A Decade of Advocacy and Action:
Sporting Liberties was founded as a unified umbrella campaign for Dublin 8’s grassroots sports clubs—rugby, football, GAA, boxing—driven by a stark reality: over 8,500 children in the area lacked access to a proper playing pitch or recreational facility. Our goal: bring full-sized, multi‑sport pitches to the community.
2014–2017:
Camouflaged frustrations bore fruit in 2015 when the group identified a promising site behind St Catherine’s Sports Centre on Marrowbone Lane for redevelopment into a pitch. But attempts to integrate sports facilities into redevelopment plans for St Teresa’s Gardens stalled, especially amid arguments over displacement of social housing residents—a contentious issue by 2017.
2018–2022:
Persistent activism peaked in October 2022, when Sporting Liberties joined forces with local clubs for a high-profile protest outside Dublin City Council, demanding immediate creation of green space and sports facilities at Marrowbone Lane depot site. The campaign also briefed national politicians and media, highlighting the broader social value of accessible team sports in preventing youth disengagement and encouraging community belonging.
2023-present:
The plight of Liberty Saints RFC, the only IRFU‑affiliated club without a home pitch, became a potent symbol of the crisis. Training small squads in a postage‑stamp green patch surrounded by brick walls, Liberty Saints became the face of Sporting Liberties’ messaging. New hope arose with the appointment of a new CEO at Dublin City Council, who committed in writing to begin designing a FIFA‑accredited pitch on the Marrowbone Lane site using a consultant in the coming weeks.
Pat Kenny NewsTalk
Chairperson of Sporting Liberties, JJ O’Mahony calls on the government to step up to the plate in the South West Inner City. Huge thanks to Pat Kenny and Newstalk for having JJ on the show
Liberties Saints
After 12 years of campaigning by Sporting Liberties this month it was announced that Mediolanum International - Ireland, Fondazione Mediolanum, and all of the Mediolanum Partner network in the Philanthropy Collective, in partnership with The Liberties Community Project are investing in a new Multi-Sport and Community Hub facility in St James Primary School, Basin Lane, Dublin 8 ( where Liberty Saints RFC have been based for the past 10 years ) – Helping all of the South West Inner City Community, and all of the young people in the 17 schools in the area to enjoy organised Sport and Recreation.
Our Campaign
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Newstalk
Funding provided for a pitch at St James’ School in Dublin 8.
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Irish Times
Irish arm of Italian bank to fund delivery of first playing pitch for Dublin’s Liberties Mediolanum International Funds raises €1m for community initiatives across Dublin
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![A young man wearing glasses, a black jacket, and a Raiders beanie stands outside in a parking lot with a brick building and trees in the background.]()
RTÉ Prime Time
Fight for playing pitches is about more than sport – campaigners
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![Two men holding a blue banner that reads 'WELCOME TO DUBLIN 8 WHERE CHILDREN DO NOT MATTER!' outside a gated area with barbed wire on top, near parked cars and buildings.]()
Irish Independent
‘The money is there, we just need more urgency’, says Sporting Liberties campaign group
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![Two men standing indoors with crossed arms, smiling, in front of a sign that reads 'NEWS TALK'.]()
Pat Kenny Show
Tom Magee joined Pat in studio to discuss why sport is so important in an area that has never seen it before.
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Irish Independent
€1m funding delivers long-awaited Dublin 8 sports facility.
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![Two empty soccer goals on a grassy field under a blue sky with clouds and contrails.]()
RTÉ
“More than 8,000 children are without a green area to play on in central Dublin”
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![Two men standing outdoors, one holding a red microphone, with construction cranes and a building under construction in the background.]()
Newstalk
There is an ongoing joke at an inner-city school in Dublin that there's more greenery on the roof than on the ground.
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![A large group of people gathered outdoors on steps in a park area, with some people sitting and others standing, as a person in a yellow vest labeled "DOC" addresses them. The background shows green trees and a grassy hill.]()
Irish Times
Liberties sports clubs protest over lack of playing pitches
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