“I’m trying to stay calm and carry on” says club chairman

Just five months after their storage containers were destroyed by arsonists the Drogheda Boys and Girls soccer team have lost their changing rooms and toilet facilities in another mysterious fire which occurred last night.

The fire was first reported at 8.00 pm last night and four fire tenders were at the scene for most of the night. Club Chairman Graham Campbell was first alerted to this latest fire when he received a text from a parent at 8.45 pm.

As Gardaí examined the scene of the blaze this morning to ascertain the cause of the fire, Mr. Campbell, who was clearly distraught, told Drogheda Life that he could not describe his feelings.

He said that after the first fire he was on an emotional roller coaster with the attack itself being the low point and the outpouring of public support which followed being the high.

“I’m still stunned but his time around, I’m trying to be pragmatic and stay calm” he said. “The Guards don’t know the cause of the fire yet but I’m more concerned about how quickly I can get the more than 300 kids back playing football.

“We’ve lost our toilets and dressing room but more importantly the electricity is gone also which means no floodlights and with the dark evening coming in that could mean no football for the foreseeable future.

Mr. Campbell, who played with Drogheda Boys when he was a child, has been on the club’s committee for ten years and chairman for the past five, said that he was focussing his energies on the plans to merge the club with Drogheda United.

“It’s very frustrating though, we are as deeply embedded in this community as it is possible to be, providing an outlet for healthy activities to local kids but we are receiving no real help from the Council, our pleas for funding and for help consistently fall on deaf ears.

“It seems to me that the authorities have no eagerness to address the problem of anti-social behaviour. We’re tired of asking for help but we’ll carry on and do what we can.”

He said that there is a need for radical change in the immediate area of the clubhouse which he said is being used nightly for drug dealing, burning rubbish and general anti-social behaviour.

“I spend a lot of time here and I see big societal problems all around but there seems to be little appetite for seeking solutions.”