Avenue United in red and yellow
Avenue United connects its 1983 Ennis roots, Roslevan grounds, Lees Road academy training, Clare honours, FAI Club Mark standards and red and yellow football pathway.
Avenue United in Ennis
Avenue United FC is a red and yellow football club from Ennis, County Clare. The club now has its home grounds at Roslevan on Tulla Road and uses Lees Road for academy training.
The club has grown from a Marian Avenue and Steele’s Terrace football group into one of Clare’s best known community football organisations, with junior adult, youth, school age, girls, ladies and academy strands.
Founded from Marian Avenue and Steele’s Terrace
Avenue United was founded on April 12th 1983 at a meeting in Mickey Kerin’s Bar in the Lifford area of Ennis. The founding members were David Connellan, Anthony McMahon, Sean Downes and Gerard O’Grady.
The early club identity came from Marian Avenue, Steele’s Terrace and the nearby Fairgreen pitch. Several of the founders and first players had already been involved in Ennis football, and Avenue gave that local group a new club of its own.
| Origin point | Avenue detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 12th 1983. |
| Founders | David Connellan, Anthony McMahon, Sean Downes and Gerard O’Grady. |
| Early area | Marian Avenue, Steele’s Terrace, Lifford and the Fairgreen pitch in Ennis. |
| Club colours | Red and yellow. |
The first Avenue teams
Avenue’s first Clare and District Soccer League season was in the 1983 to 1984 Second Division. The panel was made up only of Marian Avenue and Steele’s Terrace players and included seven sets of brothers from the Casey, Mounsey, Purtill, McMahon, Connellan, Lyons and Guilfoyle families.
The team won the Second Division League and Shield without losing a match, then added First Division League and Shield honours in 1984 to 1985. That early run created a 42 match unbeaten sequence and established Avenue as a serious Ennis club almost immediately.
Roslevan home grounds
Avenue United purchased its own grounds at Roslevan, Ennis, in 2012. The Roslevan base sits on Tulla Road, close to the Roslevan Business and Retail Centre, and is now the club’s main home.
The Roslevan facility includes two pitches, a training area and a clubhouse with hall and dressing room space. For families and visiting teams, Roslevan is the main place to associate with Avenue United football.
| Roslevan detail | Use |
|---|---|
| Address | Roslevan, Tulla Road, Ennis, County Clare. |
| Eircode | V95 VY22. |
| Facilities | Two pitches, training area, clubhouse, hall and dressing rooms. |
| Main role | Home grounds for Avenue United club activity. |
Academy at Lees Road
Avenue United also uses Lees Road in Ennis for academy training. This gives the youngest players a clear early football setting while Roslevan remains the main club grounds.
The academy has been a major part of Avenue’s growth. The club pathway has included up to 120 players across 5 to 10 age groups, feeding into the wider school age teams as players grow.
Player pathway
Avenue United’s pathway covers academy, school age teams, youth football, junior adult teams, girls teams and ladies football. The club has had a player membership of about 470, which shows the scale of the Ennis football community around Roslevan.
The 2026 to 2027 lead coach structure includes under 11 through under 18 boys, under 12 girls and under 17 and under 19 ladies. That range gives families a clear route from first training into older youth and adult football.
| Pathway area | Avenue route |
|---|---|
| Academy | 5 to 10 age groups with a large first step into football. |
| Boys pathway | Under 11 through under 18 boys lead coach structure. |
| Girls and ladies | Under 12 girls, under 17 ladies and under 19 ladies routes. |
| Adult football | Junior adult teams in Clare football. |
Girls and ladies football
Avenue United has active girls and ladies football strands. The club’s current contact structure includes under 12 girls and under 17 and under 19 ladies routes, while recent club milestones include under 16 girls cup success.
This matters for families because it shows that girls can enter the club at school age and see older female teams within the same red and yellow identity.
Club standards and safeguarding
Avenue United has earned FAI Club Mark recognition. The award connects with how the club manages football away from the pitch, including governance, administration, child welfare, safeguarding, risk assessment and club policies.
The club also carries code of conduct guidance for managers and coaches, players and parents. Those standards help families understand what behaviour and care should look like around training, matches and volunteer work.
| Standard | Club practice |
|---|---|
| FAI Club Mark | Recognition for club standards and football administration. |
| Child welfare | Named child welfare officer and safeguarding focus. |
| Policies | Guidance for managers, coaches, players and parents. |
| Risk and care | Risk assessment and procedures sit beside the football programme. |
Committee and football leadership
The 2026 to 2027 committee includes Shane Hayes as chairman, Gearoid Mannion as assistant chairman, Eamon O’Reilly as treasurer and Nigel Braddish as CDSL and CSSL secretary. Gerard O’Grady is honorary president.
Football leadership roles include David Rushe as academy director, John O’Malley as child welfare officer and CSSL secretary for under 13 to under 16, and Declan Mangan as director of football.
| Role | Named contact |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Shane Hayes. |
| Assistant chairman | Gearoid Mannion. |
| Treasurer | Eamon O’Reilly. |
| CDSL and CSSL secretary | Nigel Braddish. |
| Academy director | David Rushe. |
| Child welfare officer | John O’Malley. |
| Director of football | Declan Mangan. |
Junior honours
Avenue United’s junior roll of honour is one of the main reasons the club has such a strong Clare football profile. The club won the Clare Grand Slam in 1988 and has multiple Premier League, Haughey Cup, Clare Junior Cup, Munster Junior Cup Clare Area and FAI Junior Cup Clare Area honours.
The 1990 FAI Junior Cup campaign is a landmark moment. Avenue became the first Clare club to reach the national final and played Cherry Orchard at Dalymount Park.
| Junior honour | Avenue record |
|---|---|
| Grand Slam | 1988 Clare Grand Slam. |
| FAI Junior Cup | National runner up in 1990. |
| Premier League | Titles across 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2005. |
| Haughey Cup | 1986, 1987 and 1988. |
| Clare Junior Cup | 2002 and 2007. |
Youth and school age honours
Avenue’s honours are not limited to junior adult football. The youth section includes Youths League, Youths Cup, Munster Youths Clare Area, FAI Youths Clare Area, Youths Shield, under 17 league and under 17 cup honours.
The school age roll includes league and cup wins across under 11, under 12, under 13, under 14, under 15 and under 16 levels from the late 1990s through the 2000s. That history shows a club that built from adult success into a broad youth structure.
| Youth area | Honour detail |
|---|---|
| Youths League | 1990, 1991, 1992, 2000 and 2002. |
| Youths Cup | 1989, 2002 and 2009. |
| FAI Youths Clare Area | 2009. |
| Under 17 | League in 2009 and cup in 2008. |
| School age | League and cup wins across under 11 to under 16 groups. |
Recent milestones
Avenue’s newer club activity continues that competitive thread. Recent milestones include CDSL Clare Cup Champions in 2026, the A team league champions in 2023 to 2024 and CSSL under 16 girls cup champions.
Those newer milestones sit beside the older honours rather than replacing them. They show a club still competing across adult, school age and girls football while maintaining a large community base.
Membership and communication
Avenue United opens membership for the 2026 to 2027 season and uses a mobile app route to keep club members informed. Families can also use the official email address avenueunited@gmail.com and the club’s X and Facebook channels.
The communication setup matters because Avenue has many football strands at once: academy, boys teams, girls teams, ladies teams, junior adult football, fundraising, policies, grounds and club events.
| Contact area | Detail |
|---|---|
| avenueunited@gmail.com. | |
| X | UnitedAvenue. |
| Avenue United Facebook channel. | |
| Membership | 2026 to 2027 membership route for players and families. |
Fundraising and club life
Avenue United’s club life includes fundraising, a 200 Club draw, anniversary activity and regular football notices for families. These parts of the club help maintain the grounds, equipment, teams and volunteer structure around Roslevan.
The 25th anniversary in 2008 included a book on the club’s history by local author Ollie Byrnes. That anniversary marker underlines how much local memory sits behind the modern Avenue setup.
Crest and colours
The Avenue United crest is a red circular badge with yellow lettering, a white inner circle, red cherries and green leaves. The badge carries “Avenue United FC” and “Ennis”, making the club name and locality clear at a glance.
Red and yellow are used across the club identity. The colour pairing gives Avenue one of the most recognisable looks in Clare football.
Visiting Roslevan
Visitors should use Roslevan, Tulla Road, Ennis, County Clare, V95 VY22 for the main Avenue United grounds. Teams should still confirm the exact arrival plan because age groups and competition days can affect where players meet.
Academy training is connected with Lees Road, so younger players and new families should check whether their session is at Roslevan or Lees Road before setting out.
Parent and player checklist
A family contacting Avenue United should start with the player’s year of birth, current age group and whether the player is looking for academy, school age, girls, ladies, youth or adult football.
For a first visit, confirm the ground, coach, arrival time, equipment and registration step. Avenue has enough teams and locations that checking the detail in advance saves confusion on busy football evenings.
- Academy: Ask whether the session is at Lees Road or Roslevan.
- School age: Confirm the correct under age group and lead coach.
- Girls and ladies: Ask about under 12 girls and under 17 or under 19 ladies routes.
- Visitors: Use V95 VY22 for Roslevan and confirm the pitch plan before travel.
Avenue United summary
Avenue United combines a 1983 Ennis origin story, a strong junior honour roll, a large school age pathway, girls and ladies football, Roslevan facilities, Lees Road academy training and FAI Club Mark standards.
That combination gives families more than a team name. It gives them a club with roots, facilities, standards, contacts, membership routes and a clear red and yellow identity in Clare football.