Ballymun Kickhams - Our Club, Our Community, Our Future

We love our club Ballymun Kickhams, we want it to be successful and excel so it will be left in a better place than we found it. That means not only striving to be champions on the field, but also ensuring we are a fully inclusive club, regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, ability/ disability, we want to welcome everyone.

Ballymun through our volunteers have been working tirelessly on the day to day challenges and rewards of running a GAA club, but without a structured plan in place of where we as a club intend to go. This blueprint document originated through dialogue with other clubs that have developed and implemented strategic plans to great success. We set up a strategy committee to provide a longer term vision for Ballymun Kickhams, to allow greater collaboration and to entice more existing members to get involved in shaping the future direction of the club.

We conducted a survey and held focus groups to allow all members have their say. This enabled us to gain a thorough understanding of where we are at as a club and to identify barriers and opportunites to guide our plan. The huge number of people that got involved in the process that led to the development of this plan is testament not only to their commitment to the club, but also to the support we will have in making the plan succeed.

We have ambition, drive and determination to make our club even stronger and more successful. Everyone has a role to play and we aim to use the powerful network of people in our club to grow, develop and reach our fullest potential. We believe we are greater than the sum of our parts, that we are more than just a club, that we can go

beyond the field of play into the hearts and minds of the wider community and that ultimately is what will ensure our future success.

We would like to engage with all ages in the local community a lot more and provide a strong presence within the community of Ballymun and surrounding area. This will lend itself to increased membership and continue the production line of players whilst also growing participation levels in all aspects of the club. We want to attract new members to support and energize those already in place. We feel as a club that there is so much untapped potential that we can utilise.

This five year plan will pave the way for growth and future success. We all have a passion and love for Ballymun Kickhams, we want the club to be in as strong a place as it possibly can be to make sure the next generation can build on the foundations that we have put in place. We look forward to working with you on this journey.

Paul Ashton John Small Simon Lawlor Adrienne Conlon

Background

Founded in 1967, when Ballymun Gaels and C.J. Kickhams clubs merged, the club has had many successes on and off the pitch. In this rapidly evolving world the club have come together and worked together to plan for our future. The club is now embarking on an ambitious plan to ensure it thrives and encourages more in our community to be part of our club.

Ballymun Kickhams is more than just a club. It is a home to our members and we owe it to all the volunteers that have worked so hard over the past 50 years to set a course for success through this plan.

This plan was written with the unique strengths the club has developed over the past 50 years in mind. Demographic changes, socio-economic shifts, time poor and the battle for attention in a digital world are all having a major impact on participation. These challenges, present opportunities to create a future for the club that is diverse, inclusive, sustainable and accessible. We must make it easy for new players –regardless of age – to get involved and at the same time keep the passion of current players alive. We need to cultivate and celebrate success and excellence whilst not forgetting about having fun. Building and implementing coaching standards and working towards providing the best facilities possible will ensure success. It is realistic, sustainable and future focussed. Inclusion of former players in roles is also vital for our future.

A focused collaborative approach is now required, to help build the club we want for the future generation to ensure Ballymun Kickhams reaches its full potential.

Where We Want to be in 2027

An inclusive welcoming club where everyone feels valued

Growing numbers at all age levels, coaches, volunteers and officials

Communicating and telling our story effectively

Highest standards of coaching achieved

Succesful at the highest level on the pitch

Financed sufficiently to fulfil our vision and ambition

Well governed club compliant with Code of Governance

Permanent presence in the community of Ballymun

Our Purpose Our Values

Our Vision

To promote Gaelic football, culture and lifelong connection and participation as a communitybased, volunteer-led club which enriches the lives of our whole community

To be the club of choice within the community promoting the highest standards of excellence on and off the field

We aim to build on the existing strengths of the club using our collective voice and talents to unite, challenge and inspire the next generation of members

Excellence – How we operate our club at every level. We strive to achieve the highest standards on and off the pitch in our community

Equality - We provide an inclusive and equitable environment for everybody to participate at all levels

Teamwork – We work as a team and value all our volunteers who are the backbone of our club

Community – We instil a sense of community, belonging and fun throughout our club

Accountability - We uphold the highest level of governance and integrity in all our dealings by being open and transparent. When we commit, we deliver

Sustainability - We strive to improve our community by reducing our carbon footprint

History of Club

In 1886 CJ Kickhams hurling and football club was formed in Dublin, with players mainly from the drapery trade. In 1954 Ballymun Gaels Club formed to address the lack of opportunity to play Gaelic games in the Ballymun/Glasnevin area. The club initially played junior football but a thriving juvenile section was soon to follow. Moving forward to 1967, Ballymun Gaels and C.J. Kickhams Clubs merged to form Ballymun Kickhams. For the following ten years the newly formed adult team played at Intermediate level. Early on there were signs of better things to come with growing success at juvenile levels. Close links between the club and local schools ensured a steady flow of new “talent” into the club and these links remain in place to this day and are the “life blood” of the club.

In 1978 Senior status was achieved and our senior team went on to win their first senior football championship in 1982 and we have won four Dublin Senior Football Championships and one Leinster Football title. During these early years Johnstown park and Collins Ave (current site of DCU Helix), served as our home base. In later years we added Poppintree Park and Albert College. In 1987 we moved to our current home (Pairc Ciceam) in Collinstown. While we were mainly a Football club we previously participated in Hurling competitions at both juvenile and adult (junior) level.

In 1997 we opened new facilities which included a fine pavilion and upgraded pitches at Pairc Ciceam. Phase two of this project saw the development of a fully floodlit artificial pitch which was completed in March 2003 and at the time was regarded as one of the finest playing surfaces in Europe. A further significant upgrade of club facilities in 2020 saw the installation of a state of the art 3G surface.

Whilst historically the club participated predominately in men’s competitions with four adult teams and juvenile teams at all age levels, there has been a huge upsurge in playing numbers on the ladies side and we are now fielding teams at all juvenile age groups as well as minor and adult teams.

Throughout our history we have also made a huge contribution to the success of Dublin Inter County teams, with our club players amassing an incredible tally of 45 All-Ireland medals and 18 All Star awards. As with all history, a lot has yet to be written!

Our Engagement

This plan has been developed following an independent consultation with over 300 people taking part. Members and those involved and interested in the growth of the club contributed. Stakeholders, players, young people, volunteers and sponsors provided specific input through three focus groups and one on one interviews. Over 260 people responded to an online survey. All stakeholders were invited to discuss and share their views openly on what is currently working well and what areas need to change to improve and strengthen our club.

Key Themes

• Opportunities – Link with other community bodies

• Appetite for positive change and striving for excellence

Focus on coaching excellence from juvenile upwards

• Engage with corporate partners/funders to secure funding opportunities

Ensure more effective communication internal and external

• Utilise well known club members as champions to “Tell the Ballymun Kickham story”

Identify unique selling points our club has to offer - locality, physical activity, teamwork , male and females and mental health benefits of being involved

• Ensure club is operating at the highest standards of governance

Bring back the fun community element to our club

Ballymun is special and we want a club that encourages those not involved to get involved

We want to be proud of our club

We have an important role to play in our community in Ballymun so lets play itFocus on development of female participation

Ensure we have high standards of excellence at all levels

Football helped me out of a dark place and I want to show others the positive mental health benefits it has

Where We

We need a proper home and proper facilities in order to excel Ballymun Kickhams is my second home

Ballymun Kickhams is a small club that has a huge record in delivering quality players we want to ensure we continue to have player throughput

Pairc Ciceam

Overall Aims by 2027

• Increase membership to 1000 members

Increase number of playing members by 5% year on year

• Increase gender ratio to 40% female 60% male

• Every age group to have a minimum 20 players available each game

50% Juvenile teams in Division 1

• All coaches have a minimum of foundation course training

Increase income and diversity of funding streams

• Have a pathway in place for state of art facility

• Best in class governance and oversight

Delivering Our Vision For Success

In order to achieve success we need to focus on ensuring that we attract people in our community to our club to participate in all roles at all levels whilst ensuring our standards across all areas of the club are of a very high level.

Goal : Focus on Fun and Engagement for life time participation and inclusion

Increase Club Participation

Increase the number of club members who both play and get involved in all roles in the club whilst establishing a strong sense of community. This is essential for the growth and development of our club.

Build our community focus on what makes our club unique – part of a family, mental and physical health benefits, fun and easy to start

• Collaborate with schools and Local Sports Partnerships to broaden reach and set Key Performance Indicators for Games Promotion Officer to deliver on

• Expand our club network of referees, officials and volunteers Develop a Women in Ballymun Kickhams Plan to increase participation and to support females

• Produce a welcome pack for all volunteers to encourage involvement

• Focus on specific tailored participation programmes for children and youth through schools and third level engagement

• Create a committee with a focus on developing the social side of the club for all ages Create Ballymun Kickhams youth leadership and mentorship programme

• Build Ballymun Kickhams network of former players and members

Goal : Focus on High Standards of Excellence throughout

Implementation of Plan

This plan will be supported by specific working groups and an annual operational plan approved by the Executive. The operational plan will set out clearly what actions are to be taken, who is responsible, how each will be measured, the relevant timetable and the budget required under each area will be in line with the clubs overall budget planning. This Strategy Group will establish a Strategic Working Group with experts from key relevant areas to oversee the delivery of the plan and report to the membership and Executive on its progression. Adjustments will be made as we progress the plan over the next five years.

Conclusion

This five year plan for Ballymun Kickhams is an important step in underpinning our future growth. Yes it is ambitious and yes we acknowledge that we need to transform, change and grow as the environment around us changes. With a shared vision, passion and commitment, we can plot a course to achieve our objectives together in our own community and deliver success on and off the pitch.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to this plan through your participation in the focus groups, interviews, submissions, making of our #BKHaveyoursay video and the online survey. Thanks to the Ballymun Kickhams Executive for their continuing work in running the club, the Strategy committee Paul Ashton, John Small, Simon Lawlor, Adrienne Conlon and Lisa Clancy of Clansult Ltd for the work on producing this plan. We look forward to working with all our partners in turning the plan into action and turning our vision into reality.