This article is from page 59 of the 2011-07-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 59 JPG
IT was, as John Aldridge admitted, a long week. It started with a trip to Connolly Celtic and took in trips to north Clare, east Clare, west Clare and Ennis. Along the way Aldridge and former Ireland teammate Ray Houghton, met players and coaches, signed hundreds of autographs and posed for hundreds of photographs.
Along the way there was the odd stop off in some of the Banner County’s well-known pubs – McDermott’s in Doolin, The Diamond Bar in Ennis and Daly’s in Kilmihil. Aldridge may have missed the chance to talk football with the regulars in The Diamond but he was part of a strong FAI delegation that put down, as John Delaney described it, a “long night” in Kilmihil on Wednesday.
Aldridge’s four day bus tour of the grassroots game in Clare came to an end in Ennis on Thursday at a family fun day organised by Ennis Town.
Standing pitchside at Ennis Rugby Club, which hosted the festivities, Aldridge recalled a week spent meeting the people and places that make up the county’s soccer community.
He said, “It’s been a very long week. The traveling has been quite arduous. You get a lot out of it. You see a lot. You learn a lot to be fair. There are a lot of good things happening in Clare and around Ireland. It’s very positive”
The former Liverpool and Ireland striker who scored 19 international goals in the green jersey said he was hugely impressed by the standard of facilities in Clare.
He said, “Some are more advanced than others. But you just got to look forward and plan the best for the kids in your vicinity and community and get them outside playing football rather than being on the Playstation”.
Aldridge continued, “There are some great facilities. Some that need tidying up and that will happen I’m sure in the future. John Delaney and the FAI are working very hard and striving for that to happen”.
Aldridge, who played in two World Cups, also heaped praise on the small army of volounteer coaches who are driving the game in Clare.
He said, “Some people are doing it for the love of the club and that’s great to see. There is a lot of effort going in the background by people you don’t see and don’t get noticed”.
Acknowledging the difficult economic times, Aldridge urged clubs to keep up the good work. He add- ed, “It’s hard times out there, getting money and that. Keep looking at ways you can get funding, lottery funding or whatever. The FAI help in various ways. Don’t give up hope and go out to your local community to help as well”.
The Liverpool native said meeting a group of Special Olympics athletes in Ennis.
He said, “People who are so passionate and so competitive in sport, that was great to see”.