GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT AT FINGLAS CC (7.7)

In 2015, Cricket Leinster was contacted by John McDonald (Dublin City Sports Development Officer) and Cormac Healy (Manager of the Poppintree Sports Centre) who informed us about a group that were practicing cricket out of the Poppintree Sports Centre every Wednesday evening and Saturday morning right throughout the year. 

At this time there were only a handful of people involved - approximately 6-10 at most sessions. One of these was Romy Matthew, now Club President of Finglas CC. None of the people involved in the sessions were affiliated to any club and their vision was to set up a club within the Finglas community. 

Roll forward six years to 2021 and that vision has become a reality. The club now has over 60 youth members and 66 adult members. Within the club, they have expanded to four underage teams that compete in the Cubs, Colts, Junior and Minor leagues whilst their adult section now have three teams that compete in Open Divisions 12, 16 and 17b.

The club has also achieved notable playing success over recent years. The Finglas 1st XI debuted its league campaign in 2018 and are very proud of their achievements to date.

In 2018, Finglas CC were Runners-Up in both Division 15 and the Minor Cup. They were crowned champions of Division 14 in 2019 with an all win record and now play in Division 12. The club were also Runners-Up of the Ed Sports Cup in 2019.

The club is very proud of its four underage teams which now practice and play their games in Albert College Park, Dublin 9, where an artificial mat was laid in 2016. Whilst this ground is too small for Adult games, the club acquired an artificial mat in 2020 at Poppintree Park (in the heart of Finglas) where they now play all their home games. 

Club President Romy Mathew had this to say on the club's progress - “We are delighted with how far the club has progressed in the last couple of years. We are growing and attaining new members year-on-year - our membership base is up by 50% this year alone. Our next focus is around introducing cricket into the local schools to keep developing our youth section for both boys and girls.” 

The club was delighted that two of its youth members participated in the Dublin City U13 team in this year's District Cup and also hope for more players to feature for the Dublin City U11 team in the U11 District Cup in late July.

The success and growth of Finglas CC is a real testament to all the hard work being done by all the members and it's been fantastic to see the rapid growth of the club to date. Huge credit to all involved at Finglas Cricket Club.

Cricket Leinster would also like to acknowledge the assistance and support of Dublin City Council. The Council has played a crucial role in supporting the establishment of new clubs and Finglas Cricket Club is a fine example of this. 

Fintan McAllister commented as follows - “As Dublin City Development Officer, my core role is to support the growth and development of cricket throughout the Dublin City Local Authority area. I am therefore delighted to have played a role in the establishment of Finglas Cricket Club and to have helped secure the clubs permanent home at Poppintree Park in the heart of Finglas. 

The recent surge in youth participation at the club is particularly encouraging as this is a key factor is sustaining the club over the long-term.”

finglascricketclub@gmail.com (Syam Mohan)