Bohemians happy to hit the bars

Bohemians are not any ordinary club, their values stretching beyond points and prizes. The foundation is a cornerstone of their values, yet they need players to buy into it and help. Scott Allardice, the midfielder signed from Dundee United in Scotland in January, and one of the coaches of the prisoners’ team certainly has.  It’s clear that he isn’t your typical clichéd 20-year-old footballer.

“I didn’t know what to expect going in really, but these lads welcomed me well,” he said.

“They’re on the path to recovery, are getting out of their cells and they can see that we’re giving our own time to help them. It’s great to be a part of something like this.”

This isn’t his first time doing something like this. At Dundee United, his previous club, he also volunteered to help with that club’s community outreach programme in a local prison. But Allardice noted the difference between that work and the type carried out by the Bohemian Foundation.

“here with Bohs it’s more intense because we’re in [Mountjoy] every week and every player buys into this. Nobody here gets paid for volunteering; they all do it because of their love for the club. For me the volunteer element has a big impact on the club, the manager always talks about our players having the right character because it really gives everything a boost.”

They are easy words to say yet there is meaning to them with the young player joining a new club, moving to a new city in a different country and instantly realising how Bohemians have rekindled a sense of pride people had lost in their local club. Take his first visit to the prison, the short walk from Phibsborough in Northern Dublin to the prison. What should have taken five minutes ended up more like half an hour as his path was blocked by Bohemians fans wanting to chat. Yet that’s Phibsborough, a village tucked inside a city. And you could also say that is Bohemians.  “I’ve noticed back home [in Scotland], you’ll get people on good wages, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but here everyone volunteers to help the club because they want to give back and do as much as they can,” he said.

North Dubliners are also appreciating the club’s community efforts, with Bohemians having sold out their first four home games of the season, exceeding the crowds they drew when they were winning league titles in 2008 and 2009. It’s a completely different club now, one that was once anticipating bankruptcy is now turning people away from matches because there are not enough seats for them.

Big matches aren’t confined to Dalymount Park, though. Back inside Mountjoy, the prisoners have never won their annual game. Allardice pledges that this year will be different. This year the Mountjoy boys will do it.

They believe it too, emerging from their cells in good spirits, joking about their Scottish coach’s accent, curious to know if Bohemians can maintain their strong start to the season. They don’t shy from giving Allardice their tactical input for the big game. It’s obvious how much finally winning would mean to these men. All they speak about once they start playing is how to use the prison yard’s quirks to their advantage.

Of the 18 men playing, Allardice can only pick a squad of ten players for the game against the Foundation so it becomes vital they make the most of their short time together every week. As he speaks, under the shadow of the walls, he talks about his parents, how they think working in Mountjoy will help him grow as a person.

“They say that no matter what I go on to do in my life this is a good thing to do. It lets me see how there can be two sides to everyone in life and not to take somebody at face value. The prisoners are so respectful, and they see it as a chance for them to express themselves through football.”