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St Brigids Minor Footballers & Blanchardstown Centre - Centre of Excellence - Mon, 21 Apr 2008

Blanchardstown has become a vital commercial hub in recent years with the genesis of Ireland?s largest shopping and leisure centre. The Blanchardstown Centre is an integral part of the local community and was sponsor of the St Brigid?s minor team that brilliantly captured the 2007 Dublin MFC and followed up by winning the Leinster minor football championship.

The sprawling shopping centre has put Blanchardstown on the map like never before. It's now a thriving commercial zone, with high levels of employment and vast numbers of visitors from all over the country. The local GAA club is amongst the beneficiaries from the economic boom - St Brigid's have experienced unprecedented success in recent times and their 2007 county and provincial MFC breakthroughs were just the latest in a series of spectacular successes. Fittingly, The Blanchardstown Centre sponsored the all-conquering under 18 side.

The connection doesn't end there. Niall Davey captained the St Brigid's minor team to glory. Niall's father Paddy is club chairman and his mother Annette is facilities manager in the shopping centre. In many respects, it's one big happy family and Annette is delighted with how the local community is prospering both in terms of sport and commercial wellbeing:

"The Shopping Centre has a great association with St Brigid's, who are the local club and they were very proud to sponsor the minor team. We got great rewards from the sponsorship as they went all the way and won the Dublin championship. Great credit has to go to everybody associated with that team and we were very proud to be involved. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Green Property Management Ltd. [who own the shopping centre] for sponsoring the team."

Annette has worked in The Blanchardstown Centre for eleven years and has been facilities manager for five, taking responsibility for the effective control and management of the housekeeping, security, waste system, landscaping and customer service desk contracts. Annette also stands in as duty care manager every sixth weekend.

"They are the most prominent employer in the area and they take great credit for the manner in which they are prepared to support the local community. They give back to the community as much as they can and it?s always seen as a privilege to do so." This in addition to the vast economic benefits of the centre and putting Blanchardstown on the map.

Annette is originally from Dromard in Longford, winners of last year's Longford SFC. She follows the club closely and her nephew Peadar Faughnan is on the senior panel. Her husband John is from Sandymount and was formerly involved with the Clan Na Gael club. "The whole family is mad into the GAA and all the children play," she notes. "Niall [who was centre back] was one of only four players on the Brigid's minor team who were in their final year as minors [Jamie Philips, Gavin Kane and Aodhan McInerney being the others], so it was a young side and the older lads were expected to show leadership. We're hoping he'll continue to play football. At the moment, we spend most weekends on the sidelines watching matches and we love it." Paddy Davey, who was involved in bringing most of the 2007 minor crop through from juvenile level, is in his second year as St Brigid's club chairman. Reflecting on the minor championship success, he notes: "It's a big achievement. It's second only to the senior championship and it's only the second time we've ever won it, the last one being in 1995. Former senior boss Gerry McEntee was in charge of the team and will be again this year. Five of the lads are in this year's Dublin minor panel and eleven of them will be eligible again in 2008."

Adding the Leinster MFC crown with a 2-6 to 1-8 win over Ashbourne was the icing on the cake. "The competition is run by the Eire Og club and all the games were played down in Carlow. Ten teams took part and we played three times to win it out."

As for the possibility of more senior success for the Brigid's: "We are there or thereabouts every year and we're certainly in the top three or four in the county. We won it in 2003 and we?ve also contested three more finals recently. We were in the senior and minor finals on October Bank Holiday Monday last year but unfortunately the seniors missed out narrowly.

"We?ve had a big membership drive this year and have encouraged more and more parents to get involved. It's worked out well as we now have over 1,700 members including juveniles. We also have one of the best all-weather pitches around and are starting work on new dressing-rooms. There?s a strong hurling club as well and the ladies are going great too.

"The Shopping Centre has had a very positive effect on the club and they have always supported the local community. There was nothing there just over ten years ago and now the place is booming. A lot of the teenagers in the area work there part-time."

Paddy has been living in the Blanchardstown area for six years. Prior to that, he won a Leinster Vocational Schools title with Dublin in his youth and was a member of the Clan na Gael club, playing alongside his older brothers Gerry and Eugene and winning a SFC in 1968. Gerry scored the winning goal for Dublin in the 1963 All-Ireland final, while Eugene was a county dual player and is current Clan na Gael chairman.

Joe Gavin is general manager of Green Property Ltd., owners of The Blanchardstown Centre. He feels that the centre represents a vibrant, positive outlet for an area which has undergone massive development and progress: "We see ourselves as a key part of the community, providing a vital service. It?s very important to us to have community involvement and we're delighted to sponsor the local football club. We're very supportive of sport in the community and we are very happy to be associated with the St Brigid's minor team."

With 1.2 million square feet of retail space, The Blanchardstown Centre is Ireland's largest shopping centre, incorporating 180 shops and three separate retail parks specialising in DIY, electrical goods and fashion. August 2008 will see the Crown Plaza Hotel open on site, with 92 apartments included in the development.

A whopping 110,000 people live in the immediate surrounding area and it is no surprise to hear that the Shopping Centre continues to move forward. An extension - to be known as the Yellow Mall - is imminent. This will encompass some 300,000 sq.ft. and a fifth anchor tenant, seven full restaurants and 17 retail outlets. With constant improvements to the national road network, access to the centre has never been more convenient.

Blanchardstown is thriving on all fronts. The shopping centre and local GAA club make for ideal partners.

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