Rocky Road to Dublin for Conroy

As many of you know, our friend David Conroy passed away following a tragic car accident on August 19th 2021. David grew up in the parish of Ayrfield before settling in Laytown, Co Meath with his beloved wife Jackie & children Lee, Cheryl, Alex, Dayne & Heidi. He started his own football journey with Ayrfield United as a schoolboy and went on to play and manage at senior lever before going on to co-found Laytown United.

From there he became Director of Football, inspiring hundreds of children and adults alike on and off the pitch for many years. He was the driving force behind the club, the one who got things done and had a unique way of influencing others to follow his example. Every spare minute he had after work and family time was dedicated to the greater good. To say he was the pillar of his community would be a massive understatement.

To honour Conroys legacy we are going to walk 200km from Tuam, Co. Galway to Ayrfield, Dublin starting on Mon 28th of Feb. Like most of us, Conroy loved his Irish Ballads. If any of you are familiar with the song Rocky Road to Dublin by The Dubliners, you'll get a little understanding of what inspired this particular walk.

At present Laytown United have no toilet facilities or connections to waste services at their grounds in Seafield. This was a situation Conroy actively sought out to change in the months before he passed. Ayrfield United have no connections to electricity, water mains or waste services at their grounds on Blunden Drive. With your help we want to raise as much money as possible to help fund these basic requirements for both clubs. Every penny raised will be split down the middle with Laytown Utd & Ayrfield Utd.

We also want to raise awareness on behalf of all sporting volunteers and coaches around Ireland who struggle each week with little or no support from governing bodies regarding access to adequate equipment and facilities or even the most basic sanitary requirements. For example Ayrfield United & Laytown Utd have over 500 members combined yet literally don't have a pot to p*ss in between them. This is not acceptable and what better way to improve & progress both clubs facilities than in David Conroys memory.

So far there are 3 of us signed up to take on this challenge. Laytown Utd Coach Damien O'Connell, Ayrfield Utd Chairman Keith O'Connell & Phil Lou(Chan) who is travelling from Liverpool to help navigate the two O'Connell's home in one piece. We aim to walk 35-40km each day for 5-6 days straight and we will be prepared with a tent to camp out if needs be. All expenses for food, hotels etc will be covered by ourselves. Other than that we haven't a clue what we are doing but we know Conroy will be with us every step of the way. All we care about is that you help make it worth our while and donate whatever you can afford and continue the good fight for Conroy.

Keith, Dayo & Chan