Pictured: Ringsend Rovers, by Tony Faulkner.
Ringsend Park and astro pitch are a magnet for talented soccer players and with its recent improvement with an on-pitch spectator zone and bike racks, the area’s sporting attraction is only going to increase.
It’s an ideal location to attract players from all over the Dublin 4 area and even beyond, and it’s no wonder that the teams who train and play here have reached such heights in their respective leagues.
A team who have recently benefitted from this constant influx of talent is Ringsend Rovers. The team broke up after the 2014/15 season in the highest Major Saturday division in the Leinster Senior League (LSL) due to irreconcilable differences between the players and the manager, which resulted in the resignation of the manager and several players leaving for other clubs.
The club had the foresight to pull the team from registration for the next season to avoid a two-year suspension from the league and have entered this year with a squad of 23, some players returning, with some new faces as well.
The team were placed in the Major Saturday 1B division when they returned to the LSL and now have a new manager. The team are now sponsored by Iannelli’s take-away who won the spot-the-ball competition the club had offered to local businesses with the opportunity of being the team’s shirt sponsor.
Continuing on from their previous season of highest scoring team in their league, sitting mid-table in the highest league in the LSL, Senior Sunday, are St. Patrick’s CYFC. St. Patricks also have another team in the Major 1 Saturday division.
Pictured: St. Patricks CY, by David Nolan.
NewsFour spoke with David Nolan, secretary for St. Patrick’s CYFC on their prolific scoring record last season: “Up until the last seven games it was our midfielder, Andy Doolin, but due to our goalkeepers getting injured, Andy went in goal for the rest of the season, with centre-forward Jason Doyle just beating him for top scorer by the end of the season,” he said.
Hopes are high with St. Patrick’s especially when you have a former League of Ireland Player of the Year recipient behind the wheel recruiting players, such as local lad David Cassidy.
Cassidy has had a very successful League of Ireland career, winning first division titles with Dundalk FC and Shamrock Rovers and recently playing for Athlone Town. Their Senior Sunday team is managed by Stephen Geoghegan, a recipient of both a Professional Footballer’s Association of Ireland player of the year award and the FAI National League player of the year for his 1993/94 season with Shamrock Rovers, when they won the Premier Division title.
The movement of players from one Ringsend-based team to another in a higher league or a team that plays on a different day is a common occurrence in the area and teams have to adapt. Bridge United recently suffered such a blow, and according to committee member of Bridge Utd Tony ‘Deke’ McDonald they had to withdraw from the Athletic Union League premier division to have a better chance in the First Division. “ Each year every team gets a slice of cake, and this season we didn’t get a big share, but we will build again” said Tony.
Pictured: Bridge United, courtesy of Deke McDonald.
The team train on the all-weather pitch at Ringsend Park and are hoping to improve the facilities at their clubhouse, which is located at the foot of the park. According to Tony their application for a grant was denied, but they will apply again.
By Paul Carton
