January Parents Newsletter

Jan Parents Newsletter

Happy New Year. We hope 2026 will be a good year for Irish football. There remains a possibility that Ireland will qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 24 years. 

But beyond the excitement of those matches, we are all invested in the future development of Irish football, one way or another. It is something every parent, volunteer and player at Dalkey United contributes to every week.

A transformed landscape for Irish football would mean better facilities, more games, and more enjoyment for all who play and contribute to the game. At the highest level, it could mean more great days for the Ireland team like those we witnessed last November.

Will Clarke has a vision for how Irish football could be. Will is the League of Ireland Academy Manager at the FAI. He has lobbied government effectively to secure funding for the League of Ireland academies which are essential for young players in this country.

Next Friday Jan 23rd at 8.15pm Will Clarke will join us at the clubhouse in Hyde Park to talk about player development, the future of Irish football and the role of a club like Dalkey United. All are welcome to attend and we hope to see you there. 

Once again, we faced this weekend with pitches that were unplayable (at least on Friday). We all look forward to the weekend and matches so this is extremely frustrating for everyone. Over the Christmas break we met with local politicians to inform them again of the situation. We will continue to contact DLR and local politicians about access to all weather pitches and to make improvements to Hyde Park especially, which would lead to fewer postponements.

If anyone is inclined we would suggest contacting the local councillors expressing your hope that Dalkey United can get access to one of the all-weather pitches either currently operational or coming online and pointing out that due to bad weather our pitches were not available to us on more than 50 per cent of weekends in the first three months of the season.

The DLR councillors for the Dun Laoghaire area are listed below. All our sympathetic to the situation at our club

• Lorraine Hall - [email protected]

• Justin Moylan -  [email protected]

• Thomas Joseph - [email protected]

• Melisa Halpin - [email protected]

• JP Durkan -  [email protected]

• Tom Kivlehan - [email protected]

• Mary Fayne - [email protected]

Born to Lead Programme

The DDSL has launched a new initiative to find the next generation of referees. For all players at Dalkey United who are over 16 on Jan 1 2026, there is now a programme to develop as referees. The DDSL will be looking from players from teams at the age level to referee in the initial stages games up to U-11. Training and kit will be provided by the DDSL. This is a very important and necessary development. Please contact Graham at [email protected] for more information.

We’re Looking for a number of roles to be filled

Communications Lead

We need to find a new Communications expert to take our member and player comms to the next level. We’re looking for someone who can help us foster a sense of community, improve engagement, and ensure all our members are informed and involved in club activities. This will include our monthly newsletters, revamping our website, developing our social media presence and any other ideas that can increase engagement and publicise Dalkey United’s achievements and events.

Behaviour and Disciplinary Officer (BDO)

This will be an additional club liaison person between the club and DDSL on all behaviour and disciplinary matters. The appointed person must be garda vetted and have completed or applied for their safeguarding. The BDO will be responsible for supporting the DDSL Behaviour, Culture and Referee initiatives, including “Be a Ref” and “Junior Ref Academy” campaigns, “Born to Lead” Programmes and the “It’s My Game!” Silent Sideline initiative. 

If you are interested please contact Dion at [email protected].

Bobble Hats Collection

If you missed collecting your Bobble Hat in December, please reach out to Sean at 0876818914 to arrange for another collection time. 

Club Kit for 25/26

We encourage all match aged players to wear the official track suit tops to training and matches.  These are available, in an extensive club shop, through our partners at Teamwear.

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