Football club closes gates to prevent joyriders destroying playing pitches
By Aideen O'Flaherty
CHERRY Orchard Football Club in Ballyfermot has had to close all vehicular access to the car park at their clubhouse and pitches in Elmdale after worsening anti-social behaviour which saw two of their pitches being damaged by joyriders in recent weeks, reports Aideen O’Flaherty.
The gates at the clubhouse car park have been repeatedly breached over the past two months, with joyriders initially using the car park as a throughway to gain access to vacant ground adjoining Dublin City Council land.
The pitches at Cherry Orchard damaged by joyriders
However in the last fortnight the joyriders have used the football club’s pitches, damaging two of them.
The club has had to block off the carpark entrance and instruct players and coaches to park their cars on the road leading up to the club and walk in.
Cherry Orchard FC chairman Tom Kennedy told The Echo: “They’re joyriding, breaking in through our gates and going into the land beside us.
“We’re doing our best, trying to block the gate, but every time we try something [the joyriders] come up with some way to get around it.
“About two weeks ago they went into our own grounds, it looked like the wheel of the car had burst so they were using the rim, doing doughnuts and taking lumps out of our pitch.”
Explaining why the club decided to close off the entrance to the club’s car park, Mr Kennedy said: “We decided that blocking the whole thing off is the lesser of two evils.
“It’s hugely disappointing that this has happened. The club is here for everyone in the community, we try to encourage people to stay away from trouble and to play football.
“It’s like every penny we spend to make up for the damage has to be taken away from other things we want to do.
“We’d encourage these kids to play football, as opposed to going around causing damage.”
Mr Kennedy said that Dublin City Council has been supportive of the club, and they’re working together to devise ways to deter joyriders from accessing the club’s pitches and the surrounding lands. However it is expected that the carpark entrance will have to be closed for the next week or so, so increased security measures can be installed.
A spokesperson for Dublin City Council told The Echo: “There have been issues with joyriding on both the pitches and on the waste ground behind Cherry Orchard Hospital.
““A contractor has been engaged by Dublin City Council to install a pedestrian entrance at the gates in front of the clubhouse.
“In addition, they will be installing a barrier across the vehicular gates to reinforce them. Also, large boulders will be placed at the gates to protect them from further damage.”
Cherry Orchard FC was founded in 1957 and currently has 300 players and 32 qualified coaches and helpers, who are all volunteers.
