Dublin People - Football club marks 40th anniversary

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Football club marks 40th anniversary

Wednesday, 20 February 2008

A POPULAR North Dublin football club is marking its 40th anniversary celebrations by unveiling ambitious redevelopment plans.
St Malachy's Football Club in Edenmore has come a long way since it was first established in 1968, and players and management at the club are now hoping that new funding can help take the club forward for the next 40 years.
It already looks like 2008 could become a vintage year for St Malachy's, as at least four of their teams playing in the Dublin District Schoolboys’ League (DDSL) are making strong challenges for their league titles.
Last weekend was also an extremely busy one for the club, which has teams playing right through the DDDSL from under 8s to under 18s.
St Malachy's celebrated its 40th anniversary gala ball last Saturday, while their under 11 and under 13 teams also took to the pitch for massive games in the last 32 of their respective Schools’ Football Association of Ireland (SFAI) cups.
Speaking to Dublin People Sport, John Hobbs, club secretary, revealed that this could certainly be a very significant year for St Malachy's.

"We will also be putting in for funding at the end of the month, which we hope will enable us to completely renovate our clubhouse and develop an all-weather astro turf pitch," said Mr Hobbs.
"Our club is really on the up at the moment, with two of the teams going well in the All-Irelands and there is a good chance that some of them can win their leagues.
"Our under 13B team are top of their division at the moment, as are the under 10s, while the under 17s lie third and our under 11 team, which is the first ever from St Malachy's to make it to the Premier Division, are consolidating their place there.”
Mr Hobbs said he was pleased with such progress and said it was a far cry from when St Malachy's only had four teams playing in the DDSL.
"I have been involved with the club for 10 years now and I can remember when there was a bit of a lull,” he declared.
"That's the way it goes with any area that grows up and moves on, but thankfully, we have been able to attract a large new batch of youngsters to the club since then."
John said the team managers at St Malachy’s are taking their coaching roles seriously and have taken part in a number of FAI courses.
“All of our coaches have at least gone as far as the Kick Start 2 coaching, which is the second of a two-part coaching programme,” he added.
“Our overall aim now is to apply for the grant and get our ambitious plans for the club underway.”

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