The Irish Rovers

By Aidan Fitzmaurice

Shamrock Rovers FC may have to play their home games in Drogheda - 40km away from their Dublin base - next season after the Hoops suffered another blow in their bid to build a new stadium.

Tallaght stadium
Rovers have been planning to build a new home in the Dublin suburb of Tallaght since 1996, having lost their traditional home of Milltown back in 1987, but the stadium project suffered a major setback when the local authority - South Dublin County Council - refused to give them an extension on planning permission, so building work cannot progress until that hurdle is cleared.

UEFA licence
That same week Rovers had to nominate a home ground for the 2005 summer season in their application for a UEFA licence. Unable to come to an agreement with their fellow Dublin clubs to rent a stadium in the Irish capital, Rovers accepted an offer from Drogheda United FC to use United Park. However, Rovers chairman Tony Maguire said he still hoped a deal could be struck with Bohemian FC or Saint Patrick's Athletic FC to allow Rovers hold their home games in Dublin.

Tough season
Rovers had a difficult time on the pitch last season, finishing second from bottom in the Premier Division, and manager Roddy Collins has been busy scouting for players to avoid a repeat. Major changes have already taken place at Rovers with a number of departures: Shane Robinson was sold to Drogheda, Stephen Grant retired to concentrate on his business and Noel Mooney, Pat Deans and Paul Caffrey were put on the transfer list.

Byrne signs
Bohemian FC, who lost nine of their first team squad at the end of the 2004 season, finally made a move in the transfer market, signing full back Des Byrne from St Patrick's. "I had a great time at St Pats and the fans were always great to me but I want to get another chance to play in England, I would love to play for Ireland at senior level some day, and I think I have a better chance of doing that at Bohemians," said Byrne.

New faces
St Patrick's have yet to sign a replacement for Byrne but manager John McDonnell has added some new faces, signing Stephen Caffrey from Bohemians, Barry Ryan from Dublin City FC and Michael Foley from Liverpool FC.

Derry stance
Derry City FC have yet to bring in new players but manager Stephen Kenny has re-signed some of last season's squad, insisting that the team will be locally-based next season. "It wasn't ideal last year, for one away game in Dublin we left Derry with five players on the team bus and picked the rest of the squad along the way or met them in Dublin," said Kenny.