Shelbourne FC confirms move to Dalymount Park

SHELBOURNE Football Club has come to an agreement with Dublin City Council to relocate to a redeveloped Dalymount Park as co-anchor tenants with Bohemian FC.

Pending the redevelopment of Dalymount, Shelbourne FC will continue to play out of Tolka Park under a new licence granted by the city council. As part of this agreement, Shelbourne FC Ltd, the company which trades as Shelbourne Football Club, has surrendered its interest in Tolka Park to the local authority.

A statement released by the club this morning said the decision to leave Tolka Park was a difficult one for both the directors of Shelbourne FC Ltd and for the board of management.

“It has been our home for almost three decades and during these years the club enjoyed tremendous success there,” said Shelbourne FC chairman Joseph Casey.

He added: “Both the directors and the club’s board of management are united in the view that the time is right to start planning a move to pastures new. Tolka Park is increasingly showing its age and there was no prospect of attracting investment to redevelop.

“The club would like to thank all of its supporters and sponsors who have remained loyal during these protracted and complex negotiations. The supporters’ patience and understanding has been tremendous, particularly given that the negotiations had mainly to be conducted in private with little opportunity for ongoing updates.”

The club also expressed its gratitude to Dublin City Council and in particular to deputy chief executive, Brendan Kenny, for what it described as the professional and understanding manner in which the negotiations were conducted. The supportive role played by the FAI and its chief executive, John Delaney, throughout the negotiations was also acknowledged.

The club paid tribute to the various Dublin city councillors who, urged on by Shelbourne supporters, helped advance the case to be part of the redeveloped Dalymount.

Mr Casey concluded: “Last but by no means least, the club would like to thank its neighbours on Richmond Road and its Drumcondra environs for tolerating the inevitable inconvenience that a football club can on occasion bring to a neighbourhood. Shelbourne FC now looks forward to being part of the steering group which will be established to ensure that the redeveloped Dalymount Park heralds a new dawn for League of Ireland football on the Northside of the Liffey and indeed throughout the country.

“We look forward to working with Bohemian FC and, while remaining foes on the pitch, hope to work tirelessly off it to ensure the project ahead is a success.”

The focus will now shift to Dublin City Council’s future intentions for Tolka Park. While a housing development has been mooted for the site, this is likely to be met with some degree of local opposition due to traffic and planning concerns.

There are also likely to be calls for the grounds to be retained as a sports facility for youth development teams.