From Nathan Collins to Jessie Stapleton ... the club that turns kids into stars

Irish Daily Mirror

25-04-2025

Stephen 'Digger' O'Brien walks down the corridor of Cherry Orchard's clubhouse, a building that looks like a parish hall on the outside but resembles a dream factory on the inside.
On the walls, pictures of the club's famous graduates: Irish internationals Nathan Collins, James Abankwah, Jessie Stapleton, Marc Travers, Jamie McGrath and Stephen Quinn.
Yet this story isn't just about them because right across the League of Ireland this weekend you will see names and faces of players who came from the Orchard's previous crops: Danny Grant, Trevor Clarke (Rovers), James Clarke (Bohs), Tommy Lonergan (Waterford), Darragh Markey (Drogheda), Brendan Clarke (Galway), Greg Bolger (Cork) and Danny Rogers (St Pat's).
Read more: Stuart Byrne column: Drogheda United's Kevin Doherty is a miracle worker, but it's no fluke
Two government ministers walked past the murals on those walls on Wednesday morning, part of a promotion to highlight healthy eating inititives, as they saw visibly the return on their investment.
Right now, the Orchard is flying again, after suffering a lull when the national underage leagues were introduced, and both players and coaches migrated to League of Ireland clubs.
O'Brien, the club's underage chairperson, says: 'We fell off for a period. Most of us (in schoolboy football) did not embrace the transition to League of Ireland underage leagues when they were first started.
'We now know where we are in the scheme of things.'
And that's simple.
This is the place where the next Darragh Markey or Danny Grant will emerge from. Of their current Under 13 team, six have already been signed up by St Pat's, their partner club, two by UCD, two by Bohs and two by Bray Wanderers.
There's a reason why all this matters, because for years the dynamic in Irish football, stayed the same.
Clubs luke the Orchard, Belvo, St Kevin's, Joeys produced great underage teams and players; clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal snapped them up.
Then Brexit came and the laws surrounding kids being signed by English clubs changed.
And then on top of that, the underage League of Ireland leagues were introduced, and the traditional heavy hitters in schoolboy football had challenges to their identity.
But rather than disappear and go away, they have rewritten their purpose.
Cherry Orchard caters for the elite and the community. 'You can play for this club from four years of age right up to 44,' says O'Brien.
Without schoolboy/schoolgirl clubs, Irish football would cease to exist, as they start the process that ends with players like Collins putting on the captain's armband for his country, players like Markey winning the SWI player of the month award on the back of his displays for Drogheda.
O'Brien, the former Longford and Bohs keeper, says: 'Every Easter we send our teams across to tournaments in Europe and what we see then is that there is not just phenomenal talent in other countries, but it exists at home here, too.
'We regularly play Manchester City's underage teams. Their coaches tell us that our players are as godo as theirs. But the difference is the number of hours we can give to our players. Compared to England, compared to Europe, we are way behind.
'People talk about burn out but that's a misnomer because if you train players the right way, they won't burn out. They'll fly. We have good people in this country, good coaches, good players, we just need a wee bit of support. If we get that, we'll take off.'
As a former League of Ireland player, also someone who played in England for a spell, and now back to his roots with Cherry Orchard, O'Brien is well-placed to talk about how the various jigsaw pieces need to join together to make Irish football look nice again.
'We can't rally against League of Ireland clubs,' he said. 'That won't work. We have our partnership with St Pat's and the benefits of that are numerous. They send their coaches in here. That raises standards. But also, players will come to Cherry Orchard because they see a pathway to League of Ireland. It works both ways.'
On top of this they run many laudable projects - providing their pitch to local schools, providing a sporting home for 600 members, offering a football service to people with addiction issues.
But if you want to see the next Collins or Stapleton then this is one of those clubs you need to spend time at.
'The big secret is getting the right coaches,' he says, 'all the while hoping that one day governments will be in a position to finance coaches going into clubs and increasing the contact hours that the next generation are exposed to.
'Most people seem to forget that the vast majority of coaches are voluntary. Imagine if we could get the best coaches dedicated full-time to Irish football's cause. Trust me, I see it, we can produce players in this country. We have the talent.
'We've great facilities here, thanks to government sports capital grants. Through facilities we have been able to progress. With full-time coaches, so many clubs could take off as we have. It can happen. We have to believe it. Clubs like Cherry Orchard can benefit League of Ireland clubs for years and years and years.'