UP-DATING WEB-BLOG

The up-dating of the Club's web-blog has fallen somewhat behind schedule and therefore, match reports were missed, omitted or simply not filed by the Managers. Efforts to resolve this matter are currently in-hand and a marked improvement is earnestly anticipated. We can't allow the magnificent play, exceptional skill and tactics and, of course, spectacular goals scored by our players to go unreported any longer. Therefore, we require two match reporters, one home and the other away, to feed their exciting and eagerly awaited match reports to the webmaster to satisfy the hunger for news suffered by scores (or even, hundreds) of adoring fans. Anyone interested in becoming a match reporter, please contact Ian Kane or Jay Kane.

The "B" Squad Off to a Good Start

Ian Kane's "B" Squad playing in Division 3A was away to Clonee United on Saturday 23rd August 2008. The squad was in reasonable shape despite some notable absentees due to holidays. (Match Report to Follow). Final Score: Clonee United 0 : DLTFC 0

Bad Start of the Season for the "A" Squad"

The "A" Squad made its 2008/9 season debut in Division 3 against Laytown United away in the "Royal County" of Meath on Saturday 23rd August 2008. Already down vital players through injuries and holidays, Jay Kane, fielded a team that was far from match ready and very soon after kick off, the team's worst nightmare began to unfold. Readers can be spared the true awfulness of the occasion, suffice to say, with thirty minutes to the end of the match, a kind hearted referee put the lads out of their misery by sounding the full-time whistle. Never before in the history of the Club was such a disastrous performance delivered by "The Town". Final score: Laytown FC 10 : DLTFC 0. So along came Monday August 25th 2008 and a "surprise" fixture away to Whitechurch United with a kick off at 18.30hrs. There was some considerable confusion over this match as it was not listed on the Leinster Senior League website. Confirmation of the fixture only arrived late on Monday afternoon. The fielding of a team at such short notice had its inevitable consequences with lads unable to get off work early enough to play. The match went ahead with a much depleted squad on a pitch that was far from satisfactory. Final Score: Whitechurch United 7 : DLTFC 0. Well things can only get better lads!!!!

League Matches Cancelled - Sat. 16th August 2008

Rain, rain and more rain, followed by severe flooding left most of the public playing fields either under water or very soft indeed. Matches were cancelled throughout the agglomeration of Dublin and beyond on Saturday 16th August, so all hope for a much needed and long overdue improvement in the weather conditions to allow matches go ahead on Saturday 23rd August 2008.

New Season Starting Soon

The new Leinster Senior League season kicks off again on Saturday August 16th with our lads playing in two divisions 3 and 3A again this year. Jay Kane and Ian Kane, managers of the "A" and "B" squads respectively, are busy preparing the lads for the tough season ahead. A greater commitment is expected from each of the lads this year and therefore, training and fitness are of the utmost importance at this time. Tuesdays and Thursdays have been chosen for training sessions at Shanganagh Cliffs. Players are strongly urged to arrive on-time for the training sessions as a failure to do so may result in the offending players being dropped for games. The fixtures will be posted on this web-blog and on Monday nights in the "Evening Herald".

Long Tradition of Soccer in "The Town"

The lads of "The Town" are certainly following in the footsteps of a great footballing tradition in the town of Dún Laoghaire. A recently unearthed photograph of the British Railways staff football squad of nearly sixty years ago contains many of the grandfathers and great grandfathers of current and past players of Dún Laoghaire Town Football Club. Surprisingly in a wellknown publication about soccer in the Borough of Dún Laoghaire, British Railways FC didn't even receive a mention. British Railways (later known as Sealink) operated the mail-boat and later the ferry service between Dún Laoghaire and Caergybi (Holyhead) in North Wales. The photograph was taken on Sunday April 30th 1949 after the game between British Railways FC and St. Kevin's FC, in which, the gallant railway lads were between 4 : 1 by St. Kevin's FC. Pictured are from left to right: Back Row: M. Whelan, M. Cullen, S. Keane, M. McDonnell, M. Merrigan (23 yrs) and B. Smith; Front Row: M. Davit, J. Dwyer, F. Young, B. Kearns and J. Carden (?). In conclusion, this year marks the 90th anniversary of the sinking of the mail-boat RMS Leinster in October 1918 many locals lost the lives in this tragedy, indeed, quite a number of our current players have family connections to this disaster.

Ladies' Squad for 2008/9 Season

The decision by the Board of the Club at its June meeting to establish a Ladies' Team for the 2008/9 Season has been broadly welcomed as a step in the right direction for our Club. The Vice-Chairperson of the Club, Anne Traynor, (pictured right) has been appointed to the position of "Ladies' Squad Coordinator" to oversee the signing-up of the Squad and the appointment of a Manager and Deputy Manager. The Board had hoped that the positions of Manager and Deputy Manager of the Ladies' Squad would be filled from within the existing or former managerial and coaching personnel of the Club. However, this unfortunately now seems very unlikely and therefore, Anne will be examining a number of options in this regard. The Board, on advice, decided to initially recruit only persons aged eighteen years or over as members for the Ladies' Squad for the coming season. This position will be reviewed next year by the Board as and when more volunteers come forward to assist the Club's managerial team with this important and long overdue development in the Club.

Board Selects Managers for 2008/9 Season

At the Board meeting held on Monday 9th June 2008, the Managers for the "A" and "B" Squads were selected by the Board members by way of secret ballot, please see the explanation of the process below. The new Manager for the "A" Squad is Jay Kane (pictured right) who has chosen Dean McAfee as his Deputy Manager and for the "B" Squad the Board members selected Ian M. Kane who has chosen Abrahim Abdul-Wahid as his Deputy Manager on an interim basis depending on Abrahim's college commitments. Performance will be keenly monitored by the Board as major improvements are fully expected on the results achieved by both squads last season. Though, there were a number of factors involved, the commitment by both squads was far from consistent during the later half of the 2007/8 season and therefore, the Board is determined to push for considerable improvements all round in the coming year. Already many new players have signalled their intention of signing for "The Town" and indeed, quite a few of our former players are set to return to the fold. Voting Procedure: Each of the Board members present at the meeting, with the exception of the Chairperson, was entitled to vote. The Chairperson could only exercise a vote in the case of equity - "casting vote". Ballot Papers were distributed to each Board member by the Chairperson. There was no debate on the matter prior to the vote been taken. The Ballot Paper contained two questions, one regarding the position of the Manager of the "A" Squad and the second regarding the same for the "B" Squad. The names of the two existing managerial personnel for each squad were listed alphabetically and a further choice of "Neither" in each case was added. Therefore, each member of the Board was asked in this Secret Ballot to select a person to manage the "A" Squad and another to manage the "B" Squad, or if they so wished, they could indicate that they did not support any of the candidates on the Ballot Paper by ticking the "Neither" box. The reason for placing a "Neither" option on the Ballot Paper was to allow for the Board to be instructed to find other candidates for the either of the positions to be filled.

Preparing for the New Season

An informal training session in preparation for the new season will be held on Saturday 7th June 2008 at 13.00hrs at Shanganagh Cliffs. New players are always welcome as two teams will be entered into the Leinster Senior League for the 2008/2009 Season. Changes for the coming season include the abandonment of the separate training sessions for each squad as both will now be required to train together at Shanganagh and also it is planned to recruit more younger players between 16 and 18 years of age to be the backbone of the "B" Squad. The latter measure will allow the "B" Squad to act more effectively as a "feeder squad" for the "A" Squad which will compete in a higher league as before. All players will be required to sign for both the Club and the Leinster Senior League (http://www.lsl.ie/) and in signing for the Club, each player will receive a copy of the new Handbook and undertake to read it carefully. The Club's officers will also be available to clarify or explain any sections of the Handbook if requested. The management teams for each of the squads will be chosen at the Board meeting to be held on Monday 9th June 2008 in time for the first formal training session on the following Saturday. In the interim all enquiries regarding the training sessions should be directed to Ian M. Kane, Club Development Officer (pictured above) on 085 764 7900 or by e-mail on ian_m_kane@hotmail.com The Player Directors, listed in the panel to the right, represent the views of the player members at the meetings of the Board of Directors of the Club and therefore, these Player Directors always welcome suggestions from players aimed at improving the Club, its facilities or indeed, any aspect of the Club's activities.

LÁMHLEABHAR : HANDBOOK

The production and publication of the Members' Handbook for the Club is intended to facilitate a greater understanding of the Club, its structures and its functions amongst the Board members, members, players and others connected with the Club.

The first edition of the Members Handbook, published this month, contains the copies of the Club’s Strategic Development Plan, Standing Orders, Child Protection Policy, Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedure.

The text, below, of the Mission Statement of the Club clearly sets this Club apart from similar sporting organisations in the County of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown and indeed, the participatory nature of the decision making structures established within this Club allows for a real sense of ownership by all members, whether playing or non-playing.

Our Mission

“Through the universal love of football, provide an opportunity for integration and social inclusion amongst the young people from many backgrounds, religions and nationalities living in the Central Dún Laoghaire area and through, education and example, promote respect and tolerance for difference, encourage co-operation and unity of purpose and through, teamwork in sport develop lasting bonds of mutual support and friendship as each young person plays with commitment and pride for their own hometown”

From the establishment of the Club by Abrahim Abdul Wahid and Ian M. Kane back in 2002 and through the assistance received from Dún Laoghaire Community Association, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, An Garda Síochána and most recently, the Equal Transition Support Project, this Club has successfully executed each of its programmes aimed at integration, tackling anti-social behaviour and encouraging responsible and active citizenship.

The Club is continuing to roll-out programmes with these very important objectives and it is especially pleased to have been offered the possibility of doing so in the Shankill area following the allocation of a pitch at Shanganagh Cliffs to the Club by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. Indeed, many of our most promising players now come from the Shankill area providing, some would say, a much needed injection of new talent and skills in to our squads.

The success of this Club depends greatly on the dedication and commitment shown by our most important members, the players themselves – they will be the future owners of this Club and to this end our duty as Directors is to facilitate and guide the structured development of the Club on their behalf.

“The Town” is definitely a work in progress!!

Michael Merrigan
Chairperson
Dún Laoghaire Town Football Club Ltd

Nota Bene: At the May 26th meeting of the Board of the Club, it was agreed that each member of the Club, players and non-players, should receive a copy of the Handbook and sign for same giving the personal undertaking to read it carefully. Failure to adhere to this procedure will mean that a member has voluntarily resigned from the Club and therefore, cannot participate in any of the Club's activities. There are no exceptions as this decision covered each of the Board members also.

Leinster Senior League AGM

The Annual General Meeting of the Leinster Senior League will take place on Wednesday May 28th at 19.45hrs in the Teachers' Club, 36, Parnell Square, Dublin. It is anticipated that the Chairperson of the Club will lead this Club's delegation to the AGM.

New Board Elected

The new Board of the Club has been elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Club held on Monday 7th April 2008 in Park House, Library Road, Dún Laoghaire. Outgoing Chairperson, Michael Merrigan, was reelected for a further year as was Vice-Chairperson, Anne Traynor. Derek McAsey was elected Company / Club Secretary and will also hold the Financial Controller portfolio for the time being. Others elected were Ian M. Kane, Kevin Plunkett, Sighle L'Estrange, Lorie Kelly, James Kane, Robert Rogerson, John Paul Durkan, Noel Vaughan, Jonathon Corcoran and Denis Ryan. Anne Traynor will also hold the positions of Child Protection Liaison Officer and Registrar of Members. Luke Oliver Martin and Cllr. Cormac Devlin stepped down at the AGM. The Board will assign specific portfolios to the various directors at its meeting in May.

Winning End to the Season

In the "A" Squad's last game in Division 3 the lads finally found the winning touch which had seriously eluded them for weeks. Playing against Monksfield at home was certainly not going to be a repeat of our last encounter in October 2007 when we lost by six goals without reply. (MATCH REPORT TO FOLLOW) Final mscore: DLTFC 3 : Monksfield 2

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PADDY

A founding member of the Club, Patrick Kershaw, turned twenty-one on Thursday April 3rd 2008 and will celebrate this momentous achievement with a big bash at "The Wicked Wolf" in Blackrock on Saturday 5th April 2008. Paddy is most certainly one of the most outstanding and talented players that this Club had ever produced, solid and reliable in defence. Indeed, in the Club's Special 5th Anniversary Awards, Paddy received the "Best Player Award" at the celebrations held in McKenna's just before Christmas last. Choosing Paddy as a recipient for that Special Award, the Manager and the Club gave due recognition to Paddy's commitment and determination over, not only the previous season, but over the past five years since the foundation of the Club. On behalf of the Board and all the players, we wish Paddy all the best for his twenty-first and hope that all have a most enjoyable night at "The Wicked Wolf" on Saturday.

"Dún Laoghaire News"

The latest edition of the Dún Laoghaire Community Association's newsletter "Dún Laoghaire News" is now available at http://www.dun-laoghaire.com/dir/DunLaoghaireNews.pdf The newsletter has been delivered to households in the central Dún Laoghaire area and copies are also available at Costello Flowers, 1, Northumberland Avenue, Dún Laoghaire.