FINGAL COUNTY COUNCIL Draft County Development Plan 2017-2023

Submission From KICKHAMS GAA CLUB

April 2016

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Introduction

Ballymun Kickhams GAA Club would like to make the following submission with regard to what we believe are very important issues that should be addressed in the Fingal County Development Plan 2017-2023 for lands in the Ballymun area.

Being from Ballymun, we appreciate and respect the great body of work which Dublin City Council & Fingal County Council deliver in our area. We understand the difficulties which are faced and the challenges which arise on a daily basis. We agree that people need somewhere to live, they need somewhere to work, and we get that. We will support your endeavours in this regard in any way we can.

However, Ballymun also needs strong reliable social platforms within the community. People need strong positive associations which they can identify with and belong to.

Proud to represent Ballymun

Ballymun Kickhams is the strongest and most successful sporting amenity in the community of Ballymun and we want to register our interest in becoming even more integrated into the area.

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Pride

What would make you proud to be from Ballymun? Apart from the fact that you live there, what opportunities present themselves for people from Ballymun to stand up and tell the world how great their area is?

If you are a child growing up in this community, who are your heroes in the locality, who do you aspire to be? If you are looking to set up home, why would you want to live in Ballymun? If you are setting up a business, why would you choose here?

Proud to be Dublin, proud to be Ballymun. Local heroes , Philly McMahon and James McCarthy after winning another all- title for their city, their people in 2013.

Pride in a community can only come from within, and it isn’t something that can be created artificially, it has to be natural and real. You have to feel equal, because you are equal.

Once you have pride in your area, you can do anything.

Ballymun Kickhams brings pride to the people of Ballymun. We represent our community well; we bring positive association to our area. We provide real local heroes; currently there are six members of our senior team who are also members of the highly successful Dublin senior football squad. Seven members of our minor team represented Dublin in the all- Ireland minor football championships in 2015.

We cater for boys and girls of all ages from three years and up, all the way up to adult. Our girls section is going from strength to strength as more and more girls are coming into the fold, wanting to be part of something substantial in their area.

These young children are proud to represent Ballymun.

3 Education

The foundation on which to build everything within the community is education.

Dublin star and local Ballymun hero Philly McMahon promoting education

Within Ballymun Kickhams, we put very significant emphasis on the importance of education. We are a family and we connect the magic of sport with encouragement for education at every opportunity. We make education normal. We are intertwined with all of the schools in Ballymun and Glasnevin North, both primary and secondary.

Paddy Christie, Former Dublin star, local hero and Deputy Principal, Our Lady of Victories NS

We also have a very strong and positive relationship with Dublin City University. The incredible sporting facilities on campus are made available to us and we are able to introduce our children to this unique environment. This helps normalise the concept of university for these children, it gives them something to aspire to, a route forward that is attainable with hard work, by choosing early to take the right road in life without even noticing.

This year, we introduced free grinds for our members ahead of Junior and Leaving Certificate exams. Many members of our club are professionals in the field of education and they were proud to be able to give back something tangible and worthwhile to our club.

4 Opportunity

Ballymun Kickhams want to push these values to the next level and integrate even more into the community. We want to build a home in the heart of Ballymun where children can come and go in a stable and positive environment - where they will be welcomed to develop their sporting and social skills.

Our home is currently outside the community. Pairc Ciceam sits in Collinstown on the airport side of the M50. It is not accessible for children or for the schools.

Local school children celebrating Ballymun Kickhams in Ballymun

We are looking to work with Dublin City Council & Fingal County Council to identify a parcel of land in Ballymun which we can call home. Our vision is to build a playing area with relevant facilities on this site, to create a centralised hub not just for the club but for the whole community of Ballymun.

This is a critical juncture in the long term future and sustainability of our great club. Our current premises and playing fields are in need of significant modernising/upgrading and if we are not successful in finding lands in Ballymun we will have to commit to this project and channel our energy in this direction. This would keep us outside the community which we believe is not the way forward for the club or the community.

We have the support of the schools and An Garda Siochana and we have also had strong support from exploratory discussions with Council members.

And we have a track record – we own our own pitches, we developed the first floodlit, all- weather GAA pitch in the world. We will continue with this work – but we want to do it in the heart of our community.

Thank you.

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Contact Us

If you would like to talk to us please feel free to get in touch;

Dermot McMahon, Secretary

Email : [email protected]

Mobile : (087) 195 7469

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