Inchicore Football Club scores new all-weather pitch

Gabija Gataveckaite

INCHICORE Athletic FC rang in the New Year with their first competitive fixture in its brand new, all-weather pitch in Bluebell.

The newly renovated Bernard Curtis Park now features a 3G floodlight astro-pitch and saw its first game take place on January 4, when Inchicore Athletic FC celebrated a 2-0 victory over Fairview CY. 

“We’re delighted and it’s a massive boost to the area,” said Finbarr Dolan, PRO of Inchicore Athletic FC. 

“It’s a marker for the community that Dublin City Council is serious about the rejuvenation of Bluebell,” he added. 

The pitch came to fruition as part of a rejuvenation plan for Bluebell by the council and works began in the summer of 2018.

Inchicore Athletic FC will share the pitch with AFC Belgrave Schoolboy Club and The Cottage Celtic.

AFC Belgrave Schoolboys Club caters for boys, Inchicore Athletic FC provides for adult males and The Cottage Celtic hosts players aged 35 onwards. 

“There was no previous formal connection between the three clubs, but when the pitch was built we formed an alliance for fair use,” Mr Dolan added. 

“Our ambitions are that young boys can start with the Schoolboy Club, then move on to Inchicore and then to The Cottage, so they don’t have to go outside Bluebell to be part of a team,” he added.

The first ever goal on the pitch was scored by John Byrne, playing for Inchicore. 

The club played in the original Brendan Curtis Park, bordered by Grand Canal and Naas Road, for 35 years but in July, the council asked the club to move temporarily so that the new pitch could be built. 

“We’re extremely grateful to Brendan Kenny  of the council who is steering the rejuvenation project,” Mr Dolan said. “This will show just what a community pitch can do for the area.

“The three clubs are absolutely thrilled with the new pitch.”

Currently, the Inchicore club has 40 players and a committee of 10.

AFC’s Belgrave Schoolboys Club has 24 members and a committee of seven, and this is expected to grow as the new pitch attracts new players.

Inchicore has begun to place players in coaching courses in the hopes that they can provide additional coaches to meet the demand. 

“We expect all kids in Bluebell to play for their local club,” Mr Dolan added.

“We have a lot of young men in the area – 200 to 250 people – who will look after the pitches. People in the community just won’t stand by looking at the pitch, but they will make full use and look after it.

“We have a huge amount of pride in the area,” he added.

With the excitement of the new pitch, the club hopes to see more girls coming along and joining too.

“It’s not only football for young boys but girls also,” Mr Dolan explained. “Our Lady of the Wayside NS will also use the pitch.”

The club has two teams, an intermediate Division 1A team and a Division Major 1B team, both of which train twice a week and play in the Leinster Senior League.