DCC/FAI Development Officer Finglas – Paul Whelan

Drop In Sessions
In conjunction with the sports development officer a drop in session is held for boys aged between 9 – 12 years every Monday from 4pm – 6pm in Rivermount Hall. 25 – 30 boys attend each week.
In conjunction with Finglas Youth Resource Centre we run a drop in for girls aged between 9 – 12 years every Tuesday in DCC all weather pitches.
15 – 20 girls attend each week.
In conjunction with the sports development we run a half day league for
boys between 12 – 15 years every Wednesday in DCC all weather pitches. 10
– 15 boys attend each week.
An after school drop in for girls aged between 12 – 15 takes place every Thursday in St Michaels School Hall. 15 – 20 girls attend each week.

FAI Summer Soccer School

A week long soccer camp took place for boys and girls aged between 6 – 14.
All the children were from Finglas. The camp took place in the Leisure
Point Centre from 10.30am – 3pm daily. 32 children attended.

Coach Education
A coaches workshop was held in Kildonan Park for all local club coaches.
The idea behind this was to foster some harmony between the local clubs and also for them to gain some knowledge and ideas on different methods of
coaching. FAI High Performance Director Wim Koevermans delivered the
session. 25 – 30 coaches from the local clubs attended.

Late Night League
In conjunction with Finglas Youth Resource Centre (FYRC) and Finglas Community Gardai we held a 10 team blitz for boys aged between 15 – 21 in
Leisure Point Centre on August 27th from 10pm – 12am. 60 – 70 youths took
part in the competition. The winner’s prize was a game against the local Garda team.

Summer Projects
In conjunction with St Helena’s Resource Centre a Fun Day was held in
Rivermount Hall. Football activities such as target shooting, penalty
shoot out and five a side games took place. There was also bouncy castles and face painting for the children to enjoy. 70 – 80 boys and girls attended.

Intercultural Programme
The ‘My club’ after school programme is one of the main national participation programmes developed by the FAI’s Intercultural Football Programme and delivered by FAI Football in the Community Development Officers. Targeted at increasing extra-curricular physical activity for children aged 6-13yrs whilst also encouraging, mentoring and supporting interested parents/guardians to get involved as volunteer soccer leaders.
The programme ran each Monday for 6 weeks after-school. The overall objectives is to support greater participation of children and adults from all backgrounds in physical activity through football, with a special focus on achieving increased participation of children and adults from ethnic minority backgrounds. The programme was rolled out in conjunction with Mother of Divine Grace Primary School and Willows FC. 60 – 70 boys and girls took part. 3 volunteer parents also came on board to help with the coaching of the children.
Intercultural Club Open Day
In conjunction with Willows FC we ran an intercultural club open day in the grounds of Beneavin College. The open day is geared towards integrating people who live in the area and are from ethnic minority backgrounds into the community. This is a follow on event from the My Club programme.
Minister Pat Carey attended the event and presented the children with their certificates.60 boys and girls attended some of whom have now joined Willows FC.

Upcoming events
Citywide Anna Livia Cup
I will run this tournament in Finglas for boys and girls under 13 years throughout the month of October. The winners of both local sections will qualify to compete in the Citywide Anna Livia Cup Finals.
Citywide Late Night League
The FAI Development Officer in conjunction with Dublin City Council, Finglas Youth Resource Centre, Finglas South Teens (FST), East Finglas for Organised Responses to Teenagers (EFFORT), The Den Outreach and the Garda will run an all Finglas Late Night League for boys aged between 15-21 throughout the month of November. The competition will take place in Rivermount Hall, Finglas South. The winners will qualify to compete in the Citywide Late Night League Finals.
Kick Start 2 Coaching Course
In December the FAI Development Officer will deliver the Kick Start 2 Coaching Course in the Leisure Point Centre, Finglas to all local club coaches who have already completed their Kick Start 1 course which was held earlier in the year. The completion of this course will see the coaches stepping up to the second rung of the FAI’s coaching ladder. It is expected that up to 40 coaches will attend this three day course.
Travellers Community Blitz Tournaments
The FAI Development Officer in conjunction with Paddy Collins PAVEE are planning to run a three day blitz style tournament in Dublin City Council All Weather Pitches during September. The tournament will target three different age groups, 9 – 12yrs, 12 – 15yrs and 15 – 21yrs. The tournaments will be run for children from the travelling community specifically. The
older group will help organise and referee the event.
Contact: Paul Whelan – 086 0441004