Declan Devine hopes increased capacity for home supporters can make Dalymount Park an intimidating place for away teams to come to this season.

Bohemians were roared onto victory away to Cork City in Turner’s Cross last Friday by a raucous 700-strong travelling support.

And with the Des Kelly Stand now set aside for home fans only this season, his side will have over 4000 supporters behind them at tomorrow’s sold-out game – the biggest Bohs support for a competitive fixture at Dalymount in 14 years.

Devine said: “Last week in Turner’s Cross, it was amazing. Our support gave us the impetus to start the game properly and ultimately helped us get the three points. There were 6,500 there but all I heard up until the last ten minutes was the 700 or so Bohemians fans.

“Our players responded to that, and they showed great determination and fight. Having that support gives you an extra yard, gives you an extra inch in your height, and makes you determined to win every header and second ball.

“The support definitely got us across the line and that is going to have to be required again. We need everyone pulling in the same direction during the good parts and the bad parts for the full duration of the game. As hostile as we can make Dalymount the better.

“It is great to be back at Dalymount. Everyone is really looking forward to it. We have the two sides of Dalymount for tomorrow sold out with Bohs fans, and it is fantastic that we will have that level of support behind us.

“A lot of the credit for that has to go to people behind the scenes for that. Everybody – staff, members, volunteers – has been working day and night over the past number of weeks to get the place ready for our first home game and it’s up to us now to pull it all together on the pitch.

“We are getting that relationship between players and fans again, and the excitement is building. We have to do everything in our power to send our fans home happy.”

Goals from Grant Horton and Jordan Flores had Bohs looking comfortable last week but a mistake at the back allowed Ruairí Keating in to pull one back for Cork City on 82 minutes and Devine’s side had to soak up a lot of pressure to hold on to all three points.

Devine added: “I was over the moon with how we performed last week. Any three points in this league have to be hard earned, and we worked extremely hard last week.

“The group is very tight. We have a great mixture of leadership, great players who have come back to the club, and new players excited to be here and who want to push on.

“At times last week we played some really nice stuff. We have to understand that we got our reward last week because of our work ethic and what we were willing to do to get the points. We have got to be like that again this week.

“Dundalk are in Europe for a reason, and for us to get anything out of the game, and to get that feeling we got last week for our supporters and for ourselves, we have to work for the full 90+ minutes and win every wee individual battle as well.

“It is going to be a tough game and we have to make sure we are ready for it. Dundalk are a side full of quality and experience.

“As a club they have consistently won trophies and qualified for Europe in recent years. We are fully aware of what is sitting in front of us and we have to be at our best.”

TEAM NEWS

James Akintunde (foot) and Jay Benn (head) are rated 50-50.

Bohemian Football Club is delighted to confirm the signing of Polish centre-back Krystian Nowak.

The experienced 28-year-old joins from Romanian side Universitatea Cluj having previously played for clubs in Poland, Scotland and Croatia.

Nowak is the 12th new arrival since the end of last season following the signings of Keith Buckley, Paddy Kirk, Adam McDonnell, James Akintunde, Dean Williams, Grant Horton, Luke Dennison, Dylan Connolly, Jay Benn, Kacper Radkowski and Drew Baker.

Welcoming Nowak to Dalymount Park, manager Declan Devine said: “Krystian is exactly the type of experienced defender I wanted to bring to the club in this window.

“He has had a great career so far, has played in some top leagues and he is a really good age profile for us.

“We knew we had to strengthen in defence and we have done that now over the past couple of weeks. Krystian now gives us that extra bit of experience that we needed at the back.

“We have had a lot of new arrivals in this window, the group is gelling well and I feel that we now have serious competition for places right across the squad.

“We are delighted to get Krystian in and we are really looking forward to seeing what he will bring to the group.”

Bohemian Football Club is delighted to confirm the signing of defender Drew Baker on loan from Fleetwood Town until the end of June.

The former Manchester City Academy player is the 11th new arrival ahead of the new season following the signings of Keith Buckley, Paddy Kirk, Adam McDonnell, James Akintunde, Dean Williams, Grant Horton, Luke Dennison, Dylan Connolly, Jay Benn and Kacper Radkowski.

The Englishman, 20, will go straight into the squad for tomorrow’s league opener away to Cork City at Turner’s Cross.

Welcoming Baker to Dalymount Park, Bohemians manager Declan Devine said: “I am absolutely delighted to have Drew on board.

“For such a young player, he already has an invaluable amount of first team experience, and at a good level too, first with FC United and more recently in League One with Fleetwood.

“Like Kacper and Grant, Drew gives us great options at the back in terms of his quality and his versatility – he can play at centre-back and at right-back.

“We are really looking forward to working with him over the next few months and he will go straight into our squad going to Cork City tomorrow night.”

Bohemian Football Club has revised our match ticket pricing structure ahead of the 2023 season – the first such change in circa 15 years.

We can also announce (below) our match ticket sales schedule for home fans for the forthcoming League of Ireland campaign, which will be available from tickets.bohemians.ie.

This includes tickets for our first home game of the season against Dundalk on Friday February 24, which will go on sale today at noon.

We are delighted to confirm that the new Mono Stand (Connaught St) will be ready in time to house away fans for that game.

As you will be aware, due to another club record number of memberships and season tickets, only a very limited number of Jodi Stand matchday tickets will be available again this year.

Jodi Stand tickets will therefore be priced, for all games, at €20 for adults, €15 for concession/student (student IDs will be checked) and €8 for U12s.

But with away support now located in the newly-constructed Mono Stand, we are delighted to have been able to secure a significant increase in our capacity to accommodate home fans with the Des Kelly Stand – now mixed seating and terracing with a capacity of 1300 – entirely for Bohemians supporters for all games.

We would also like to put on record our gratitude to club staff and volunteers who have worked day and night against time pressures in assisting efforts to ensure that the Mono Stand would be ready for the new season and for their ongoing work in improving facilities for home fans in the Des Kelly Stand. They have assisted greatly in increasing the stadium’s overall capacity to 4500.

Prices for the Des Kelly Stand (home fans) and Mono Stand (away fans only) will operate on a categorised basis.

For Category A games (Shamrock Rovers, Shelbourne, St Patrick’s Athletic and potentially some FAI Cup games), tickets for the Des Kelly Stand and Mono Stand will be priced at €20 for adults, €15 for concession/student (student IDs will be checked) and €8 for U12s.

For Category B games (all other league games), tickets for the Des Kelly Stand and Mono Stand will be priced at €15 for adults, €10 for concession/student (student IDs will be checked) and €5 for U12s.

These are our first adjustments to our match ticket pricing structure in circa 15 years despite drastically increased matchday costs and the return to full-time football.

We thank our fans for your continued support – we can’t wait to see you all packed into Dalymount once more in 10 days’ time.

Bohemian Football Club is delighted to confirm the signing of centre-back Kacper Radkowski.

The 21-year-old former Polish underage international joins from Śląsk Wrocław on loan until the end of the season.

Radkowski is the tenth new arrival ahead of the new season following the signings of Keith Buckley, Paddy Kirk, Adam McDonnell, James Akintunde, Dean Williams, Grant Horton, Luke Dennison, Dylan Connoly and Jay Benn, while academy graduate Cian Byrne has been promoted to the first team.

Manager Declan Devine said: “Kacper has been in training with us in pre-season and is a signing we were desperate to get over the line.

“It took a little bit longer to get the deal done than we had hoped so we are delighted to get it done now.

“Kacper has been an under-20 international for Poland and you don’t get to that level without having real quality.

“He fits the profile of player we want to bring to the club in terms of that quality and his youthfulness.

“He has been around the squad during pre-season, the players know all about him now and he is a really good fit for us. I’ve no doubt that he will be a fantastic side for us.”

Radkowski said: “I am delighted to be joining Bohemians. I have enjoyed meeting the squad and management in pre-season and I am really looking forward to us having a good season together.

“Everybody at the club has been really welcoming to me. The atmosphere in the squad is very, very good, and we cannot wait to get started now.”

Bohemian Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of right-back Jay Benn on loan from Lincoln City until the end of June.

The 21-year-old, who joined English League One side Lincoln from Halifax Town last summer, goes straight into the Bohs squad for this evening’s pre-season friendly away to Wexford at Ferrycarrig Park.

Benn is the ninth new arrival ahead of the new season following the signings of Keith Buckley, Paddy Kirk, Adam McDonnell, James Akintunde, Dean Williams, Grant Horton, Luke Dennison and Dylan Connoly, while academy graduate Cian Byrne has been promoted to the first team.

Welcoming Benn to Dalymount Park, manager Declan Devine said:

“We are delighted to bring Jay in. Defence is an area where we needed to strengthen and Jay is exactly the kind of player we have been looking for.

“He’s good going forward and solid defensively and we are really looking forward to working with him and welcoming him into the group.

“Jay is a player who Lincoln really rate, and has good first-team experience at right-back and centre-back from his time with Halifax, so I want to thank Mark Kennedy, Jez George and everyone at Lincoln for their assistance with bringing Jay to the club.”

Bohemian Football Club is delighted to confirm the appointments of Dave Henderson as Head of Recruitment and Development, and Trevor Croly as Lead Academy Coach.

Director of Football Pat Fenlon said: “We are extremely pleased to be able to build on and complement the structures that have been developed at the club in recent years with the expertise of Dave and Trevor.

“They are both excellent additions to what we are trying to build towards, and will both bring a wealth of knowledge and ability to the roles as we look to put in place a football strategy that attracts and retains the best young players in the country.”

Henderson returns to the club where he served with distinction as a goalkeeper in the 1990s, and subsequently as scout, goalkeeping coach and Head of Recruitment, having also worked in similar roles with Hibernian and Shelbourne.

As Head of Recruitment, Henderson will work alongside the first-team and academy set-ups and be responsible for identifying and recruiting players and coaches that fit the club’s playing and coaching philosophy, and developing the club’s scouting network.

Henderson said: “I’m delighted to be back. Bohs are my local team and I have great memories from my previous times at the club.

“We want to develop a strategy that brings in the best players we possibly can to push the club on in the here and now, but also to plan ahead and recruit and identify players and coaches for the future too.”

Croly served as assistant manager to Keith Long for the previous six seasons, having previously managed Shamrock Rovers and Bray Wanderers, and served as assistant manager at Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic.

As Lead Academy Coach, he will be responsible for developing a high performing environment for all coaches and players to support and work in conjunction with the Head of Academy Craig Sexton to ensure the smooth transition of players to senior football.

Croly said: “There are a lot of talented young footballers at the club, and we want to harness their potential.

“I am looking forward to helping Craig lead the coaches within the academy in creating a high performance environment for both coaches and players to maximise their potential.”

Dublin Bus and Bohemian FC extend partnership committing to increasing diversity and inclusion in Irish football

Two icons of the capital, Dublin Bus and Bohemian Football Club, today announce a new deal that sees Ireland’s largest public transport provider become the main shirt partner of Bohemian FC Women’s Premier Division team.

In addition, Dublin Bus will become the exclusive Diversity & Inclusion partner to Bohemian FC and main shirt partner for the girls U19s, U17s and Amputee team.

The deal, which runs for three years until 2025, builds on a longer term partnership that began in 2020 to support the club to grow and expand its positive impact on the city of Dublin.

To coincide with the announcement, they have released the joint ‘Together We’re In A Different League’ manifesto which commits to increasing diversity and inclusivity within Irish football.

This will be achieved by elevating the women’s game through increased visibility and accessibility to the game for players, better and equal access to facilities for the women’s teams, more female representation in the club’s management and development roles, and new and continued work to engage stakeholders and the community in the women’s game.

To kick it off, Bohemians today revealed that both its men’s and women’s Premier Division teams will now train at Dublin City University’s High-Performance Centre, providing entirely equal access to the world-class, elite training facilities.

Speaking about the announcement, Dublin Bus CEO, Billy Hann, said:

“This is a landmark day for the whole team at Dublin Bus and one that we are exceptionally excited about. We have been looking forward to announcing this partnership and we are delighted to be the main partner of Bohemian FC’s Women’s Premier Division team.

“This is a really talented squad made up of incredible people who have broken through barriers, both on and off the pitch. They are, and will continue to be, an inspiration to people of all ages right across the capital.

“We’ve long been an admirer and supporter of Bohemian FC and the values it displays on and off the pitch. Dublin Bus has a long standing commitment to diversity and inclusion, whether it’s inspiring our daughters to grow up and achieve all their goals, connecting communities or helping all people to fully participate in society.

“These are values which also lie at the heart of Bohemian FC so extending our partnership through to 2025 aligns with the ethos of Dublin Bus.”

The partnership honours the shared values of the two organisations. Where Dublin Bus is at the heart of communities across the Greater Dublin Area, Bohemians is a club that cares deeply about the wellbeing of its fans and wider Dublin population.

Where Dublin Bus is committed to increasing its number of female drivers, first announced at the 2019 Give It A Spin female recruitment drive; in its inaugural season in the senior WNL 2020, Bohemians was one of the first clubs in the league not to charge annual fees for its players and in the 2021 season was reimbursing female players for all expenses they incurred.

Daniel Lambert, Chief Operating Officer at Bohemian Football Club, added:

“This is a massive day for Bohemian FC and our continuous strides in women’s football. To have a long term partnership with Dublin Bus as main shirt partner for our Women’s Premier Division team, as well as our U17s and U19s League of Ireland girls teams is something we are so excited about.

“We have made significant steps in the female game in recent seasons, in 2020 by being the first club to pay all players expenses, in 2022 moving all games to Dalymount Park and now in 2023 by having full equality across training facilities in DCU alongside our men’s team. Bohemian FC now offers the best environment in Ireland for female players to reach their full potential.

“For Dublin Bus to also now also become our Diversity and Inclusion partner is a testament to the importance both organisations place upon improving and serving our shared communities across Dublin. In this area of the partnership we will be collaborating on numerous activities to assist groups often excluded in our society.”

Earlier this year, both organisations joined forces to launch a new jersey with a twist, and taking inspiration from Dublin Bus’ iconic seat fabric design, Bohemian F.C. created a unique 2022 FAI Cup Kit. It features the multi-coloured retro-style pattern of Dublin Bus seats, which were introduced in August 1998.

The partnership also promises to increase visibility and support of the club’s work with its amputee team, LGBTQ+ supporters group, Disability Supporters Association and community partnerships. Support of the LGBTQ+ community is equally important to both organisations.

In June 2021, Bohemians became the first professional football team from the League of Ireland to march in Dublin Pride and has worked hard to make the club and Dalymount Park a more inclusive space for all through partnerships with ShoutOut and GayBohs LGBTQ+ supporters group.

Dublin Bus is considered one of the most progressive organisations in Ireland in terms of inclusivity and diversity introducing pioneering LGBTQ+ policies, which included extending its paternity policy to all employees same-sex parents in 2014 and introducing Workplace Gender Transition Policy and Guidelines in 2017.

For people with disabilities, Dublin Bus’ Lord Mayor Award winning Travel Assistance Scheme, established in 2008, helps people with disabilities to gain the confidence and skills necessary to use Dublin Bus and/or other public transport services in their daily lives.

To date it has helped over 1,500 people to negotiate the public transport networks of the capital, giving them freedom to travel. Bohemian FC launched the first official Disabled Supporters Association in Ireland in 2021, which works closely with the club’s Disability Access Officer and the club’s Amputee team started in 2018 as one of the first teams in the inaugural Amputee National League.

The team were League winners in 2020 & 2022, five of its members played at the Amputee World Cup 2022 in Turkey, and the team will be playing in this year’s (2023) Amputee Champions League.

The ‘Together We’re In A Different League’ manifesto can be downloaded here.

Bohemian Football Club is delighted to confirm that our former player and manager Pat Fenlon will return to Dalymount Park as Director of Football.

It will be the Finglas man’s third spell at the club having served as a player between 1991 and 1994, winning the FAI Cup, and as first-team manager from 2008 and 2011, winning back-to-back league titles, the FAI Cup, the EA Sports Cup and Setanta Cup.

Since departing to take charge of Scottish side Hibernian in 2011, Fenlon has since served as first-team manager of Shamrock Rovers and Director of Football at Waterford, and joins from Linfield where has been General Manager since 2018.

The 53-year-old said: “I am absolutely delighted to be returning to the club and I am really looking forward to the challenge ahead. I have some really special memories from my previous spells at the club and I want to help make new ones.

“It is a really exciting time to be getting back involved with Bohs. There has been a lot of good work done rebuilding the club over the last decade and you can see how much the club has grown in several areas in recent years.

“I feel the foundations are strong, there is a great atmosphere and affiliation around the club, and I believe that we have an opportunity to build on all of that, be stronger again, and bring further success to the club.

“It will be my job to oversee the football operations of the club alongside the board of directors to help get Bohs where we all want to be.

“I am looking forward to working closely with the board, Declan Devine and the men’s team, Seán Byrne and all involved with the women’s set-up, with Craig Sexton and the academy and youth sections.

“Everyone is pulling together to try to push the club on as much as we can and as sustainably as we can, and I can’t wait to be a part of that.”

Welcoming Fenlon back to Dalymount Park, Bohemian Football Club president Matt Devaney said: “The Director of Football role is something the board has given careful consideration to in recent months.

“With the move to full-time training for the men’s first team, the growth of the academy and continued investment in our women’s team, it makes sense to have a football person overseeing those operations.

“In Pat, we believe we have the ideal candidate with a wealth of experience for the role and we are delighted he has agreed to come on board.

“We look forward to working closely with Pat as we all try to push the club on.”

It is with regret that we have faced minor delays in the construction of our new away stand on the Connaught Street side of Dalymount Park.

This was due to the discovery of asbestos in the area during the demolition process, which delayed the removal of existing structures and materials.

This in turn led to a delay in the commencement of the installation of the new stand meaning it is unlikely to be ready for our first home game of the season against Dundalk.

The knock-on effect is that the Des Kelly Stand may have to revert to an away section for the Dundalk game.

In such an eventuality, those who have already purchased Des Kelly Stand season tickets will receive Jodi Stand tickets for the Dundalk game.

Des Kelly Stand season tickets are now back on sale online at a reduced rate to take into account that anyone who purchases one from now on will not be entitled to attend our opening home game: https://bohemians-tickets.com/newst2023/index.html

We would also like to take this opportunity to remind existing members to please renew your membership by January 31 after which point the club reserves the right to reassign your place to those currently on our waiting list to sign up as new members.