1903 Supporters Club names its new chairperson

The 1903 Supporters Club has named Orla Crilly as its new chairperson, following an uncontested election at last week’s AGM, which was held inside the Lilywhite Lounge.

Orla succeeds Brendan Ogle, while Frank Carolan has replaced outgoing vice-chairperson Gerard Lennon in what is a major restructuring of The 1903’s committee.

“Thank you very much to the outgoing committee,” stated Orla in her address to the members.

“They have done amazing work through the year and put in a lot of work that probably most people don’t see behind the scenes, so thank you very much to them. I’m really looking forward to working with the new committee in the year ahead.

“As a supporters club, we should be a voice for all supporters. We have a chance to improve the matchday experience and to link with all the community groups, which should be at the heart of everything here, and to keep the club at the heart of the community also.”

Orla, perhaps best known in Dundalk FC circles for her regular slot hosting ‘The Build Up’ on Dundalk FM, spoke at the AGM about incorporating more revenue streams to keep The 1903 sustainable, but also wishes to see the fans take better pride in Oriel Park.

“I’d like to see more people coming up to Oriel, maybe on a Thursday.

“We could organise that a group come in. We know the place is falling down, but that doesn’t mean we should lose pride in it. I want to get the supporters to have a bit more pride in Oriel.

“There are things we can do about it. We can have a little group. People can come up, can sweep, can pick up a paintbrush, can do little things. Let’s restore our own pride in it.

“None of us have millions to pull out and build a big stadium, but we can all do something small every week, to come up and tidy around the place and to make a better job of it.

“That’s something I’ll be pushing for. Let’s get a bit of pride back in what we do have, because it’s probably going to be a while before we have any amazing, big stadium.”

Founded in 2021 throughout a time of mismanagement of Dundalk FC at the hands of Peak6, The 1903 now has 269 members, according to latest figures disclosed at the AGM.