Ireland gets official penya

The FC Barcelona board has officially endorsed the Penya Barcelonista Átha Cliath, which thus becomes the club's first official penya in Ireland.

Based in Dublin (Baile Átha Cliath in Irish), it was the brainchild of four Barça supporters from the city, Aidan Collopy, Sean Hehir, John Tighe and Patrick Brogan, who realised the need for an official society when Barça played Celtic in a preseason friendly in Dublin in 2016. That led to the organisation of a gathering to watch the Clásico on December 3 of that year, and everything grew from there. 

Patrick O'Connell, the inspiration

The club is particularly proud of its association with Patrick O'Connell, the Dubliner who managed Barça in the 1935-1936 season. After the Spanish Civil War broke out, he arranged for the team to go on its famous tour of Mexico and the United States, with many of the players opting to stay in North America rather than return to their war-torn homeland. The founders of the Dublin penya view O'Connell as an inspiring figure, and hope to honour the legacy of a man who is often viewed as the saviour of FC Barcelona at the time of one of its deepest crises.

100 members

PB Átha Cliath has around 100 members, many of whom follow the teams in its travels. Several Irish fans were in both Dortmund and Lisbon, and are hoping to go to more games together before the season is out.

They also play 7-a-side football against other supporters clubs in their city, which they also use to raise funds for charity actions.

They also have close ties with the Catalan Cultural Centre in Ireland, frequently attending its events that help forge and maintain such solid links between Ireland and Catalonia. They are also close to the Penya Blaugrana London, one of the oldest and most active Barça supporters clubs in the world.