Groundbreaking TY football initiative celebrates first girl graduates

Fingal County Council, in collaboration with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), has celebrated the graduation of the 2024 class from their groundbreaking Football and Fitness Transition Year (TY) Course. 

This year, 49 transition year students from across Fingal received their certificates in a ceremony attended by Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Adrian Henchy, the FAI’s Assistant Technical Director Shane Robinson, and Fingal County Council Director of Sport David Storey. Also present were Republic of Ireland Under-21 Manager Jim Crawford and Republic of Ireland Women's National Team player and Swords native Jamie Finn.

While the joint initiative has heavy focus on football and fitness, it also helps equip students with valuable life skills. Participants gain a full Fitness Instructor’s qualification from Litton Lane Training and complete the FAI’s Coach Education pathway, earning PDP1 and PDP2 qualifications alongside a gym instructor qualification. Across the year that the TY course was running, students also undertake modules covering maths and English, as well as learning about topics such as sports psychology and nutrition, and there’s even cooking lessons involved on how to produce high-performance meals for athletes.

This year saw 19 of the graduates represent Ireland in both the boys and girls underage international teams. Previous graduates from the course are also now playing for Ireland’s Men’s National Team, as well as seeing many making their own mark across all tiers of football in Ireland, England and Scotland.

Congratulating the graduates, Mayor of Fingal Cllr Adrian Henchy said: “Sport is a powerful tool that breaks down barriers, develops character, teaches a wide range of skills, and provides not only positive pastimes but gives us positive influencers for other young people. We were thrilled to be able to join forces with the FAI once again to help deliver another first with the TY girls programme, and expect that we will see the course continue to go from strength to strength.”

Highlighting the introduction of the girls' TY course this year, Jamie Finn said: “It’s amazing to see a programme like this coming out of Fingal, particularly as it helps open up new opportunities for young women passionate about football and fitness. Along with nurturing talent it also helps prepare students for future challenges in sports and in other fields.”

Fingal County Council has long recognised the significant value of sport in the community. It was the first local authority to partner with the FAI back in 2005, introducing co-funded Football Development Officers with the council now employing six Development Officers across the county. Their work includes rolling out school programs, developing women’s football, running Late Night Leagues, and implementing the FAI Club Mark Programme.

FAI President Paul Cooke said: "On behalf of the FAI, I would like to congratulate all the boys and girls who have completed this course and graduated today. The TY course is innovative and a great benefit to all these young players as they look to a career in football at home or abroad. Fingal County Council are again to be congratulated for their commitment to this course and for their commitment to introduce a first TY Football and Fitness Course for girls this year.”

Fingal Sports Office collaborates with many National Governing Bodies and values its strong relationship with the FAI. This is the eighth year of the TY Boys Fitness & Football course and the inaugural year of the girls' course, both offering training in football and general sports skills, as well as the full Fitness Instructor’s qualification.

Director of Sport, David Storey, said: “These two TY groups really illustrate just how positive an impact that a course like this can have on the development of young people. Over the course of the year, these graduates have served as exemplary role models for over 3000 primary school children weekly, sharing the skills they have learnt on the course. The feedback we’ve received from across the county has been overwhelmingly positive and the TY students should be exceptionally proud of what they have achieved in making a positive impact within our communities.”

Notable awards were given to standout students on the course. Among the female graduates, Aoibhe Brennan was honoured as Player of the Year, and Ruby Broderick Kinsella was recognized as Student of the Year. For the boys, Chris Conlon was named Player of the Year, and Oscar Shubar Keely received the Student of the Year award.