Metrolink project

Statement by Home Farm FC

Plans for the Metrolink project were published on the 22nd of March, by Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

The plans have serious implications for Home Farm FC and for our neighbors’ Na Fianna.

Under the proposals Home Farm’s grounds at Mobhi Road will be unavailable to the club for a period of approximately seven years, commencing in 2020. This is on the assumption that the project obtains planning permission and proceeds as planned.

Club officials were briefed on the details of the project on 21 March, the day before the public announcement. We had not been consulted in advance on the plans. The news therefore was totally unexpected.

Home Farm FC has had a base in Mobhi Road for more than fifty years.

The pitch, which is part of a private and enclosed ground, is played on by schoolboy and schoolgirl teams who use the pitch throughout the season. The pitch is of an extremely high quality and widely acknowledged as such. The club has invested significant resources in the development and maintenance of the playing surface and ancillary facilities.

Thousands of former players, including many Irish internationals, will have very fond memories of their early playing days in Mobhi Road.

Home Farm FC has been assured by Transport Infrastructure Ireland that suitable alternative arrangements will be made available as a priority, to relocate our teams for the duration of the project. They recognise the level of disruption involved and have indicated their commitment to addressing this in any proposals to be tabled.

Clearly, and at a minimum, whatever alternative facilities are proposed must be of a comparable high standard, they must be local and be in place by the end of 2019.

The club will engage with Transport Infrastructure Ireland to hear their proposals in this regard and we will consult with members and Public Representatives when the position is made clearer.

At this early stage in the process no proposals have been tabled.

We recognise the importance attaching to the Metrolink project as the Government seeks to develop and improve public transport in the city.

Home Farm FC has been an integral part of the North Dublin community since its foundation in 1928, some 90 years ago.

The sporting and recreational needs of our children, boys and girls, are of paramount importance to Home Farm FC and it is their interests and needs that will be to the forefront in any negotiations with the authorities in relation to this project.

On behalf of Home Farm FC Management Committee.

24 March 2018.