in excess of 20,000 were often the norm even for junior football finals. There is perhaps something further fitting about the fact that the Liam Whelan Bridge (named after the Cabra native) on the Northside of the city is closed as the Luas Line will be extended within touching distance of the redeveloped Dalymount Park in the coming years. 

Aside from football, Dalymount Park has hosted its fair share of boxing bouts down through the years as Barry McGuigan famously fought in the ring there. The stadium has also played host to musical gigs with a certain Bob Marley wowing an Irish crowd in 1980 and our very own rock god Phil Lynnot played to a crowd with his band Thin Lizzy, charging a mere £4.75 on the gate.

The term community is coined numerous times throughout but the question is raised about wheatear is say’s something about Irish Football in general that a club as old as Bohemian is still trying to engage with the community and get it involved in the local club. Devaney and Lambert take it is a fair criticism, but stress they are trying to fix some of the old problems and attitudes.

“It is an area we have neglected over the years. We recognise we weren’t doing enough. But the tide is turning in that regard.”

Lambert also talked about past mistakes with great openness and honesty.

“Money was thrown about in the crazy years (the Celtic Tiger) and it did have an impact on the thought process, but there is great universal support behind us now.” 

Lambert was also keen to stress how the club have engaged with local and active rights communities. If you do enjoy Friday night football in Dalymount you can’t help but notice the various impressive murals the club have sanctioned in and around the stadium, the depict equal rights and anti-racism campaigns, all endorsed by the club. The club also have an in-house poet by the name of Lewis Kenny, with the Northside Dub taking on a fresh contemporary approach to life for Northside suburbs, the local communities and Bohemian FC. To quote a line from one of his poems that featured on Soccer Republic, just to give us a taste.

“A club is losing your head, while all others keep theirs around you.”

That is certainly not how Rudyard Kipling penned it.

With their Twitter handle also brandishing the colours of the rainbow in recent recognition of gay rights, the club is certainly engaging with the community under the stewardship of Devaney and Lambert in a manner is hasn’t done for a long time. Bohemians were fortunate enough to receive a terrific endorsement, well one that was extended to the whole league, when the internet channel Capo90 filmed at Dalymount for the recent Bohs & Rovers derby. With presenter Eliav Mengem completely blown away by the raw passion, he for one encouraged Irish people to give the league a chance and get down to your local stadium at the weekend.

So although no official plans are drawn up for the redeveloped stadium as yet, anchor tenants Bohemian will have a major influence in its construction. There are also exciting plans for a national football museum, that would have potential ties in with the local Glasnevin Museum and as Lambert pointed out, another reason for the tours buses to travel into the heart of the Northside, following the recent routes that take tour buses up to Croke Park and of course Glasnevin Museum and Cemetery.

DCC manager Healy did note that.

“Its early days still and it’s still an opening play pitch. So do watch this space.”  

Healy’s words would suggest there is still time and space for fellow Northsiders Shelbourne Football Club to get involved with the project and share it with Bohemians. Ground sharing is done between the major clubs in Rome & Milan, while Bayern Munchen shares The Allianz Areana with TSV 1860 Muchen.

It was O’Connell the proud Bohemian that finished with,

“It’s great to have this stadium on the Northside of the city, and I just want to say that Shelbourne FC is welcome here any time they want to come. As far as I am concerned with need two clubs on the Northside.

We so much more to do before this project is truly up and running, there will be no doubt a few more turns and twists in this latest Irish Football chapter. For this to work for Bohemians and possibly Shelbourne, a redeveloped stadium would have to reflect both clubs traditions, history and place in their own communities.

But Kenny could be talking about any of our clubs when he says

“A club is not a bar stool luxury, or the comforts in home surround sound sitting room atmosphere. A Club is not a matter of life or death; I can assure you it is much more important than that. A club is the local game, the focal game.”

For the ones that do go, we do know this much to be true and for sure the only guarantee.