CK United moving to Buckley Park ahead of National League

The idea for CK United FC was born in 2017, with the Carlow and Kilkenny leagues coming together under one new banner the following year, with FAI development officers Darren Murray and Garry Coady helping to get the project off the ground.

Based in Derdimus Park in Kilkenny City - the Kilkenny District League's home ground - as well as in Carlow IT, the new club drew in players from right across both counties, as well as a handful from neighbouring counties Kildare and Wexford.

Between 2018 and the present day, CK United has grown to include teams across six grades, with boys teams at U14, U15, U17 and U20 level as well as an U17s girls team and the LOI Women's Development League team, which was formerly an U19 team, but now play U23 system.

The club reached a major milestone in 2025, with a first ever CK United player winning an international cap when Sophia Blackmore made her debut for Ireland U16 against Czechia in Prague. The goalkeeper has won another cap since and finds herself on the reserve list for next month’s match away to Iceland.

Then came the club’s first piece of silverware as CK were 2-1 winners over Bray Wanderers in November to win the LOI Academy Girls U17 Plate.

One month later and news emerged that CK had been chosen as one of the 15 clubs that will form part of the new FAI National League Tier 3, which kicks off on the weekend of September 4th, 5th and 6th. The league will be the top tier of grassroots football, creating a direct pathway between the grassroots game and the League of Ireland for the first time.

Speaking to The Nationalist, CK United Sporting Director Shane Duffy explained that the club is expecting to announce their management, coaching staff and playing squad over the next three to four months.

Earning their place in the National League has led to CK’s next major milestone with the news that the club is moving to Buckley Park ahead of the start of the season. The Kilkenny City ground has a current capacity of between 3,000 and 4,000, but Duffy said the club “hope to get large-scale infrastructure grants from the government and that should easily turn it into an 8,000 to 10,000-seater stadium.” 

CK United’s dream of becoming an LOI club has stalled in the past because of a lack of proper facilities, with Duffy explaining that the club have previously lost out to Kerry FC and Waterford FC in their bid for an FAI licence.

But the Sporting Director said when it was a simple process once it finally came time to sit down with those who own and manage the Kilkenny venue – Jim Rhatigan, Jim Cranwell and Mike Comerford. “We sat down with the lads and over 15 minutes of a conversation we agreed a deal. They’re all about bringing football back to the area,” Duffy said.

The reality of playing LOI football and running a large stadium is not lost on anyone at CK United, with Duffy admitting the club are actively searching for sponsorship.

“We'd love to have something like Smithwicks Buckley Park, Tír Lán Buckley Park, CluneTech Buckley Park, you know, there's loads of options,” he said.

“And it’s not just that, we’ll take shirt sponsors, sleeve sponsors, short sponsors – we’ll take them all.

“We're a volunteer club. We don't get UEFA grants because we're not a professional football club. We’re a grassroots club and that’s how we’re going to finance it - with people coming in to watch the games and people paying to watch the games.”

The volunteers are the club currently have a major undertaking on their hands as they are beginning the process of cleaning up Buckley Park, with the venue lying idle for the past number of years.