Mike Aherne: None of this is "Lovely" As City Faces Senior Soccer Abyss for 2020

“The situation with Limerick will be lovely” “The club will be fine, don’t worry about it”.  Quotes from Pat O Sullivan in May of this year and as 2019 draws to a close, so too it appears does 82 years of unbroken Limerick service to the league of Ireland.

Whether you remember the club fondly as Limerick, Limerick United, Limerick City, Limerick FC or Limerick 37 the thought of there being no senior soccer club in Ireland’s third largest city is haunting

As a young soccer fan i was lucky to be surrounded by people who told me great stories about the club, the club that were admitted to the league in 1937, won a first league title in ‘59/60, a first FAI cup in 1971 and incredibly played Real Madrid in the European cup, yes Real Madrid.

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My love hate relationship with the club started when I went to Rathbane in the early 90’s to watch the team, at 17 Noel O Connor asked me to play for Limerick FC youths, I was thrilled, not only because my dad had played for Limerick but because this was a boyhood dream to play soccer for Limerick Football club.

I progressed to play at under 21 League of Ireland level and as times and money was desperate many of us on that squad were fortunate to taste senior league of Ireland football.  I remember getting paid in 50 pence pieces for the first time by Noel King after my debut but still thinking this was brilliant playing for the club. 

Why am I telling you this? Well since the moment I walked into the club in Rathbane back in the day, and long before no doubt, nothing has changed, as a club Limerick own no football ground, players continue to be paid in coins, the club is in turmoil and the continued threat to the existence of the club has always lingered, only this time the position looks far more precarious.

Moves to the Pike Rovers Sportsground, Jackman Park and a return to the Markets Field have all proved false dawns – why – none of them provided strong sustainable links with the local community, none of them provided a “home” for the players to receive the best possible treatment on and off the pitch, none of them have facilities that help develop the next wave of talent and most importantly none of them are owned or run by Limerick Football club.

Can you imagine if somebody pooled together what Danny Drew, Jack McCarthy and Pat O Sullivan had invested in the club, and that is to name just a few. Millions wasted on chasing a dream of returning the club to past glories but what do we have to show for that today – nothing.

Then you look at clubs like Newport Town AFC, Aisling Annacotty AFC and Star Rovers as the most recent examples, in a short space of time they have developed new playing and clubhouse facilities, engaged with their communities and built relationships with local businesses that will ensure sustainability, proof it can be done with the right ingredients.

The real question for me, is there honestly an appetite in this city and county for like-minded people to pull together to form a club that is representative of Limerick, serving the best interests of fans, schools, colleges, ETB, local businesses, the Limerick District / Desmond and County schoolboy/girl leagues, our FAI Development Officer’s, women’s soccer in the city and county along with the Limerick Desmond League and LDMC, and of course Limerick City and County Council. 

The honest answer is no, in my lifetime I have never seen an attempt to make this happen, or a desire. If this continues to happen we will always be on the lookout for the next Pat O Sullivan, somebody who you hope will be bitten by the soccer bug, invest money to bring the best players, to challenge for Europe, to fill stadiums and re-ignite the flame that most people have somewhere inside them, to see Limerick soccer once again go head to head with Europe’s greatest.

I would like to think when my kids grow up that a sustainable football club is there to represent Limerick, I would like a football club that can provide a friendly matchday experience and I would love to think that someday my kids could pull on a jersey and feel the pride that so many of us were lucky to experience.

I would love that now, not when another generation will have to suffer the same consequences and the same mistakes. Mistake after mistake has been made at the top table of Limerick soccer and it is only when we pull together as many people as possible with the same vision and desire do we have any chance of succeeding at saving senior soccer. 

Limerick City and Council have land, lots of it, Limerick is also blessed with some of the greatest sporting and business talent in the world, if we pull all that together Limerick can build something special and leave a legacy for generations to come, something to be proud of.

The question is, with the game and the football association in this country facing its darkest hour, is there desire in Ireland’s sporting capital to take it off life support and breathe a new, sustainable life into the beautiful game.

One thing for sure is that none of this is “lovely” and it does not look like the “club will be fine”

The developing news re the Limerick United group is a positive development but the there is no realistic hope of senior soccer in Limerick for 2020.

The focus has now got to be on securing a viable pathway for sustainable senior football in the city for 2021 and beyond.