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TRANSCRIPT
Telling the Story of Naomh Barróg
Naomh Barróg GAA Club
Introduction:
This year Naomh Barróg are
celebrating 40 years since the
Club was founded. Many peo-
ple are interested in the history
of the Club and want to know
how the Club was formed, why
it was formed and where and
when it was formed. They
would like to know who where
the first members and what
motivated them to get involved.
When the Club was formed in
1974 it was a different time and
place in Ireland compared with
today, Life for people then was
not as complicated, challeng-
ing and pressurised as it is for
people today. People did not
have very much financially or
materially and in spite of the
daily difficulties people were
generally happy and content
with what they had. Young
people were easily amused,
found their own fun and had
time to discover their surround-
ings, play with their friends
creatively on the streets and
generally live a healthy life.
At this time mobile phones,
computers, digital TV, designer
clothes, fast food outlets and
the ugly face of drugs were not
around to distract our young
people. When Naomh Barróg
was founded in 1974 it gave
the young people from Kilbar-
rack-Foxfield the opportunity to
play sport and to give them a
sense of pride in their Commu-
nity/Parish.
The history of Naomh Barróg is
part of the Social History of
Kilbarrack Foxfield at the time
and the part we played along
with Kilbarrack United, the Ath-
letic Club and other groups in
its development.
the young people back in the
70’s who wore the red and
green of Scoil Lorcáin and
Naomh Barróg.
It is intended to write some of
the History of the Club weekly
in this e-Newsletter. This pro-
ject is dedicated to them, their
families and friends.
At the present moment there
are many people who were
born, lived and grew up in
Kilbarrack-Foxfield at that time.
Most of them would have
played with Naomh Barróg and
even to this day recall the oc-
casion, mostly with good mem-
ories. We are lucky that there
are still many involved in the
Club from the time it was
founded and have grown from
boy to man during this period.
There are now young men and
women, many now with fami-
lies of their own scattered to
the four corners of our country
and our globe and who were
Inside this issue:
Birth of Scoil Lorcáin & Scoil Íosagáin Í
2
The schools welcome the children
2
How Dick Fields ended up teaching in Lorcáin?
2
The 1970’s-Welcoming the people.
i3
Article written in Irish Independent 1975
3
Garda Noel Lonergan- JLO
3
Kilbarrack-Foxfield is on the move.
4
Special points of interest:
Naomh Barróg was founded in
1974 in Scoil Lorcáin.
In 2014 we celebrate 40 years
since our foundation.
In the 70’s Kilbarrack-Foxfield
was a different place to be
reared.
Many of our former members
and present members are
scattered to the four corners
of our country and globe.
These snap shots of our Histo-
ry will be written weekly in the
e-Newsletter.
History of the Club (1974-2014)
28th January 2014
Issue 1
Páirc Bharróg
Coast Road
Barnwalls Farm
They were challenging and exciting times
for the people of Kilbarrack-Foxfield and for
the teachers in the schools who welcomed
and provided educational opportunities for
the children from hundreds of families who
had arrived from inner city, Ballymun and
other locations in Dublin and for many re-
turning immigrants who wanted their chil-
dren reared and educated in Ireland. Fami-
lies with young parents and children were
setting down roots and desiring the best for
their children.
Both Principals and teachers along with
the priests of the Parish, represented by Fr
Con Dowling were dedicated and commit-
ted to providing the best educational facili-
ties and opportunities for the hundreds of
children arriving at their doorsteps. This
was a united Parish where the majority
attended & supported the schools. There
was “no them and us”. Just one Parish.
How Dick Fields ended up teaching in Scoil Lorcáin?
Dick Fields was teaching in De La Salle,
Finglas, very happy and contented. The
two years he was there he succeeded in
bringing the school teams to Cumann na
mBunscoil Finals in Croke Park.
In 1970 the Residents of Foxfield Park
were looking for someone to be Santa
Claus for their Children’s Christmas Party
in the Shieling Hotel. Madeline Long,
Dick’s sister who lived in Foxfield Park at
the time, asked him to do it. Dick never
one for saying no, agreed.
He must have done a great job because Fr
Con Dowling, Scoil Lorcáin Chairman was
at the party. He must have been im-
pressed with his performance as Santa
because as a result he offered him a job in
the new Boys School in Kilbarrack. Leav-
ing the party that day he had a decision to
make.
Getting a teaching job in those days was a
“cake walk” compared with today. After
much reflection he decided to accept the
invitation. The rest is history.
The birth of Scoil Lorcáin & Scoil Íosagáin.
Scoil Lorcáin & Scoil Íosagáin welcome the children.
If you have a memory about Naomh
Barróg that you remember please
share it with us. If you have a family
member or friend who would like to
receive our Newsletter please
forward the information to me at
Page 2 Naomh Barróg GAA Club
In 1967 Scoil Íosagáin, situated where
North Bay Project and Gael Scoil Míde are
now, opened its doors for the first time to
the boys and girls living in the Parish of
Kilbarrack-Foxfield. Neasa O’Brien was
the Principal and Mary Purcell, who now
teaches in Scoil Eoin, the vice Principal.
Kilbarrack at that time was part of the Par-
ish of Baldoyle where the people attended
Mass and the children attended the local
schools with many others attending the
schools in Raheny. For a period we were
part of Bayside Parish before the Parish of
Kilbarrack-Foxfield was constituted in 1971.
The first Parish priest was Fr Jack Hans.
At this time the fledgling Parish had agreed
along with the Department of Education to
have Boys and Girls Schools, which was
the thinking at the time. The site for the
Boys School, Scoil Lorcáin, now were Scoil
Eoin is, commenced development in 1970.
The first Principal was Liam Joyce, a Mayo
man and avid GAA supporter. The vice
Principal was Dermot Twomey who taught
in Raheny NS before arriving in Kilbarrack.
On the 1st of September 1971 the boys
who had been in Scoil Íosagáin were es-
corted up the road by the teachers to their
new school, Scoil Lorcáin to be welcomed
by their new teacher Dick Fields. Some of
his pupils from this class are still involved in
Naomh Barróg.
This excerpt is from the above article.
“The people of Kilbarrack most of them
anyway –are not letting the grass grow
under their feet. Not that the Housing
Planners have given them much chance
to do so. Kilbarrack has been squeezed
you might say between places like Rahe-
ny, Coolock, Baldoyle and Sutton. Like
many areas of its kind there has been a
dramatic increase in population. But the
community has shown commendable
initiative, enterprise and energy in deal-
ing with the usual problems such as van-
dalism and juvenile delinquency that
plaque growing suburbs”.
“ When Kilbarrack first began to expand
six to seven years ago, we saw the diffi-
culties that could arise….. I would say that
in relation to the size of the Kilbarrack
community the amount of vandalism and
juvenile delinquency is quite small”, says
Michael Woods.
Garda Noel Lonergan-Juvenile Liaison Officer
Article written in Ir ish Independent around 1976-Reporter Jimmy Meagan
Kilbarrack-Foxfield at this time was a
busy and changing place. Like many
other areas in Dublin that once were
peaceful and idyllic places to live and
raise families with the opportunity to ex-
perience this life style and still have Dub-
lin City within easy reach. They were
now being challenged by housing devel-
opments all around them. From Kilbar-
rack to Finglas, and from Balbriggan to
Tallaght rural Dublin was becoming „a
builders yard‟.
For this change for Kilbarack-Foxfield the
old residents, many of them who had
lived and farmed their for generations
welcomed the new arrivals with kindness.
A dynamic and visionary residents asso-
ciation, Kilbarrack and District Residents
Association (KADCA) had been formed to
support the new arrivals and their fami-
lies. This association was chaired by Mi-
chael Woods, surrounded by hardwork-
ing committee members.
The new residents arriving were invited
to join committees, which they did in
great numbers to ensure that the people
and their children had proper facilities to
make their lives easier. One of the com-
mittees formed by KADCA at this time
was the Sports and Recreation Committee
mandated to support and encourage
sporting Clubs and recreation activities.
Noel Lonergan & Paddy Rankin U10 „76
Noel lived in Foxfield and was a member
of Naomh Barróg as a Mentor and a play-
er, winning a Junior Championship Medal
beating Starlights from Santry in 1981. In
the same article as above the reporter
Jimmy Meagan said.
“Garda Noel Lonergan who was born in
Limerick but who has lived most of his life
in Dublin, combines his police duties with
social work. He has a good insight into
problems a place like Kilbarrack can
present. He says though that for an area
of its size, Kilbarrack has a fairly low rate
of violence and vandalism”.
“ We don‟t record first offences.
We go about our work as discreetly
as possible to prevent one house-
hold knowing the misdemeanours
of others. But generally speaking I
don‟t think Kilbarrack has a high
rate of juvenile delinquency”.
He encouraged these boys to join
Naomh Barróg and get involved in
sport. I know some in the Club who
did just that and benefited from that
decision.
The 1970’s-Welcoming the new people & helping a Parish to grow.
Excerpt from Jimmy Meagans
Article in the Independent 1975
“...There are others who have
made their contribution in the
community. One is Martin
Heffernan now recuperation after
an operation”.
Page 3 Issue 1
Michael Woods
Scoil Lorcáin in the early 70‟s was wel-
coming new children to the school almost
daily . The boys arriving were being
challenged with making new friends and
adjusting to their new environment. For
many who had lived in inner city getting
used to the wide open spaces, with the
sea on their doorstep and the treasures to
be explored in St Anne‟s Estate was excit-
ing. One day Dick Fields met Ray
“Tonner” Dennis asking him “did he like
living in Kilbarrack”, replied “I hate go-
ing into town (Seville Place) because eve-
ry time they see me coming, say hear
comes the culchie”.
Sept 1971 to encourage the boys and get
them involved in sport he organized Foot-
ball Leagues after school. The first day
he was out with them. he noticed the boys
were kicking the ball on the ground all
the time. He told them they could pick it
up off the ground as they were playing
Gaelic football. One boy replied, “Sir,
what‟s that”? The adventure had begun.
Conclusion
Introducing Gaelic Football into Scoil Lorcáin
In the development of Kilbarrack-Foxfield
in the 70‟s, sport of all kinds was promot-
ed and developed to occupy the young
children and teenagers. So many parents
got involved in setting up different clubs.
These excerpts from Jimmy Meagans
Article in the Independent report:
“The local pitch and putt club is high on
the list of reasons why Kilbarrack-
Foxfield remains a liveable area. It keeps
many of the young boys of the street,
especially in Summer, and it costs only €2
a year,” says Willie Sheridan”.
“The Youth Club was the brainchild of
Con Colbert, Noel Lonergan, Fr Willie
King and Norman Allen, a former Dublin
Gaelic football star”.
“Dave Rooney, Benny Rathcliffe and Tony
Denver look after schoolboy soccer
affairs and Benny Barron is a prominent
figure in Kilbarrack United‟
“Paddy Rankin has long standings associ-
ations with Gaelic football in the area and
Noel Sweeney is Mr. Athletics , in
Kilbarrack”.
“Chess is a prominent pastime too, in
Kilbarrack. Michael Crowe, Cyril
Hardiman and Martin Molloy are
organisers in chief”.
“The Sea Scouts, an active group operate
from the Youth Club……”
I hope you enjoyed our first walk down
memory lane. For many, reading the
stories will be nostalgic for them as it will
revive many memories, mostly good I am
sure. Many parents will remember mov-
ing into the area with their young families
trying to start up family life for their chil-
dren For many it was a challenging time.
Yet I know most of them will admit that
they were wonderful and happy years.
The welcome and friendships they en-
countered, the opportunity to send their
children to good schools who supported
them in the raising of their children was
special.
The parish of Kilbarrack-Foxfield was
lucky and unique that many sporting
groups and organisations were formed so
early in the development of our commu-
nity. Kilbarack Utd Soccer Club in 1970,
The Athletic Club in 1971, Naomh Barróg
in 1974, The Sea Scouts, The Pitch & Putt
Club and many more helped to make it a
lovely and safe place to rear families.
Kilbarrack-Foxfield is on the move
Excerpt from Independent written by
Jimmy Meagan 1995
Michael Woods said” By and large
we have got a great response from
the young people. And the older
members of Kilbarrack have played
their part….”.
Page 4 Issue 1