New astro pitch named in honour of the late Martin O'Neill will help bring Leeside United to the next level

Any club is only as strong as it's volunteers.

This is certainly the case with every club or organisation and Leeside football club is no different.

Recently, I caught up with their chairman Brendan McCarthy and here he tells us about the growth of the club and the benefit of having their newly opened all weather facility.

"The new facility is an absolute game changer for the club and its development," said McCarthy. 

Being able to train all year round, regardless of the weather has been fundamentally important to player development and to the community as a whole.

"Since the opening of the pitch, players have made massive personal strides being able to train on such a state of the art facility. 

"To accommodate such numbers, an Astro Pitch was the only way forward to give our members every opportunity to train, practice and most importantly, have fun!

"Our facility is quickly becoming an integral part of the community. 

"Our local primary school, School Inse Ratha uses it on a regular basis. Our friends in the direct provision centre, Ashbourne House also use it, we are only too delighted to see other facets of the community use the facility."

McCarthy got involved in the Little Island club over a decade ago when his son Eóin started to play for the club. 

Like most enthusiastic parents, McCarthy volunteered to help out coaching and has since been a prominent figure which has now lead him to his current role as Chairman.

"I really enjoy my current role and a lot of that is down to the wonderful committee we have. 

"My main duties are administrative and it's a role In thoroughly enjoying.

"My son Eoin joined the club in 2013 to play soccer with school friends and I quickly became involved. I, and two other parents, Odhran Stapleton and Gary O'Connor took over a team in the 13/14 season and since I've got involved in the club in anyway I could to help progress the club which led me to having the honour of becoming Chairman in 2018.

"The club has grown exponentially in the last few years. In 2013-14 season, when the club entered the Munster Senior League, we had 73 registered players. 

"We now have over 900 registered players and continuing to grow! Our academy teams have huge numbers, we have a minimum of two teams, at every Schoolboy age up to and including our 17s. 

"Last year we had two 16 teams compete at national level reaching the national cup final and national trophy semi final respectively.

"Our senior team won Division 2 last season and are off to a good start in Division 1 this season, we are very proud of them. 

"We have a very young team playing in MSL junior, Division 4, they are off to a great start also. 

"Our Women's and school girls section are going great. Our senior women's team recently completed league and cup double and will be competing in the Senior Premier next season. 

"Our adult teams are leading the way and are proving to be great role models for our younger generations. All very positive progression for the club and the community.

"We recently had the official opening day of our new pitch and it was a huge success packed with activities for all ages to enjoy. 

"There were various food trucks on site coupled with bouncy castles and obstacle courses kept kids of all ages entertained.

"On the pitch itself we were joined by coerver training whose inflatable three aside pitches were a huge success.

"That along with various soccer challenges penalty kicks free kicks target practice foot tennis etc that were manned by three Cork city players again extremely popular on the day.

"We were joined by various dignitaries and invited guests who had contributed to the project and of course the family of the late Martin O'Neill whose more than generous donation started the whole Project.

"To top it all off ex Ireland international manager Brian Kerr joined us on the day and entertained the crowds with tales of soccer from his incredible career before officially cutting the ribbon and declaring the pitch open.

"The day was enjoyed by both current and past members who enjoyed meeting up and reminiscing. We now as a club look forward to creating more great memories in the years to come."