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

dfields17@hotmail.com

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