General
- Thursday August 28th, 2025 @ 10:00
Emerging Talent Programme Launched
St Patrick's Athletic are delighted to launch our new Emerging Talent Programme, in partnership with Cherry Orchard FC.
This exciting new initiative is a key part of the Player Development Plan shared by St Pat's and Cherry Orchard.
The programme will run weekly, and will include training sessions, analysis, team and unit development meetings, friendly matches, tournaments and more.
It will be based at Cherry Orchard FC's excellent facility at Elmdale Crescent and TU Dublin Blanchardstown, home of the St Patrick's Athletic Academy, and will initially focus on U11, U12 and U13 players.
UEFA A Licence holder, Karl Lambe, who is Lead Player Development Coach in the St Patrick's Athletic Academy, will be Head Coach of this new ETP and will be assisted by Coaches Chris Forrester, St Pat's 1st Team player, and Philly Hughes, former League of Ireland striker.
This programme will also be supported by St Patrick's Athletic Head of Academy Football Ian Bermingham, Club Partnership Manager Paul Webb and other St Pat's Academy Coaches and Experts.
Ian Bermingham has welcomed today's announcement:
"Over the last number of years the Player Pathway Partnership has been hugely successful with numerous players coming through. Most recently, six players our 2012 age-group joined the St Patrick's Athletic Academy from Cherry Orchard and all continue to do well.
The Launch of the ETP Programme is another step forward in the partnership between the clubs and the overall development and structure of our Academy, particularly at the entry level.
The programme will allow our coaches gain early access to the players across the U11/12/13 age groups to enhance the development of all players.
The players will benefit massively under the hugely talented coaching staff of Karl Lambe, Philly Hughes and Chris Forrester and we look forward to supporting them."
Stephen O'Brien, Chairman of Cherry Orchard FC said:
"It has been three years since the creation of the Player Pathway Partnership between Cherry Orchard FC and St Patrick's Athletic FC, so we've reached a major milestone and what a journey it has been so far.
The 2024-25 season marked a standout achievement, with the Ian Bermingham-managed Cherry Orchard FC U13 Premier Team winning both the DDSL League and the U13 SFAI Cup. From that exceptional group, six players have now progressed into the St Pat's LOI Academy System, highlighting the success of our shared vision.
Now, we are proud to announce a major milestone in our partnership, the launch of the Emerging Talent Programme (ETP).
This programme provides St Pat's with the opportunity to support the development of, and gain early access to, some of the best grassroots players in the country, across the U11 to U13 age groups.
Through the ETP, our players will benefit from weekly access to top-level coaching and mentorship from figures such as Karl Lambe, Ian Bermingham, Chris Forrester, Paul Webb and Philly Hughes, an incredible boost for their development and future potential.
This is what a true partnership looks like, working together to nurture talent and create opportunities for the next generation."
While St Patrick's Athletic Academy Lead Player Development Coach and new ETP Head Coach Karl Lambe can't wait to get going next week:
"I'm delighted to have been asked to take on this role and thank both clubs for trusting me to lead this exciting project.
Player development and making an impact with young players is something I'm very passionate about, along with Chris, Philly and everyone else involved on the coaching end, we're very excited.
We want to continue to grow the relationship between St Pat's and Cherry Orchard and this new initiative will help us to do that. Our ultimate aim as a collective is to develop and improve players, and having access to them from U11 will expose them to the high level environment that is created in the St Pat's Academy and help us introduce them to the St Patrick's Athletic philosophy and way of playing a little earlier.
Increasing their contact hours is another big plus as well as helping the players improve the technical aspect of their game, and their decision making, by focusing on the individuals as well as the team.
We feel this will lead to a more consistent flow of players progressing into and through the Academy, as we strive to continue to develop international class players.
I'm also delighted to have people the caliber of Chris Forrester, a St Pat's legend, and Philly Hughes, who was an excellent League of Ireland striker, working alongside me."
Keep an eye on the St Patrick's Athletic and Cherry Orchard social media pages over the coming weeks for more updates.
