The inaugural South Dublin South Leinster (SDSL) SNA-sponsored soccer blitz took place yesterday and saw students from six special schools gathered in Clontarf to enjoy a fun-filled morning of football. The event, organised by the SNA branch in collaboration with Dublin City Council and the Football Association of Ireland, aimed to provide children with special needs the opportunity to experience the joy of sport in a supportive and inclusive environment. 

The event featured a special jersey initiative, with students wearing Fórsa jerseys donated by the SDSL SNA branch. Andy Pike, National Secretary, spoke about the significance of the sponsorship: 

“The branch provided Fórsa jerseys for all the students, presentation bags, and presentation cups as well. The tournament is an example of the outreach work that the education division does. We support the work of our special needs assistant members in many different ways, not only with workplace-based problems and national initiatives, but also by supporting their day-to-day work within schools, helping students, and improving the educational experience. Initiatives like this are really important in embedding our trade union in the working lives of all the people who work in schools, students, and families.” 

Andy emphasised that the event wasn’t just about playing football but was an example of the broader outreach work done by the education division. He continued, “We very much hope it will be an annual initiative, an annual event. It’s great to see so many students wearing the Fórsa logo and enjoying themselves.” 

Annette Murphy, Chairperson of the South Dublin South Leinster (SDSL) SNA branch, shared the origins of the event during a branch brainstorming day. Annette recalled, “One of our colleagues said ‘you know what? Why not incorporate sport? Because a lot of special children don't get to engage in sport outside of school.’ So we said, you know what? We can sponsor jerseys and we can get the kids out and about. So I went back to Fórsa and asked if it was okay. They were absolutely delighted. So from small things came big things.” 

Noreen O’Mahoney, Chairperson of the Education Division in Fórsa, emphasized the importance of such events in highlighting the work around organizing SNAs. She said, “It’s a fantastic initiative that the division wants to get behind to integrate into the school community. We want to embed ourselves into the school community and let everyone know we represent SNAs.” 

Chris McElligott, the Football For All Development Officer for South Dublin, Wicklow, and Kildare, praised the event as a “brilliant idea” that fulfilled a fundamental need. He explained, “It’s a win-win for everybody. It’s an opportunity for these kids to get recreational football and be included in football activity where they’re not normally getting it in a football club. Some of them can access football clubs, but there’s a good cohort of special needs kids who don’t have that opportunity.” 

“It’s about being active, you know, it’s about socializing, meeting new friends. We don’t want to restrict any individual or any person from playing football.” 

Chris also praised a group of older students from Marian College who refereed the matches, allowing teachers a moment to shout encouragement from the sidelines. 

There was a general feeling that the event set a precedent for future gatherings. Andy Pike concluded, “We very much hope this will be an annual event. It’s great to see so many students wearing the Fórsa logo and enjoying themselves.” 

“It’s a nice change from industrial relations work, I can tell you,” he quipped at the end. 

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