A Summer Well Spent | OneFootball

It’s that time of year again; where books, bags and uniforms come out of storage and the shorts and sunscreen go back in the drawers. At Shelbourne FC, the summer months once again saw us rolling out our very successful Shelbourne Summer Camps. These camps took place in 9 different locations, starting on the 6th of July and running until the 21st of August.  800 girls and boys got to take part this year; to play, learn and improve their skills in a nurturing environment.

These camps could not have taken place without the amazing support of our affiliate clubs. These are the clubs that Shels have a special relationship with and the Shelbourne Summer Camps are just one of the extra benefits that arises from these affiliations. Camps took place in Artane Beaumont FC, River Valley Rangers AFC, Clontarf FC, Drumcondra AFC, Liffeybank FC, Baldoyle Utd, Kilcock Celtic FC and at the end of August the camps were at Howth Celtic FC.

ShelsTV dropped in on the final camp of the summer at Howth Celtic FC to speak to some of the children and ask them what they thought of the Shelbourne FC Summer Camp experience. Ten-year-old Sophia told us: “This is my first time at a Shels camp and I’ve really enjoyed it; it’s been really fun.” The best part according to Sophia was “…the matches at the end. I think it’s so fun to go up against other people.” Sophia is a defender and attended the camp with some of her friends from Burrow National School in Sutton. Asked if she might come back again to do another camp in the future, Sophia was emphatic: “Definitely!”

When we visited Howth Celtic FC, Shelbourne first team players; Mya Sanchez, Brie Severns and Olivia Damico were all coaching the children and giving them plenty of tips and advice throughout the day. Seven-year-old winger Sonny was attending his 3rd Shels camp, and he spoke to ShelsTV about going back to school: “I’d rather have another week here!” he laughed when talking to us. He said that he has been to Tolka Park numerous times to watch both men’s and women’s teams and that Harry Wood had been his favourite player. “I’ve had different coaches during the camp” he said, “but I had Olivia (Damico) today and the games have been really fun.” Sonny was great at using both feet while playing and much like Sophia, said that he would “Definitely!” enrol for another Shels Summer Camp.

Lastly, we spoke to five-year-old Bodhi who was flying around the pitch all day, even practising his penalty-taking while others were eating their lunch! Despite it being his first time at a camp he started by saying: “Yeah, I’m pretty much a Shels fan. This has been as fun as I could possibly want.” Asked about his favourite part of the camp Bodhi said: “I loved the World Cup thing, and just playing matches.” Asked about the coaches: “They were pretty nice…I do actually really like them!”

It was wonderful seeing such varied age groups; both boys and girls, enjoying themselves and playing football in the sun. All the kids that we spoke to were incredibly positive about the experience and didn’t want it to end. Shelbourne FC would like to place on record our thanks and appreciation to our Community Officers Tony and Kristen and to Social and Environmental Sustainability Officer Ann Murray who were instrumental in making the camps a success. We would also like to thank, all the affiliate clubs who hosted the camps, the coaches who took the time and the care to manage each summer camp and to the parents for choosing our Shels Summer Camps in 2026. Most of all, we are grateful to the children who are the centre of each camp; we hope that they learned something new, made some friends and most of all – enjoyed themselves.

Shelbourne FC wish the best of luck in the coming schoolyear to all the kids; and suggest that parents please keep an eye on our website and social media accounts in 2027 where we will be announcing next year’s camps.