Park Utd

Mitchelstown club identity

Park United AFC serves Mitchelstown, County Cork and the nearby communities around the town. The club was formed in 1975 after years of street league football in Mitchelstown, with the name chosen as a nod to Liam Lynch Park and the area many early members called home.

The first Park United team entered the Cork AUL in 1975 and began on a Limerick Road pitch made available by Mitchelstown Creameries. Founding members named in club history include George Donegan, Pa Cotter, Michael Brazil, Tom O’Gorman, Michael Aherne, Michael Walsh, Tom O’Keeffe, Larry Coleman, Billy Cahill, Dick Cahill and Billy Murphy.

Early football and honours

Park United played its first match against Bride View Rovers in Tallow on 15 August 1975, earning a three all draw with goals from Billy Crowley, Denis Murphy and Timmy Crowley. The club reached the Murphy Cup final in 1979, won Cork AUL League 2A in 1983 and added its first cup success in the Presidents Cup in 1988.

A schoolboys section was added in the early 1990s and the club grew across adult, schoolboy and schoolgirl football. The 2015 to 2016 Cork AUL Premier League and AOH Cup double helped move the adult men’s teams from junior to senior football in 2017, and Park United then won Munster Senior League Senior Division 2 in its first senior season.

Brigown Park match visit

Brigown Park is the main Park United address in Mitchelstown. The club gives the address as Brigown Park, Mitchelstown, County Cork, P67 KX02, with match day access close to the graveyard on the approach described by the club.

For visiting teams arriving from Cork, the club directions bring traffic through Mitchelstown, right at the lights after the second petrol station, up the hill and right after the graveyard, with the grounds on the right after roughly 200 yards.

Brigown Park, Mitchelstown, County Cork, P67 KX02.

Facilities at Brigown

The club realised its aim of owning a pitch in 1985 when it bought 3.5 acres at Brigown. The grounds were levelled, drained and reseeded, boundary work followed and Brigown Park became the long term base for Park United football.

The clubhouse opened in 1996 with dressing rooms, a meeting room, stores, showers and toilets. In 2008 the club added a 40 metre by 40 metre floodlit astroturf training area. Club information now describes three grass pitches, an all weather floodlit training pitch and the clubhouse at Brigown Park.

Player pathway

Park United’s pathway runs from academy football into school age teams and on to adult football. At adult male level the club has senior and junior teams in the Munster Senior League, giving local players a route into Cork senior football while staying attached to their Mitchelstown club.

The underage structure includes Cork Schoolboys League teams from under 11 to under 16, at least one side in each of those age groups, plus under 18 football in the Cork Youth Leagues. The girls section has been renewed in recent years and includes three schoolgirl teams in Cork women’s and schoolgirls football.

Academy for younger players

The Park United Academy was formed in 1999 and provides football for boys and girls from five to ten years of age during the primary school term from September to June. The academy is run by volunteer club coaches and parents, with an emphasis on basic technique, teamwork, enjoyment and a route into the older teams.

Academy training takes place at the Mitchelstown Leisure Centre all weather pitch, while the main club base remains Brigown Park. The academy details include a season registration of €30 and weekly training at €2, giving families a clear first step into the club.

Kit, shop and club services

Park United’s Cork Youth Leagues entry gives the home colours as green and white hoops, white shorts and green socks. Those colours match the Mitchelstown crest style and make Park United easy to recognise in Cork youth football.

Club gear is handled through The Print House at 54 Upper Cork Street, Brigown, Mitchelstown, P67 YD66. The shop range includes gear bags, hats, jackets, polo tops, shorts, socks, green and white zip tops, hoodies, tracksuit pants and training tops.

Joining and contact

New players and parents can use the club website for pitch hire, membership, academy, shop and contact details. A good first message should include the player’s age, school year, football experience and whether the enquiry is for academy, schoolboys, schoolgirls, youth, junior or senior football.

Club contacts include chairperson Sean Keane on 086 6062308, vice chair John O’Shea on 087 9793971, secretary Dave O’Sullivan on 087 9346377 and schoolboy or schoolgirl secretary Mike King on 087 2753987. For match day visits, confirm arrival time, pitch assignment, parking and whether activity is at Brigown Park or the Leisure Centre.