Chairman Message:

As I take over from Serena, I wanted to drop you a line to outline where the club currently stands. But before I do I want to personally thank Serena for being fantastic as Chair over the last two years. I’m sure you all recognised her commitment and leadership as she brought the club from strength to strength.

The club has always been an open book as to its operating model and I want to continue this transparency as Chair.

The Club is run by the Executive committee which is made up of volunteers and running a club the size of Beechwood does take a lot of personal time which we are all happy to give.

So, what does Beechwood look like today:

Beechwood is very much a community club with a kids first approach where we want all kids to play in a league suited to their ability. Kids will also have the ability to move up or down teams as club coaches deem appropriate. Our Football Committee are responsible for all on field matters which has led to league success across many age groups with multiple cup finals over the last number of seasons and our U18 boys winning the league last season.

We pride ourselves on the football experience we offer the kids with the best gear, training, pitches, and coaches. This all-costs money and as you can see below the Covid years did negatively impact the Club finances. Thankfully 2023 was a better year.

Over the financial years 2021 and 2022, the Club made a loss due to Covid as the Club continued to offer gear, coaches, and pitches without taking in our full subscription revenue. Thankfully in the 2023 financial year we made a small profit. We aim to make a small profit annually but similarly we do need to keep cash balances healthy into the future so we can deal with any unexpected issues.

Our revenue comes from our subs and of course from our very generous sponsors, many of which have been with us for years like our Principal Sponsor Travel Suite supported by Rathmines Sports, Sherry Fitzgerald and Nobó. Thankfully this season we have had corporates sponsor individual teams which raised €16k. We aim to do the same for the 2024/25 season as well. Thank you to Lantech, Line Up Sports, MG Developments, DSG, Catalyst Group, O’Dwyer Property Management, Lennan’s Yard, PWC, Ethos Engineering, Rathgar Pharmacy, Barina Property Group, Spark Digital, The Currency, and Ukiyo Bar & Restaurant.

Fundraising is a key revenue generator, and we aim to have a number of events over the coming seasons, and we’d ask you to support those when possible please. We will also be accessing the cost of our subs prior to renewal at the end of the Summer.

I imagine some of you may be looking at the costs above and questioning why they are so high. This is the model Beechwood has chosen, specifically around coaches and gear, and I firmly believe the kids benefit hugely from dedicated coaching and the best gear. The fact that most of the kids play from Academy through to U18 proves this point not to mention the success in recent seasons.

We have 24 club coaches with Connor Burke responsible for the academy through to U12’s and Dave Collins responsible for older age groups. We are one of the few clubs in our catchment area that offer dedicated club coaches which means our kids are getting focused training each and every week.

I’m sure you all agree that the kids look great in the Beechwood gear and Rathmines Sports have plenty of gear to purchase directly. Pitch space is a huge challenge for the Club, and we are constantly looking for extra pitch space so we can give teams more space to train. This is an ongoing search. As a Club, we don’t own any pitch. We are very grateful to the Friends of Royal Hospital Donnybrook for the use of their pitch facility and to Alexandra College, St Mary’s School, St. Kilians German School and Merrion Cricket as providers of the other grounds that we rent. As you know most teams train twice a week now which was not the case pre covid. Given we have 53 squads this creates a huge demand for pitch space.

So, thank you to our sponsors and to you the parents for always supporting the Club. Beechwood is in a great position for on-field success across all age Groups and I very much look forward to meeting you on the sidelines throughout the season.

Please feel free to contact me on 087 2259134 or BEECHWOODFCCHAIR@GMAIL.COM

Personal regards,

Diarmuid O’Neill