Gardaí join homeless in special football tournament
Gardaí will be joining homeless people and probation and prison service teams to compete in a Homeless Street League football tournament, it emerged today.
A total of 19 teams from Dublin, Belfast and Limerick will be competing in the tournament in the capital tomorrow, with competitors drawn from the homeless and immigrant communities and addiction centres.
Teams from the Irish Prison Service, Probation and Welfare Service, Dublin City Council and An Garda Siochana will also be taking part in the competition.
The tournament is commemorating two homeless young men, Jason Bowler and Kenneth Lyons, who died a number of years ago.
Their mothers will be at the event at John Paul Park, Cabra, Dublin, to present the cup which is named after Jason and the shield which has been named after Kenneth.
Tomorrow’s tournament has grown out of the Homeless Street League, which has seen 150 young homeless men turn up each week for 10 weeks for football training and matches.
Sgt Kevin O’Hagan, who helps organise the league, said that after a couple of weeks, the players were taking it seriously, with a sense of team sport and camaraderie.
“It was giving them a bit of structure, they were looking forward to the weekends.
“They wouldn’t go drinking before a match, they were there, they were punctual, they were disciplined,” he said.
“When the match was over they would all sit in the canteen, sitting together and having a good bit of fun.”
Officers and volunteers who organise the league hope to expand it to two 12-week leagues each year.
For the past few years, Ireland has also competed in the Homeless World Cup, which is being held this year in Edinburgh, and footballers from the league are picked to represent their country.
Sean Kavanagh, editor of homeless magazine Ireland’s Issues and chairman of the Street League, said the league gave the lads a chance they would never otherwise have to be picked to represent their country.
Mr Kavanagh said it provided them with a goal to work towards.
He also said the league and tournament gave people a chance to socialise and a reason to kick addictions and get fit.
“It gives them a focus in life, it gives them something to get up for in the morning.
“It gives them a sense of discipline and self-worth,” he said.
The chairman said that the goal was to get cities and towns across the country involved in the project and running their own leagues.
Tomorrow’s tournament is being sponsored by the Football Association of Ireland, Ireland’s Issues magazine and Dublin City Council.
The council has also provided the facilities for the Street League.
