More pitches needed for Dublin 15 area, councillors says

Fianna Fáil councillor JK Onwumereh has said that Tyrrelstown United FC need long-term pitch stability.

Speaking at this month’s meeting of the Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart/Castleknock/Ongar area committee, the Fianna Fáil councillor said that the club needs an “anchor tenancy.”

The Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart councillor said he first raised the issue in 2023, but no movement on the issue has happened since then.

Onwumereh’s motion concerned giving more land to the Dublin 15 football club and asked for the Council to make it a “priority” issue.

“There are two clubs that are legally bound to the anchor tenancy structure with Fingal County Council, and the clubs have accepted that, but my motion is looking beyond the anchor tenancy,” he explained.

He said that families and children “need sports” for their overall development, and that the club is important for the well-being of the Dublin 15 area.

“There are over 300 young people with the club, 40 volunteers and 16 teams who are playing week in and week out; the unfortunate thing is that 95% of the applications they make never see the light of day because it is being used by the anchor tenant.”

The Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart councillor said it was costing the club €122 an hour to use the pitches, and he said his motion was aimed at cutting the cost to €60 an hour.

“Insurance has to be paid, and a whole lot of things need to be done to support the club,” he noted.

The crux of Onwumereh’s motion was finding a suitable, long-term location for the club, with the Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart councillor suggesting that the club play on land already owned by the council.

“We need to be looking futuristically, where clubs have their own grounds instead of using temporary facilities in their area,” he said, noting that similar measures happen in the UK.

Onwumereh’s Fianna Fáil colleague, Ongar councillor Tom Kitt, said “there’s quite a few clubs in Dublin 15 that need all-weather pitches; there are older clubs in Dublin 15 than Tyrrelstown,” he noted.

Citing a survey, Kitt noted that up to 15 pitches are needed in the Dublin 15 area in the coming years to meet demand.

“The way forward is all-weather pitches; but the costs are enormous,” he noted.

“It should be looked at in an overall picture; pitches should co-operate with pitches in the area.”

Sinn Féin councillor Angela Donnelly backed Onwumereh’s motion.

The Ongar councillor said, “the first thing that needs to happen with this all-weather pitch is to free up the slots that are being used by Clonee United; to do that, Clonee United need access to their own all-weather pitches.”

“We’ve heard before that all-weather pitches will be prioritised and their need is accepted by the executive; the thing now is to stop talking and to deliver these vital pieces of infrastructure to our communities.”

Solidarity councillor John Burtchaell said “the first step to having Tyrrelstown as the anchor tenant is for Clonee to be allocated.”

“Astroturfs are essential; we’ve just seen the winter we’ve been through, and climate breakdown is going to give us milder, wetter winters, so grass pitches are going to be unplayable for significant portions of the year.”

The Blanchradstown-Mulhuddart councillor remarked that astroturf pitches were once seen as luxuries, and they are now “essentials.”

Fingal County Council’s senior parks and landscape officer, Kevin Halpenny, told the meeting there are a deficiency in pitches in the Dublin 15 area.

“We are conscious of the demand and needs that are in the area,” he stated, and said that the council is rolling out a recreational hub model across Fingal.

“We have plans to address the need through the hub model,” he confirmed.

Halpenny said he has met with Clonee United about the issue, and said the club were interested in being involved in resolving the issue by acting as an anchor tenant.

“We would be very much open to meeting with Tyrrelstown United in relation to their ideas, likewise,” he stated.

Halpenny iterated that the pitches were not operating on a for-profit basis, with the associated costs going towards replacement costs.

“The best way forward will be, perhaps, to facilitate a meeting with the club and to at least mitigate some of their concerns in the short-term,” he said.

Onwumereh said it was “heartening” that the council management were open to meeting with the club to resolve the issue.

“I’m sure they will be happy to hear that Fingal County Council are open to negotiating with them and looking at how they can be accommodated; I’m sure, that for starters, it would really make sense for the club to be paying  €60 instead of the current rate,” he noted.

“What I’m hearing from the managers at Tyrrelstown United right now is frustration and lack of support from Fingal County Council; it would go a long way if we could have that meeting with them and see how best we can support them.”