Shelbourne FC have “verbally agreed” a fee to buy back Tolka Park from Dublin City Council, according to Dick Shakespeare, the DCC assistant chief executive officer.
“We have met with owners of Shelbourne football club and verbally agreed, they have agreed to acquire it for a [seven-figure] sum,” Shakespeare told councillors. “That is in hand. We’re currently putting together the necessary documentation to bring before the area committee.”
In related news, Barry Mocke has replaced Dave O’Connor as Shelbourne chief executive. Mocke, the former chief executive of Cycling South Africa, arrives as the Drumcondra club is poised to accept a major investment from Hull City owner Acun Ilicali.
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Ilicali, a Turkish media magnate, recently visited Dublin as the guest of Shels chairman Andrew Doyle. The pair sat together at Richmond Park for the 1-0 defeat to St Patrick’s Athletic on February 24th.
“I think really exciting things are about to happen at Shelbourne,” said Mocke, who has relocated to Dublin. “I am in a position now, I think, where the plans the board have for where the club is going, I am absolutely thrilled to be here.”
Mocke’s LinkedIn account lists a “30 year career” in education, manufacturing and sports administration but he has been on “sabbatical” in Istanbul, Turkey since January 2020.
The majority of his career (1999 to 2009) was spent as managing director of Somerset Educational, which is a manufacturer and distributor of “science laboratory equipment and chemicals to South African educational institutions.” His last employment was five years at Balderstone Sports Institute, a “multi-sport high performance training and education institute” in Johannesburg that has a partnership with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“I am coming in with an open mind,” said Mocke. “Dave and the team have done an incredible job to stabilise things. I really hope the launch pad we have allows me to fit in and make a contribution.”
