The St John Bosco Youth Centre CLG has been an important part of the Drimnagh community for over 70 years. 

The Bosco was established in the 1940’s by members of the local community in partnership with the parish, with the parish priest being the patron. 

Drimnagh at that time was one of the newly constructed suburbs of Dublin with no social / sports facilities for the large numbers of young people. 

Over a number of years through fundraising, members subs and volunteer labour a building was constructed which was added to over the years. 

From 1996 to 2005 the centre benefited from various state support schemes that financed upgrades and refurbishment of the entire building which had significantly deteriorated during the 1980’s and 1990s. 

Over the past 70+ years the Bosco has proved itself to be an facility that continually adapts and changes to support the needs of the local community. It is a place that holds great memories for generations of young people of being in a safe environment where they could interact and have fun with their friends, take part in diverse activities, learn new skills and make new friends. 

The centre now opens 7 days a week for close to 100 hours with hundreds attending each day. 

Governance 

Since it was divested from the Dublin Diocese in 1996 the centre has been run on behalf of the community by a volunteer board of management which is registered as a Charity. We are fully compliant with the CRA Governance Code. 

Membership of the Board has changed regularly since 1996.  The board meet monthly.

Funding and Staffing 

We receive core funding from a number of state agencies to run specific programmes such as our youth work project, to employ a manager.

We also make applications for funding to various bodies to enable us to undertake essential maintenance and upgrades to the building. 

The centre could not exist without our caretaking and cleaning team that are employed through various employment schemes such as Community Employment, TUS and Jobs Initiative. 

All groups using space in the centre pay contributions towards our running costs, this is essential as our state funding does not cover our overall running costs.