The following press release has just been issued by Shamrock Rovers F.C. It touches on some of the points I made in my last post, and its good to see the club officially responding to allegations made recently by some journalists.
Shamrock Rovers and the Tallaght Community Stadium
"There has been some blatantly untrue and derogatory remarks made about the club and in relation to the Tallaght stadium," says Shamrock Rovers’ chairman, Jonathan Roche.
"Either there are serious misconceptions out there about our club, or else this is part of a deliberate attempt to portray the club in a bad light at this particular time.
"Shamrock Rovers is a community-based, not-for profit club that is owned and run by its members. In that respect it’s much like a GAA club, but we offer even more to the community.
"At a time when there are major concerns about childhood obesity, we have a voluntary Schoolboy section that caters for hundreds of children from the age of seven and up.
"Tie that in with our various Scholarship Schemes that cover all strands of education, and it’s clear that we’re making a very positive contribution to the community.
"On top of that, the club’s professional section offers a career curve for young footballers, who can aspire to earning a living from football without having to leave home.
"Shamrock Rovers offers a broad and comprehensive range of opportunities in sport, education and employment to the youth of South Dublin and beyond. It is quite unique."
It was also implied that Shamrock Rovers was incapable of running its own business affairs properly – something the Hoops’ Financial Director, John Lyons is eager to disprove.
"Since the fans took over the club in 2005, Shamrock Rovers has been run on sound business principles," he explains. "We pay our wages and taxes in full and on time, and even turned a profit last year.
"As we’re a not-for-profit members’ club, that profit stayed within the club and has contributed to our on-going development as a community-based football club."
Shamrock Rovers also feels that there is no valid justification for making the playing surface of the Tallaght stadium big enough to facilitate senior gaelic games.
‘Local GAA clubs in the Tallaght/South Dublin area are already well catered for and have excellent facilities of their own – and good luck to them," says General Manager Noel Byrne.
"Both the South Dublin County Council and the government want the stadium completed as it was intended from the outset: as a football ground. We fully support them."
Club Marketing Director Mark Lynch insists that the recent Republic of Ireland internationals at Croke Park showed how impractical it would be to make a football stadium large enough to accommodate gaelic games.
"The football pitch looked lost on such a massive surface," he says. "And while the GAA’s willingness to temporarily open Croke Park is to be applauded, Tallaght is a completely separate issue.
"The structural aspect of the stadium would be fundamentally compromised in order to facilitate senior gaelic games. That is obvious from one glance at the recent Ireland-Wales international in Croke Park.
"Shamrock Rovers is pro-GAA, many of our members are also Dubs’ fans and GAA club members, but we fail to see how either football or gaelic games would benefit from butchering this facility.
“Given that the stadium’s primary purpose has always been to facilitate football, it makes no sense to complete it in a way that would seriously detract from that aim.”
Appendix: Reality and Rovers
Since its takeover by its supporters in 2005, Shamrock Rovers has made a positive contribution to sport, community activity and education, while also running its financial affairs in a professional and responsible manner.
- Shamrock Rovers is not ‘a commercial enterprise’
- Shamrock Rovers is a members-owned and run, community-based football club that operates on a not-for-profit basis.
- As well as promoting sporting participation through its Schoolboy section, which caters for around 250 young players, it also encourages education through its various scholarship schemes.
- Through its professional Eircom League of Ireland section, the club also creates employment for upwards of 30 people and generates income tax revenue that goes directly to the State. Shamrock Rovers is fully tax-compliant and a model employer.
- Once the first team joins the rest of the club in Tallaght, Shamrock Rovers would envisage a considerable increase in its employment opportunities, making a further positive contribution to the community.
Shamrock Rovers’ Financial Commitment
As well as providing voluntary sporting and educational opportunities, Shamrock Rovers also contributes a considerable amount of its income to the national coffers. Since the club was acquired by its supporters in
2005 it has operated on sound financial principles and meets its tax requirements on a monthly basis.
The club’s recent tax history is as follows:
- During 2006 €102,423.09 was paid in tax by Shamrock Rovers
- In 2005, post date of the club’s examinership, the total was €175,153.06
- This year’s tax total is expected to reach €193,595
- We would envisage, with more staff on our pay roll in Tallaght, a tax payment of around €1.5m over the next five years
Voluntary Work in the ommunity
No sport has a monopoly on volunteerism. Shamrock Rovers has over 100 volunteers contributing at all levels within the club, as well as promoting sporting activity amongst the young population of South Dublin and further afield.
Educational Opportunities
As part of its community-based ethos, Shamrock Rovers operates Scholarships covering all levels of education. In conjunction with IT Tallaght, the club offers third level education to players, and has more recently introduced a scholarship scheme that facilitates primary school students through the Junior Certificate cycle.
Best of Both Worlds
Given the club’s commitment to professional football, its voluntary work in the Schoolboy football, and the club’s various educational initiatives, Shamrock Rovers offers a unique and unrivaled blend of sporting and educational opportunities for the young population of South Dublin and beyond.
Dallas Cup
Through the efforts of club volunteers, a sum of €46,000 was raised to bring the Shamrock Rovers Under-19 team to the USA next month to participate in the prestigious Dallas Cup tournament. Not only will this provide players with the opportunity to compete against some of the world’s greatest football clubs, it also offers them the experience of a lifetime.
Tallaght Stadium
From the beginning, the SDCC was committed to a football-sized stadium in Tallaght. When it was proposed to extend the playing surface to accommodate gaelic games it was with the proviso that this would not further delay the project.
When the Minister for Sport pointed out that the government’s financial commitment was for a football-sized stadium, this was immediately accepted by the SDCC’s elected representatives, who agreed to progress the project as it was originally intended: as a football stadium.
While the stadium may be built to its original, football-sized specification, it does not prohibit all other sports, and would easily accommodate, for example, hockey and under-age gaelic games.
As could be seen from the recent Republic of Ireland-Wales international at Croke Park, a football pitch is considerably dwarfed on a full-size GAA surface.
ENDS
For all press related matters please contact Shamrock Rovers Press Officer John Byrne
by mobile on 087-768-1408 or by emailing
[email protected].