OUR HISTORY
St Kevin’s Football Club was founded in 1959 by Fr Desmond Williams later to become Bishop Desmond Williams. Since its formation the Club has grown from providing football for 1 team to looking after in excess of 40 teams across all ages and standards consisting of nearly 1,000 Players and overseen by 105 Managers/Coaches.
The Club organises its own Saturday Mini Coaching Leagues known as Little Saint Coaching Academy, Annual Summer Camp and provides regular Coaching seminars and other topical workshops for interested managers and coaches.
The name of St Kevin’s Boys Club was changed in 2023 to St Kevin’s Football Club with the introduction for the first time of a girls football section and the feeder programme for that section is taken from the Disney Playmakers football programme.
As the Club membership has grown over the years, so too have the facilities. The Club now has its own Club Complex which houses 8 dressing rooms, meeting rooms, lecture room – with state of the art projector and DVD editing facilities, VEO camera and recording equipment, treatment room, gymnasium, coffee shop and TV room. The Complex also includes indoor and outdoor high spec all weather surfaces for training along with the excellent playing surface of our Club pitch at Shanowen Road.
The newest addition to our facilities is a full size floodlit all weather pitch located at St Aidan’s School which was opened in September 2016 in which the Club invested nearly half a million euro and this provides training and playing facilities for our teams all year round.
Our next development will be focused on improving and modernizing our facilities at Ward Cross with a long term lease coming into effect in late 2023 early 2024 which will give us more options to cater for the ever growing number of players in the club.
The Club field two teams at Senior level in the Leinster Senior Leagues Saturday and Sunday.
Our schoolboys section have been gathering honours at national and domestic level on an unprecedented scale during the last decade with numerous SFAI Cup successes most noteably in 2017 where the Club won 4 of the 5 SFAI Cups available to them, Premier DDSL League and Cup titles both at 11 aside and in the small sided game and also league and cup titles down through the second, third and fourth string teams.
In 2009 the year of our 50th Anniversary we inaugurated our International Invitational Tournament at Under 13 level which came to be known as The Academy Cup. This tournament which was run each Easter became one of the top tournaments for Elite clubs in Europe and the line-up over the years included FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, West Bromwich Albion, Borrusia Dortmund, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Arsenal F C, West Bromwich Albion, Olympique Marseilles, Olympique Lyonnais, Celtic F C, Ajax ,Hull City, Coventry City, DDSL, Austria Vien, Sunderland AFC, St Pauli, Braga SC, Ado Den Haag, Espanyol, Benfica, Real Madrid, Deportivo La Coruna, Athletico Bilbao, Watford FC.
Winners over the years were 2009 – Aberdeen, 2010 Arsenal, 2011 Brondby IF, 2012 Arsenal, 2013 Celtic. 2014 Ajax, 2015 Deportivo La Coruna. 2016 2017 and 2018 Barcelona, 2019 Athletico Bilbao. The Covid outbreak in 2020 put a halt to the Academy Cup tournament but maybe in the not too distant future in could be revived in some format.
As the Club continues to upgrade and enhance all its facilities particular thanks must go to all the members and friends who participate in our Klotto Draw each week, our annual bumper Christmas draw and all other fundraising schemes throughout the year as without their support we would not survive financially as fundraising plays a major role within our Club, whether it’s for the Club Development or assisting teams finance trips abroad.
The Club has its own Coaching Academy under the direction of SKB Director of Football, Ken Donohoe and Head Club Coach Stephen Costello and Smalll Sided Games Coach Karl Lambe.
Like most other schoolboy clubs, St Kevins FC is managed on a voluntary basis, with managers, coaches and committee members all contributing to the cause free gratis and we are extremely grateful to all those who give of their time in whatever role they perform to help maintain the Club’s position at the forefront of Irish football.
The Club uses playing facilities at: Ellenfield Park, Ward Cross, along with our main pitch at Shanowen Road and the new facility at St Aidan’s.
Club teams train on the All Weather surfaces both indoor and outdoor at the Club Complex, St Aidan’s and in the all weather facility at Ellenfield park.
Among the club’s most illustrious former players who gained full International honours are: Liam Brady, Damian Duff, Ian Harte, Stephen Carr, Alan Maybury, Robert Brady,Jeffrey Hendrick, Dara O’Shea, Evan Ferguson, Jack Byrne, while Kathelego Mashigo gained full international honours with South Africa.
Other ex players are continuing their careers at English/Scottish/Northern Ireland and European clubs such as Daniel Mandriou, Dawson Devoy, Darragh Burns, Graham Kelly, Gavin Kilkenny, Ross Tierney, Bosun Lawal, Jamie Mullins, Sean Grehan, Cian Kelly, Kevin Zeffi, David Okagbu, Justin Ferrizaj, Danny Mc Grath and John Ryan.
In the domestic Airtricty National League former SKB players such as : Ronan Finn, Luke Byrne, Cian Byrne, Keith Ward, James Mc Manus, Darragh Leahy, Sean Gannon, Evan Osam, Danny Norris, Trevor Clarke, Jack Brady, Dale Rooney, Kameron Ledwidge, Greg Slogget, Jamie Egan, Luke Wade Slater, Anto Breslin, Katelego Mashigo, Sam Curtis, Robbie Mc Court, Shane Elworthy, Derek Daly, Brian Maher, Colin Conroy, Len O’Sullivan, Gavin O’Brien, Cian Byrne, Luke Heaney, Callum Warren, Nickson Okosun among others are prominent with their respective Clubs.
Also we must not forget club stalwarts like junior international players such as Anto Wilkins, Alan Cornwall, John Ryan, Phil Long, Austin Hannon, Johnny Carroll and Conor Dillon who have among many others contributed to the success of the club at junior level.
Congratulations to all and long may such successes continue.
BELOW IS A LIST OF PAST AND PRESENT EXECUTIVE MEMBERS
CHAIRPERSON | VICE CHAIRPERSON | SECRETARY |
---|---|---|
1962 – 68 Mr J Smith | 1962 – 63 Mr P Gilsenan | 1962 – 63 Mr W Coleman |
1968 – 69 Mr T Killeen | 1963 – 74 Mr M Coffey | 1963 – 86 Mr D Lawlor |
1969 – 74 Mr J Loftus | 1974 – 76 Mr D Quinlan | 1986 – Mr B Bermingham |
1974 – 1979 Mr A McQueen | 1976 – 84 Mr M O’Callaghan | |
1979 – 1996 Mr J Kelly | 1984 – 96 Mr N Hayden | |
1996 – Mr M O’Callaghan | 1996 – 97 Mr P Daly | |
1997 – 01 Mr B Reid | ||
2001 – 03 Mr P Murray | ||
2003 – 11 Mr B Halpin | ||
2003 – 11 Mr B Halpin | ||
2011 – 15 Mrs M Gavin | ||
2015 – 22 Mr D Molloy | ||
2022 – Mr M Fox |
TREASURER | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL | REGISTRAR – PRO |
---|---|---|
1962 – 66 Mr P Bennett | 1962 – 74 Bishop D Williams | 1975 – 83 Mr P Daly |
1966 – 69 Mr J Loftus | 1974 – 88 Mr M Coffey | 1983 – 85 Mr B Reid |
1969 – 88 Mr T Killeen | 1988 – 90 Mr M O’Callaghan | 1985 – 96 Mr D Havelin |
1988 – 93 Mr A McQueen | 1990 – 96 Mr P Murray | 1996 – 00 Mr B Mc Cormac |
1996 – 00 Mr D Lawlor | 1996 – 97 Mr B Reid | 2000 – 03 Mr P Dolan |
2000 – Mr P Daly | 1997 – 00 Mr P Daly | 2003 – 11 Mr B Reid |
2000 – Mr K Donohoe | 2011 – Mr N Fox |
CLUB STRUCTURE
The Board of the Club consists of 19 Directors elected at the Clubs AGM. Each Director serves for two or three years. Normally 6 or 7 Directors are elected at each AGM. At it’s first meeting each year the Board elects 6 Executive Directors.
The current Executive Committee is made up of the following;
Chairman
Mr Michael O’Callaghan
Vice-Chairman
Mr Michael Fox
Hon. Secretary
Mr Brendan Bermingham
Treasurer
Mr Pat Daly
Football Director
Mr Ken Donohoe
P R O Director
Mr Neil Fox
Directors; Dave Furey, Jamie Kiernan, Martina Gavin, Andy Mc Kenna, Carole Daly, Donie Bermingham, Jeff Dequina, Mark Melody, Mick Mc Cracken, Louis Cassidy,Ger Losty, and Brian Halpin.
The Board normally meets monthly to conduct the business of the Club. The Executive meets formally once a week and informally as often as is necessary throughout the year. A variety of other Committees meet as required throughout the year. In particular the Football Committee meets weekly to discuss team performances and disciplinary issues.
CONTACT DETAILS
Club Administrator
Sharon Mitchell
087-9701738
Club Coach
Stephen Costello
086-0551516
Children’s Officer
Carole Daly
086-1733311
Club Secretary / DDSL 11 a side Secretary
Brendan Bermingham
087-2053243
LSL Secretary
Jeff Dequina
086-2473468
DDSL Small Sided Game Secretary
Dave Furey
087-4101395
Chief Recruitment Officer
Gerry Reddy
087-2556086