Sheridan
21/06/2004, 6:25 PM
Q: Are you Home Farm in disguise?
A: NO! Although links between Home Farm and Dublin City FC existed when the latter made its eircom League debut in 2001 (Dublin City CEO Ronan Seery performed similar duties at Home Farm/Everton/Fingal between 1991 and 1997), all such ties have now been severed. Home Farm's senior side now competes in the Leinster Senior League.
Q: How come you took Home Farm's place in the league, then?
A: That's a good, if somewhat churlish, question. Those of us who weren't privy to the details surrounding Dublin City's admission to the eircom League can only surmise as follows.
When Dublin City entered the league in 2001, the club's connections with Home Farm remained intact. Home Farm had originally entered the league in 1972 by merging with Drumcondra FC. After Home Farm subsumed the Drums, they retained their place in the League of Ireland, thereby establishing a precedent for their own successors to follow almost thirty years later.
Besides, let's not kid ourselves that clubs are queuing up to join the eircom League. When St. Patrick's Athletic incorported Saint Francis in 2001 (note, incidentally, that the resultant hybrid didn't have to apply for separate admission to the league) it took a whole season before a new club (Kildare County) could be persuaded to make up the numbers.
Q: Does Dublin City FC have any plans to build its own stadium?
A: Finding or building a ground of its own remains a top priority for the club. As yet, however, no firm plans have been made public. New stadia don't just fall from the sky (ask Shamrock Rovers.) In its brief existence, Dublin City FC has rented Whitehall, the Morton Stadium and is staging this season's home games at Tolka Park, home of eircom League champions Shelbourne (although possibly not for much longer...)
Q: How do you hope to attract new fans, with the Dublin market already divided between five league clubs?
A: While it's true that our home support this season has been disappointing to say the least, the potential for that situation to change exists, despite the familiar counter-arguments hinging on an oversaturated Dublin market. Dublin City, as a new club with fresh ideas and no historical baggage, is well placed to attract some of the countless thousands who don't currently support any League of Ireland club. Anecdotally, we all know that while many Irish "football fans" love to denigrate the League of Ireland, a surprisingly large number express some level of interest once the topic of eircom League football is broached. If this latter group can be persuaded to adopt Dublin City FC, a whole new support base (for both club and league) could come into existence.
Q: Isn't your use of the name 'Dublin City' a rather pompous and disingeuous exercise?
A: Not really. After all, both Paris St. Germain (1970) and FC Kobnhaven (1992) were founded with the stated aim of representing their respective nations' capitals at domestic and continental level. Both projects bore fruit, and there's no reason why Dublin City can't follow that precedent.
A: NO! Although links between Home Farm and Dublin City FC existed when the latter made its eircom League debut in 2001 (Dublin City CEO Ronan Seery performed similar duties at Home Farm/Everton/Fingal between 1991 and 1997), all such ties have now been severed. Home Farm's senior side now competes in the Leinster Senior League.
Q: How come you took Home Farm's place in the league, then?
A: That's a good, if somewhat churlish, question. Those of us who weren't privy to the details surrounding Dublin City's admission to the eircom League can only surmise as follows.
When Dublin City entered the league in 2001, the club's connections with Home Farm remained intact. Home Farm had originally entered the league in 1972 by merging with Drumcondra FC. After Home Farm subsumed the Drums, they retained their place in the League of Ireland, thereby establishing a precedent for their own successors to follow almost thirty years later.
Besides, let's not kid ourselves that clubs are queuing up to join the eircom League. When St. Patrick's Athletic incorported Saint Francis in 2001 (note, incidentally, that the resultant hybrid didn't have to apply for separate admission to the league) it took a whole season before a new club (Kildare County) could be persuaded to make up the numbers.
Q: Does Dublin City FC have any plans to build its own stadium?
A: Finding or building a ground of its own remains a top priority for the club. As yet, however, no firm plans have been made public. New stadia don't just fall from the sky (ask Shamrock Rovers.) In its brief existence, Dublin City FC has rented Whitehall, the Morton Stadium and is staging this season's home games at Tolka Park, home of eircom League champions Shelbourne (although possibly not for much longer...)
Q: How do you hope to attract new fans, with the Dublin market already divided between five league clubs?
A: While it's true that our home support this season has been disappointing to say the least, the potential for that situation to change exists, despite the familiar counter-arguments hinging on an oversaturated Dublin market. Dublin City, as a new club with fresh ideas and no historical baggage, is well placed to attract some of the countless thousands who don't currently support any League of Ireland club. Anecdotally, we all know that while many Irish "football fans" love to denigrate the League of Ireland, a surprisingly large number express some level of interest once the topic of eircom League football is broached. If this latter group can be persuaded to adopt Dublin City FC, a whole new support base (for both club and league) could come into existence.
Q: Isn't your use of the name 'Dublin City' a rather pompous and disingeuous exercise?
A: Not really. After all, both Paris St. Germain (1970) and FC Kobnhaven (1992) were founded with the stated aim of representing their respective nations' capitals at domestic and continental level. Both projects bore fruit, and there's no reason why Dublin City can't follow that precedent.