Shelbourne AFC 50 Shades of Green Fundraiser Lights Up Limerick

Shelbourne AFC Dinner Dance at the Greenhills Hotel. Derek Allen, Stephanie and Joe Buckley, Michelle Daly/Hayes, Joanne Clancy and Tony Cusack, attending the Shelbourne AFC Dinner Dance at the Greenhills Hotel Picture Brendan Gleeson

Limerick’s longest-running football club Shelbourne AFC shook up the north side with a fundraising ball called 50 Shades of Green on Saturday 25th February last 

The green-themed event was to fundraise for the development of a playing and training facility at the LPYMA ground off the Ennis Road in Limerick following the award of a sports capital grant in 2022. 

Tony Cusack, chair of Shelbourne AFC said on the night. ‘We are very grateful for the support of all of our parents, sponsors and friends who have made tonight possible. We are all on a journey as Shelbourne AFC, a journey that began 95 years ago and with nights like this will continue for many years to come.  Our teams ( over 25 teams) of all ages are the pride of our club and this event and this LPYMA development will be for all the teams, the local schools and the people of our community here in Limerick’. 

Over 200 happy revellers partied the night away to The Busker at The Greenhills Hotel on Saturday night supported by a host of local businesses. The green theme is inspired by the club’s colours. 

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The next big date for the club is on March 11th when the U12 Girls teams at Shelbourne will Compete in the quarter-finals of the SFAI National Trophy. This historic game for the 95-year-old club will take place at 2pm in Shelbourne Park( Shelbourne’s home ground) and a huge crowd is expected to support the underage team. 

The fundraising committee hope to continue fundraising for the LPYMA development with more events in the future. 

At present Shels fields 25 teams, and serves over 500 registered players, including 350 children, with a very healthy mixture of boys and girls drawn from the surrounding areas on the northside of the city as well as from a diverse range of new communities. Shelbourne’s underage sides currently feature boys and girls (and coaching staff) from Sudan, Pakistan, Poland as well as their Irish friends and with a firm emphasis on inclusion and local implementation of the “Football for All” ethos that develops football opportunities for players with a disability in their local community.

Shels have been actively seeking to increase the number of girls participating in its underage sides, and currently has 3 girls’ teams and runs a UEFA and FAI-supported Disney playmaker programme for girls from 5-9 years. The club obtained the quality FAI Club Mark in recent years and has ambitious plans to develop the facility at the LPYMA Grounds.

Read similar stories here.
Find out more about FAI Disney Playmakers Programme here.