Workers at Belvedere Youth Club, where Ireland star Troy Parrott spent hours everyday after school honing his football skills, have called for an end to break-ins at the facility.
In three social media posts on Tuesday evening, it was claimed that the break-ins had cost the club ‘a couple of thousand euro’.
Parrott, who is being linked with a move away from Tottenham after a successful loan spell in the Netherlands last year with Excelsior, grew up in Dublin’s inner city, close to the Buckingham Street Youth Club.
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He spent hours every day in the complex’s sports hall, playing for hours after school.
“Troy would spend a huge amount of time there, playing four or five hours a day, 20 or 25 hours a week,” one employee said, in a feature in the Irish Daily Star shortly after Parrott signed his first professional contract with Tottenham.
Belvedere Youth Club remains a huge part of daily life in the area, with dozens of children availing of its facilities, including hot meals and a place to do homework.
It is feared that key programmes, such as summer trips, will have to be cut if there is not an end to the break-ins.
Posting on X on Tuesday evening, they wrote: “The Belvo was broken into again this morning at approximately 4.30am. This is the 4th time since May 15th. This time there were 2 ppl 2 males.
“It’s costing us a lot of money as a result of each break in, money that will need to come from our programme budget soon enough if his keeps happening.
“This means that all our Summer trips and activities will be affected. Guys there is absolutely no money held in the Belvo we could do with a few bob never mind have money on site.
“I’m appealing to anyone who knows anything please get in touch with us so we can try stop this before it impacts on our children’s and young people’s programmes.
“Since May these break ins have already cost us a couple of thousand euro!!!! Please help us to stop these break ins!!!”
Parrott wasn’t the only Ireland international to make use of the Belvedere Youth Club’s concrete-floored sports hall. Wes Hoolahan also grew up nearby.
“I remember coming in here as a kid and you’d have 15 or 20 kids lined up along the wall waiting to get on, so it would be quite competitive,” the Irish Daily Star was told five years ago.
“This was before your PlayStations and your phones and everything else and there’d be 30 lads in there. The place would be hopping.
“You wouldn’t want to lose because you’d be waiting 15 or 20 minutes to get on again.”
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