Writes Ciaran Dineen
50 Years on from its official foundation, Carrigaline United AFC recently celebrated an historic occasion to mark a half century of memories both on and off the pitch. In that time the club has transformed in all aspects and while the next 50 years will inevitably bring more change, one thing that will always be a constant are the “core principles” that form the bedrock of the club.
That is according to Club Chairman and all-round legend of both Carrigaline United AFC and Carrigaline community, Willie Walsh, who recently sat down with the Carrigdhoun Newspaper to discuss the trials and tribulations over the past 50 years. As Willie took one of about 100 keys off his chain to open the door to the clubhouse, it’s hard not to talk about the changes of the past 50 years without first beginning with the new bar that greets you as you walk through the door. In a way it is a microcosm of how things have evolved since the club formed way back in 1972 and the new setup was the perfect place to celebrate November’s Dinner Dance, organised to mark the club’s 50th Anniversary.
Willie suggests that there is actually a number of clubs who are likely to be celebrating 50th anniversaries and that this is by no means a coincidence. He explains that prior to 1971 a ban had been imposed by the GAA, which threatened any soccer players with expulsion from Gaelic games should they be found to be playing the ‘foreign sport’. Recalling the time, the Chairman remembers that team photos from games that would take place in the likes of Turner’s Cross would show a mixture of heads looking towards the camera and those looking down, with the latter doing their best to avoid detection from the Skibbereen Eagles in local GAA circles.
Fortunately, the ban was lifted and it did not take much time for players who had been playing outside of Carrigaline to come together and help establish the club in 1972. The club’s first ever game was on Church Road where there were four pitches, with each team playing on the pitch that corresponded to their division, creating its own hierarchy. Another former ground was much closer to Carrigaline village, formerly called Pottery Field, which is now where lies the Carrigaline Court Hotel, with Willie noting that the club played matches there for a period of time, before moving onto Rock Road, where Avondale United now call home.
But the true home of the club is where it now sits, in Ballea Park, which the club first moved to in 1985. From there it really started to grow from strength to strength and by 1991 it truly was a sign of the times when former stalwart of Cork GAA and parish priest, Canon O’Brien, wrote a handwritten letter backing the club as part of their efforts to secure capital funding from the Government. Since then additional upgrading of facilities has taken place, with Ballea Park transforming into a top-class facility, which is the envy of many clubs across, not only the county, but the country.
Looking more closely on the pitch, it is remarkable to consider the scale of operations that takes places on a weekly basis and the organisation of the club. Entering the carpark at 4:30pm on a Friday evening with not a single car on site, and then leaving at 6pm without a space to be seen says enough about the role the club plays in training hundreds of children, young adults and adults throughout the week.