CDSL hits out at “mindless vandalism” at Frank Healy Park

The Clare District Soccer League (CDSL) has been left frustrated by repeated acts of vandalism at Frank Healy Park.
The Doora based facility has been repeatedly targeted by vandals for a year. Since last summer, fencing has been destroyed, doors broken and the mail box repeatedly damaged.
The acts of vandalism started when a door into a storage area of the dressing rooms was broken in to roughly a year ago.
This has led to a progression of incidents which has left those involved in Clare soccer deeply frustrated. On Monday, the CDSL published a statement about the repeated intrusions at the County Grounds when the home dressing room door was severely damaged.
The statement by the CDSL notes: “Finally this morning the home dressing room door was discovered to have been broken in. This is simply mindless vandalism as nothing of any significant value is kept in these buildings. They are dressing rooms and a small kitchen, noting more. There aren’t even biscuits stored on site.”
CDSL Chairman Jason Ryan told The Clare Champion that these acts are discouraging to everybody associated with soccer in the county.
“We are very disappointed with what’s happening. This has happened on a number of occasions. We have contacted the Gardaí because there has been a lot of money pumped in to Frank Healy Park and it’s all being destroyed. It’s very disheartening.”
“This has been going on and off for a year. We can’t seem to get a handle on it. We are lucky there is nothing there to be taken. They have done a lot of damage. We will likely have to invest in anti vandal shutters just to try and stop this from continuing to happen.”
Ryan admits the vandalism is a source of annoyance for not only the board but also the volunteers who have invested their time and energy in to ensuring the facility is of a high standard.
Another frustrating aspect of the recent spate of incidents is the damage caused to the mailbox at the facility.
This led to numerous important documents going missing with communication relating to the planning application for the new suite of dressing rooms and to government grant applications.
“I suppose a couple of grants were delayed. We have had to rectify that with the post now going to our Secretary. We shouldn’t have to be doing that. With the mail box and then the door to the home dressing room being targeted, we are afraid what will happen next time. This is nothing but pure vandalism.”
At a time when finding volunteers and trying to raise funds for any projects is proving increasingly difficult for all sporting organisations, this only serves to harm Clare soccer.
The CDSL Chairman admits that spending money on cameras only for them to be ripped down, changing locks and trying to repair damage is tough to finance especially when the threat of further vandalism is present.
“The damage has gone in to thousands (of euros). We would have put a small bit aside for other projects. We are hoping to get the ladies dressing rooms done up. Building two new ones is a priority but we have to be careful with our spending.”
Although the season has concluded, preparations are ongoing for the start of the 2023/24 campaign. Ryan is content with how last season unfolded on the field with Newmarket Celtics’ success bringing national focus to Clare soccer.
He feels that although the action on the fields has temporarily eased, this is still an important time of year.
“It is busy. They say the season is over. It is but it isn’t at the same time. We have our AGM in a few weeks. We are trying to get these dressing rooms under construction while we hope to get more grants for developing facilities. We also want to hold more courses for referees in the off season. There’s always something to do.”