🎄 Clontarf FC Christmas Lunch 2026 🎄

The Christmas season starts in Clontarf!

There are certain dates in the Clontarf calendar that everyone looks forward to — and the Clontarf FC Christmas Lunch at Clontarf Castle is undoubtedly one of them.

On Friday, November 20th, we’ll once again come together for what has become a real highlight of the year for players, coaches, volunteers, supporters, members, friends and families of Clontarf FC — and, for many in the parish, the official start of the Christmas season!

And this year, we have another fantastic line-up of guests joining us for what promises to be a brilliant afternoon.

It’s a great event ,the cost of a table(Max. 10 people ) is €1,200 and we will have member tables to facilitate smaller groups and individuals to attend will cost  €120 each  to make up a table of 10.

We have over 50 teams in the club this season and  would love to have representation at the event from every team.

Tables can be booked via chair@clontarffc.ie  or  secretary@clontarffc.ie  or contact any member of the Club committee.

We look forward to your continuing support and seeing you all on the day.

Yours in Sport

Shea McNelis

Chairman

Clontarf Football Club

🎤 Our MC – John Duggan

Returning as MC, as he has done so brilliantly in previous years, is John Duggan.

A familiar voice to sports fans across Ireland, John is also a recent IMRO radio Award winner, being named the Sports Broadcaster of the year and we’re delighted to have him back to keep the afternoon moving, entertain the crowd and put our special guests through their paces.

Joining John Duggan on stage will be our three Special Guests

Roberto "Pico" Lopes

Joining us on stage will be Pico Lopes, the Shamrock Rovers and Cape Verde international defender.

Pico has been a star for Shamrock Rovers since 2017, winning 5 premier division titles as well as being part of the 2025 league and cup double winning side.

With one U19 cap for the Republic of Ireland, and following the now famous LinkedIn message, Pico joined up with the Cape Verde national team, making his debut in 2019 and being an integral part of the Cape Verde squad who reached the 2026 world Cup, where he played a key role in a memorable campaign — facing the likes of  Lionel Messi's Argentina and starring in Cape Verde's opening game against eventual World Cup winners Spain, where Cape Verde held the champions scoreless.

It will be a great opportunity to hear from Pico about his career, his experiences at the highest level of international football and life inside a World Cup dressing room.

Brian Kerr

Joining Pico on stage is a true Irish football legend — Brian Kerr.

A former St Patrick's Athletic, Faroe Islands and Republic of Ireland manager, Brian has been one of the most respected and influential voices in Irish football for decades. With a stellar coaching and Managerial career in the League Of Ireland through to his success with our under age international teams, winning U16 and u18 European championships in 1998. and with the Under-20 side he also reached the semi-finals of the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Before becoming the head coach of the Mens National team in 2003.

But of more interest to our coaches in attendance was his role as coach of the Crumlin united U11 side at only 13 years of age.

These days, you'll regularly hear Brian providing his expert analysis on Newstalk's Premier League coverage, while he also works as a football pundit for Virgin Media, bringing his trademark insight, experience and straight-talking style to the biggest games.

We're delighted to welcome Brian to the Clontarf FC Christmas Lunch, where we're sure he'll have plenty of stories from an extraordinary career — from developing some of Ireland's greatest young players to managing at the very highest level of international football.

Eoin Doyle

Completing our fantastic guest line-up is former professional footballer Eoin Doyle, whose career took him from schoolboy football with Cherry Orchard to Crumlin, to Shelbourne and in to the League of Ireland to Scotland and England, before eventually bringing him back home to the league of Ireland.

Across a career spanning Ireland, Scotland and England, Eoin scored more than 200 goals in over 600 senior appearances.

Since hanging up his boots, Eoin has quickly become a familiar and highly respected voice in football broadcasting, regularly appearing as a pundit and analyst on Newstalk and Off The Ball.

With his experience of the League of Ireland, Scottish football, the English Championship and the EFL — combined with his eye for the game and his own experience as a prolific striker — Eoin will bring a fascinating perspective to the conversation.

We're delighted to have him joining Pico and Brian on stage for what promises to be one of the highlights of this year's Clontarf FC Christmas Lunch.

Auction and Raffle

No Clontarf FC Christmas lunch would be the same without our end of day auction. And this year will be no exception with a host of sporting memorabilia up for Auction.

For fans of the premier league we will have a selection of certified signed jerseys from current and past premier league starts from Man Utd., Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City and many more.

We'll also have a selection of certified signed jerseys from international teams from around the world, including South America, Europe and beyond.

And the night will end with the big raffle with some fantastic prizes on offer, follow our social media channels for more detail of these prizes as well as some additional auction items.