Stop the bullying, abuse, intimidation and expulsion of the founding members and elderly at Shankill Bowling Club.  

The club was founded in 1994, 31 years ago, my father & mother being 2 of the founding members. They started the club with nothing more than a 20ft container that they literally physically outfitted, wired and made into a club house, in the years since it has become a thriving club with a lovely clubhouse, outdoor & indoor bowls, locker area for men & women, kitchen etc.  They have built this club, nurtured it, grew it.  Played in all the leagues every year, being very successful and even had members represent Ireland for a number of years.  They have poured love into this club and it has always been a place of fun, comradery and fierce competition.  

They are now in their 70's & 80's and still play in the leagues and contribute to the club, but what they most enjoy now and what they have earned the right to do, is being able to get out of the house, go down play a friendly game and sit with a cup of tea and some cake and have a laugh.  Some have lost their spouses along the way and this is where they can come, get support and connect with people and friends, doing what they love.

In the last few years some new members have come in and hostilely taken over the presidency & executive committee and proceeded to bully, intimidate and harass these founding and older members to the point where quite a few have left as the stress is too much, they are unable to go have a game and enjoy it.   They have recently expelled a founding member, going against club policy and the clubs constitution, she is 83 years of age, widowed and devastated to the point of having to have the doctor visit.  Another older member, who simply asked why she was expelled, herself got expelled and the other members coming to their defense,  2 more got suspended and 5 given final warnings, all in one day, it has become a dictatorship where following the policies and constitution of the club just doesn't exist.   It has been made clear that they intend to get rid of the elderly members.  

The ILB who are the governing body were approached many times to intervene but have done nothing, one of the directors has even unbelievably said and I quote: "A similar position arose with a Club in the West of Ireland a number of years ago.  The Local Sports Partnership became involved in the dispute and in a very short-time frame the dispute was resolved with a number of long-standing members leaving the Club.  That Club has now more than doubled it's membership." I was utterly sickened by this, surely numbers are not more important than looking after the elderly in your community, surely these founding members and long-standing members deserve more.

So, getting no support from the ILB, I turned to the HSE who were unable to do anything and the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Sports Partnership, who have a duty of care to all the members of the community using their facilities, especially the vulnerable and elderly and they haven't even bothered to respond.  Also 7 Councilors for the Shankill area were emailed letting them know exactly what is happening down at the club, 6 of which never bothered to respond, 1 did and has said he is looking into it, that was 2 weeks ago.

All of this is being kept quite, there are many new younger members in the club who do not know what is happening and the president and her executive committee are getting proxy votes from them telling them they do not need to show up to the AGM that they will cast their vote, not telling them exactly what is going on and then they cast the vote in their favour,  so they can control things.

An EGM has been called by all the older members to remove the Executive Committee, but they are controlling the results, again with proxy votes, before the voting even begins. This is not surprising as they refused to have 2 other EGMs that were called, saying "they" did not think it was necessary, again totally against the policies and constitution of the club!

These members are being targeted and expelled one by one, people who started this club, the community's elderly and no-one is helping or seeming to care.  This needs highlighting so that someone is made to stand up and take notice.  Shankill needs to know what’s happening in their community areas.

We ask for:

✅ The reinstatement of expelled and suspended members
✅ The removal of the current Executive Committee through a fair and democratic process
✅ Oversight from the Council or ILB to ensure the club’s constitution is respected
✅ An end to the bullying and exclusion of our elderly community members

This is not just about bowls.
This is about how we treat our elders—the people who built our communities and now need them most.

We cannot let this happen in silence.
Let’s send a message to the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council who have a clear duty of care to protect vulnerable and elderly citizens using their facilities. The ILB and the community.

We’re now calling for your support.

Let’s return Shankill Bowling Club to the safe, joyful place it was always meant to be.

PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE THIS PETITION TO PROTECT THE FOUNDING AND ELDERLY MEMBERS OF SHANKILL BOWLING CLUB

PS: Please note: A previous version of this petition included a paraphrased quote from an ILB Director that was not accurate. The quote has now been corrected to reflect the Director’s wording verbatim, as requested.