Asdee Rovers are one of KDL’s shining lights
THE roots of the beautiful game in Asdee goes back to the early 1970s and began in a small cherished piece of ground known as the School Field.
Part of the local national school it was only 60 yards by 40 yards in size, but it was the location where all the local teenagers and adults spent most of their recreational time as there was no other outside recreational place in the parish.
For local youngsters it was Lansdowne Road and Croke Park wrapped into one and it was here they spent most of their holidays from school. Then an annual fivea-side tournament was organised every summer and this was the catalyst that mushroomed the spread of the game and soccer became the fashionable game of that era in the Shannonside village.
Entries increased every year and the age bracket ranged from 15 to 60 and practically anyone that could kick a ball could participate. Friendships went out the window while a game was in progress as crunching tackles were the order of the day, but once the game was over what happened on the field was forgotten and the competition sponsors Jesse James Tavern was the venue for the post-match gossip over a few pints.
As the popularity of the game gathered momentum after the 1970 World Cup The Kerry District League was formed in 1971. In 1976 a two-line piece in The Kerryman seeking clubs to join the KDL was spotted by Jack
Hennessy and Mike Doyle. They forwarded an application which was accepted and they became the founder members of the club and the rest is history now.
They immediately began recruiting players and the formation of the club created a great buzz in the area. Many talented players emerged from the annual five-aside and went on to star for the club afterwards.
Asdee was the first club in the county to acquire and develop its own facilities, but in the early years they moved from post to pillar trying to get pitches to play in. Starting out they played all their games at a County Council field in Sandhill Road, Ballybunion.
In the 1980s they moved to play in Asdee when they rented a field from local farmer John Stokes (RIP) in the townland of Ballynoneen and it became their home venue right through the 1980s. The club went on three memorable trips to London in 1981, 1982 and 1999 and very amusing tales of those excursions are frequently told at social gatherings even to this day.
Initially the club did not have any funds in the kitty and the team manager would collect 20 pence from every player to pay the referee. The first fundraiser the club got off the ground was the weekly Take Your Pick competition and it proved to be a great success.
In the 1980s the main fund raiser for the club was the annual Lord Mayor of Asdee Competition. The format was that three candidates took part selling tickets and the person who sold the most tickets were crowned the Lord Mayor of Asdee. It was a hugely successful fundraiser which captured the imagination of the local community.
As the years unfolded the club were finding it difficult to rent a playing field and they decided to make a big effort to purchase a field. They organised a monthly draw, which was very successful and after this they were confident they could achieve their goal.
It came to fruition in 1995 when they purchased a seven and a half acre field at Craughdarrig from Billy Gilroy just a quarter a mile from the village. Luckily they were able to secure a number of lottery grants and they pressed ahead with their new project.