A visit from Minister of State for department of health Jennifer Murnane O'Connor launching the RCSI report
Cherry Orchard promote hydration
CHERRY Orchard FC have been working hard over the last year or so in tandem with the RCS and a host of other partners in promoting the Uisce Cliste project.
The initiative aimed to improve access to clean drinking water for Dubliners with the areas of Ballyfermot and Cherry Orchard being targeted in particular.
Various measures were taken throughout the program including several in person education sessions for both adults and children which allowed members of the club to be educated on healthy hydration habits and promote overall general well being.
Two football clubs took part in the program with the aforementioned Cherry Orchard being joined alongside Ballyfermot United.
Cherry Orchard saw 487 members receive educational sessions over the course of nine sessions with each session tailored to its targeted demographic, being child, adolescent and adult.
Stephen O’Brien, chairman of Cherry Orchard touched on the importance of the program and why it was so relevant in the modern day.
“If you remember when we were younger, nearly every village everywhere there was water on the street.
‘What I mean by that was when you went into a town there was a well or some sort of freshwater source.
‘They all sort of disappeared and there’s an effort now to bring them all back in, particularly around sporting facilities and public parks, stuff like that.
‘There’s a real appetite for them because we’re spending a fortune on them. A bottle of water will cost you a quid now or two quid.
‘Whereas if you carry your own water and have your own bottle with you, it’s free water.
Results from the program were extremely positive with some of the figures showing massive changes within Cherry Orchard FC.
A measurement of waste generated from single use bottles by the club was taken during June and July in 2024 with almost five kilograms of waste being recorded, 4.53kg to be exact.
After the installation of the water fountains the same metric was recorded with waste from single use bottles being down an incredible 96.7% with just 0.15kg of waste.
Between the period of September 2024 and March 31st 2025, 921.72 litres of water were dispensed by the water fountains inside the club with an estimated saving on 1,843 plastic bottles and removing 35kg of plastic that would have been generated otherwise.
A report made by the Liffey Partnership (who were also partners in the Uisce Cliste project) last month revealed Ballyfermot and Cherry Orchard possess a food poverty rate of 43.3%.
Both areas have opposite problems with Cherry Orchard being considered a food desert with many residents being at least a kilometre away from supermarkets, while Ballyfermot is the opposite but plagued with a surplus of takeaways. Impacting the ability of locals to make healthy choices.
Indeed the RSCI report detailing the efforts of Uisce Cliste states outright that “Cherry Orchard is often described as a community within Ballyfermot.
‘The deprivation index classifies the area as disadvantaged, placing it among the poorest 4% of the population.
‘The area has a higher unemployment rate, nearly double the proportion of people with only primary education, and more than twice the average of lone-parent families, compared to national figures.”
Chairman O’Brien spoke of the efforts that Cherry Orchard FC are taking to address this issue.
“We will carry certain crepes and stuff like that, that the kids love but we go for the healthy options as well, give them overnight oats and things like that.
‘We’re very conscious and they’re very conscious of what they want to put into their body as well.
‘It’s so easy to go down the parade in Ballyfermot now and there’s just row upon row of fast food shops.
‘With the kids in the club, if there’s hardship cases they don’t pay. We’re acutely aware that there’s some hardship cases and we’re getting more and more locals into the club.”
