FORMER Irish international footballer and Artane-born Keith Andrews paid a visit to local club Baldoyle United recently as part of a competition held by Radio Nova.
The Dublin-based radio station asked listeners to text the name of the club they wanted to win.
The Northside club gathered the most texts and their prize was a visit from Andrews to their grounds.
Baldoyle United PRO David Nutley said he was grateful for the support from everyone who sent a text.
“Thanks to the good people of Baldoyle, we sent in the largest amount of texts so we won and got the chance to host Keith Andrews at our club,” said Mr Nutley. Andrews, who started his trade with Drumcondra’s Stella Maris FC, played in the Barclays Premier League and went on to represent his country 35 times at senior level, and is now a football pundit for TV3. He put three groups of boys and girls, ranging from U-10s to U-18s, from the club, through their paces where he passed on some invaluable advice in a training session that lasted approximately an hour.
Baldoyle United recently won two other major awards: Fingal County Council’s Community Group of the Year and FAI Community Club of the Year, for their contributions to the community.
Speaking about their latest success, Baldoyle United chairman Dermot Penrose said: “It was a fantastic afternoon for us. Keith Andrews passed on some great tips to our developing players and was generous with his time, signing autographs and taking ‘selfies’ afterwards.”
Ahead of next season, 2016/17, Baldoyle United is currently holding open training sessions for new players, both boys and girls, from aged seven to over 35s. Visit www.baldoyleunited.com, ‘Baldoyle UTD’ on Facebook, or email:baldoyleunited@yahoo.ie for more details.
REPORT: Brein McGinn
