The GAA say they will provide every support possible to Na Fianna after it was confirmed the club face major disruption as part of plans to build the MetroLink.
The transport project is slated for completion by 2027 as details of the full route were unveiled on Thursday.
The five time Dublin senior football championship winners will lose their main pitch on Mobhi Road for a minimum of three years.
That could be extended to six years depending on the time it takes to complete construction, two of the club’s all weather pitches will also be requisitioned for the project.
Na Fianna members have begun the campaign to save their club, and say the disruption will rip out their heart and soul.
The club chairman Cormac Ó Donnchú spoke of the concerns: “Our club effectively operates as the heartbeat of our local community.
“We have - remarkably - 3,000 active members, we have over 380 mentors involved and we field approximately 125 competitive teams, that’s just the on field activity and it doesn’t get into our cultural and community based activity.
“The main pitch and our two all weather surfaces are used by approximately 2,000 kids every week, it also hosts the pride and joy of our club, our nursery. We have our under 7’s which is about 350 kids from the local community we have with us every Saturday morning
In the NTA’s public consultation document they list ‘Property acquisition’ as one of the 'issues and challenges' faced by the project.
They state in that document: “It is our intention to engage with potentially affected property owners at the earliest possible stage of this planning process.”
Na Fianna say they were first informed of the potential disruption by TII via a phone call received at 4.30pm on Friday, 16th of March.
Na Fianna’s Club Executive were informed just 24 hours before the public announcement that the project would involve the requisition of the front pitch and both all-weather pitches on Mobhi Road.
The grounds will become a tunnel boring depot for the duration of the Metro Link construction project, with a permanent underground station being situated under Mobhi Road upon completion.
#saveourclub pic.twitter.com/qDo3Lyd6Tt
— CLG Na Fianna (@clgNaFianna) March 22, 2018
A pitch that gave us greats such as @daznolan & @matc is getting destroyed for the metro. Irreparable damage, nowhere nearby that can replace & cater for the numbers and atmosphere - might go riot: https://t.co/Y5hUuVjFHq
— Hugh Gallagher (@hughgallagherrr) March 22, 2018
Na Fianna GAA Club have built a wonderful club and community in Glasnevin, the proposal to take over their playing pitches for #Metro construction could destroy what they have done, there must be other ways to approach this...
— brid carter (@brid_h2g) March 23, 2018
Can’t believe what Na Fianna have to deal with... I’d be absolutely heartbroken if it was Russell Park.
— Leah Mullins (@LeahMullins) March 23, 2018
Save Na Fianna grounds...please show support #GAA https://t.co/mRHE2bByHg
— SwordsSaysNo (@SwordsSaysNo) March 23, 2018
The club say the project has the potential to cause “irreparable damage to a generation of young Na Fianna members through having the heart and soul of our Club ripped out”.
They also fear an “inevitable fall-off in playing numbers among all age groups, through being deprived of suitable training and playing facilities.”
Incoming GAA president John Horan is a member of the club, in a short statement from the communications department to Off The Ball, the GAA said: “We will provide every support possible to Na Fianna, as one of our biggest clubs in the country, as they enter the consultation process.”
The Club says they are "naturally very concerned and alarmed with this news. We are also deeply disappointed by the lack of respect afforded that a decision of this magnitude was advised to CLG Na Fianna, less than 48 hours prior to the formal Government announcement."
