Laytown soccer club ready to kick on with facilities expansion

Laytown United wants to expand the club into a vital community resource with a focus on inclusivity to continue the vision of coach David Conroy who passed away in a traffic accident in 2021.

The popular under 14s coach lost his life in a collision that also claimed the life of another man near Duleek.

Now club officials say they want to forge ahead with plans for the East Meath club to reach its full potential.

The comments were made at a recent Laytown /Bettystown municipal meeting where Lisa Keyes and Nicola Crowe from the club gave a presentation about their hopes for the sports facilities.

The soccer outfit was granted a six-year extension to their lease at Seafield and hope to be successful in obtaining funding to further develop the club.

"The impact Dave had on our club is apparent every day and it is still a very strong legacy that he has and today we are here to try and deliver that vision that he had for the club," said Nicola Crowe, Public Relations Officer.

"Dave was such a huge part of growing and shaping the club and his legacy can be seen all around Laytown Utd and the wider Laytown/Bettystown community, he is sorely missed by us all," she added.

The presentation revealed that 400 members are now registered with Laytown United, a significant increase since pre-Covid times - over 70 per cent since 2020.

They have over 40 coaches; 22 teams including two senior teams and two girls' teams

Among their aims they hope to establish a football sub-committee dedicated to the development of football within the club and ensure that the club is compliant with FAI player development plan. They want to support coach development through a coaching development programme focusing on successful completion and progression through PDP standards and reintroduce club trips abroad.

They also have plans to develop a club inclusivity policy with a view to the expanding the number of female players and the inclusion of players with special needs.

Local Cllr Sharon Tolan paid tribute to the clubs dedication to move it forward something coach David Conroy was an advocate for.

"It would be remiss of me not to give David Conroy a mention because you have grabbed the reigns there and brought the club in a direction that I know David was very passionate about.

"It has really gone from strength to strength and I want to congratulate you on that on what had to have been a very difficult time for everybody in the club, you have really done him proud."

Tolan went on to say how the sports facility is important to the community. She said:

"On Monday we had our full council meeting, we had a presentation from the Drogheda implementation board in relation to the issues that are ongoing in Drogheda and in East Meath with gangland crime and anti-social behaviour. What stands out for me time and time again is making sure that young people have opportunities and alternative options and the site up there at Seafield is another fantastic facility. It's an opportunity to keep our young people occupied, active members in community clubs under the guidance of well trained coaches and a great community with parents on the side line."

Cllr Tolan proposed to consider a long term lease for the club and to apply for a sports capital grant that they may be more successful in obtaining than large scale infrastructure funding.

"We need to look at long term lease longer than six years, you need it, we are going to miss out serious sports capital grants if we don't secure a longer lease for you.

"If we don't facilitate a club like Laytown united being in a position to apply for sports capital grant and we rely solely on the large scale Infrastructure grant in the hope that we will be successful this time and we are not you are leaving a whole cycle of grant funding gone," she said.

"I'm quite sure that legally we could offer a 20-year lease with a condition that should we be successful with the large scale infrastructure grants that lease is dissolved and the other project goes ahead."

Cllr Tom Behan said the council needed to "empower" the club to achieve its full potential, he added:

"I know so many of the members down there and it is heartwarming to see the community spirit, it is not just the teams, its the coaches, the volunteers, everyone looks out for each other.

"We need to get it right as a council because we did go down the years of Covid where we weren't allowed do any of this and to see clubs coming back so strong we need to make that positive and we cant turn around it is up to us to do everything within our power."

Fianna Fáil Councillor Stephen McKee said: "I teach in an all girls secondary school and help out with Gaelic Games and soccer so I see first hand for the importance of sport and encouraging young people and particularly young girls to stay involved in sport.

"I would like to congratulate you for thinking about other clubs and everyone benefiting because that really is the future for a facility such as sea field where everything is expensive nowadays clubs are going to have to collaborate."

Labour Councillor Elaine McGinty said she believes the club should go all in.

"I like the idea of a large scale infrastructure project, I understand the concerns if it doesn't happen but look at where it is you have bus and train access, you have a ready made young population, there are so many things going for it, I cannot see on what grounds it would not get it. I really think we should go big on this."

Cllr Behan proposed a motion for the council to move forward to secure a large-scale infrastructure grant, it was seconded by Cllr. Paddy Meade.