last July<\/a> when junior side Carew Park FC assumed full responsibility for the day-to-day running of the club from long-serving CEO Pat McCormack.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cIt originally came from meetings between Mark Heffernan and David Dineen,\u201d O\u2019Connor explained. \u201cDavid has a proven track record in player development, while Mark and his family are Carew Park born and bred, with a huge affiliation to Limerick FC.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Heffernan and Dineen\u2019s scheme would reinstate the decades-old Blues last seen liquidated in 2019. Success would also mark the first time two League of Ireland teams have ever coexisted in Limerick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Central to the plan is a strong developmental pathway linking grassroots football in Limerick with the League of Ireland, mirroring successful models long used elsewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at clubs like St Kevin\u2019s or St Joseph\u2019s schoolboy teams, they\u2019re closely linked with teams like Bohemians or Bray Wanderers,\u201d he said. \u201cPipelines like that can kickstart development at a very young age \u2013 that\u2019s the thinking behind this project.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carew Park\u2019s\u202ftrack record\u202fis being pointed to as evidence that such a pathway can work.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to Peterborough United from Carew Park. Willie Boland had a successful career in the Premier League with Coventry City after Carew Park. Jason Purcell went on to play professional football in Belgium via Carew Park. The proof is there.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
The club has already secured a full FAI academy licence covering age groups from U14 to U20 and confirmed their application to compete in the League of Ireland\u2019s new proposed third tier.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t sit on your hands and hope for a merger,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re pushing forward with our own project.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Infrastructure has been identified as one of the key lessons from\u202fprevious\u202fincarnations of senior football in Limerick.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWork has started on a full-size Astroturf pitch, with plans for a second,\u201d he said. \u201cHistorically, the big issue for senior soccer in Limerick was the lack of training facilities. Clubs had to rent them, and financially that was not sustainable\u202fin the long run.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Off the pitch, the club has prioritised fan involvement with decision-making, with supporters contributing online feedback to the club\u2019s crest rebrand and discussions around potential fan-ownership models in\u202fsimilar vein to Cork City\u2019s.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even the club\u2019s identity\u202fremains\u202fopen for\u202fdiscussion, with a\u202fpossible return\u202fto the \u201cLimerick United\u201d name,\u00a0under which the city enjoyed its most successful era\u00a0\u2013\u00a0not being ruled out.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
While talks around a unified senior club in Limerick remain hypothetical, O\u2019Connor admits the idea of Limerick FC and Treaty United<\/a> pooling resources under one banner is the logical end goal.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201c(Dineen and Heffernan) are wide open to that,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just a coach,\u00a0so I won\u2019t be in those conversations, but if you want my opinion, that is 100% something I\u2019d love to see.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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