Bohemian FC is delighted to confirm the appointment of Jimmy Dignam as the club’s new Chief Operating Officer.
Dignam takes on the role having worked full-time for the club for over four years, first as a senior administrator and then as Head of Operations, having previously volunteered for the club in a variety of roles.
He succeeds Daniel Lambert, who was earlier today appointed to the new position of Chief Commercial Officer.
Club president Matt Devaney said: “I am delighted that Jimmy has agreed to take on this role. Jimmy, his work ethic and his qualities, were familiar to so many of us as members and supporters of the club from the previous volunteering he did for the club in many areas.
“But since he began working full-time for the club in 2021, he has proved such an invaluable asset and has played such a key role in building and professionalising the club’s structures.
“There are exciting times ahead as we edge closer to the redevelopment of Dalymount Park but there are challenges ahead too in the two years we will have away from our home, so it is absolutely crucial that we have talented and driven people to manage the operations of the club during that time, and we will have that in Jimmy.”
Dignam is also excited about the potential of returning to a redeveloped Dalymount and the opportunities that will open up for the club, and says the hard work done in building up Bohs’ fanbase and standing within the community over the past number of years will be crucial to navigate the interim period.
Dignam said: “Everyone involved can reflect proudly on where we have come from over the past 15 years. The club is putting in place all the important pieces to give ourselves the potential to succeed and compete – a state-of-the-art academy facility, a first-class training facility for our men’s and women’s teams, a state-of-the-art modern stadium 10 minutes from O’Connell Street, and a fanbase that is really growing.
“People are coming to our club, young people and families, for what the club stands for. The principle of fan ownership and community involvement are important to so many of them and, as a result, we now have a significant collective of people who want our club to thrive in every aspect.
“The board, membership and staff are custodians of the club. It is our responsibility to hand over the club to the next generation in a stronger position than when we got it, and the people who set up this club 135 years ago would be proud of what people here have achieved over the past decade or so.”
Building upon those foundations in an increasingly professionalised league where Bohs’ rivals have enjoyed significant private investment will be a challenge, but one that Dignam is relishing to be a part of.
He said: “I am honoured and delighted to take on this role at the Club that means everything to me personally. I became a member in 2007, and one thing I have always been proud of about our club is that it is 100% fan-owned. The fact it has remained so, 135 years on, particularly in the current footballing climate, is an incredible achievement.
“For Bohs to sustain ourselves and flourish in so many ways is a testament to the members, the board of directors past and present and, in recent times in particular, to Dan Lambert.
“Without that toiling over the years, we would not have got through the dark days. I started working for Bohs in 2021, and the landscape of football in this country has changed so much, even in that short period of time. But it is that ethos that drew me to work for the club because I want to play my part in ensuring we are the best members-owned club we can be.
“With the pressures of private investment into so many clubs across the league, we know we cannot stand still. We have to be creative and innovate, the best example of that is the jersey sales led by Dan over the past number of years. Without that kind of innovation from Dan and others, we would struggle to compete.
“Within the context of significant wage inflation across the league and other clubs staffing-up and doing things more professionally than ever before, it is an extremely competitive field. It is a huge challenge for us but not one that we can shirk. We have shown over a number of years that we are very good at many things, and my goal is to help build on that.”
Dignam is proud of the journey the club has been on, and is looking forward to being part of the next one.
He said: “Someone like Stephen Lambert, who stood down last month after 15 years volunteering as Honorary Secretary, really encapsulates that journey and I am incredibly grateful to him, and others, for everything they have done for the club but also on a personal level for all the help they have given me during my time here so far.
“Stephen is someone who sees the bigger picture at all times, and sees that everything we do is to build and strengthen ourselves as a club and that the stronger the club is, the better our teams will be. We are consistently looking to build our fanbase, to attract people from right across the city and further afield to our club, so that they identify with our club and that our club can be the strongest it can be.
“So much of that non-footballing work the club does is to help deliver the most high performance environment that we possibly can for the footballing side. We don’t have the strongest resources in the league but what we have is people in key positions, such as Pat Fenlon, who works tirelessly to drive standards and continues to try and be innovative with the resources we have.”
Having the right people in the right positions will be key to competing at the right end of the table in the years ahead, while growing the club further off the field.
Dignam said: “We are incredibly lucky with the staff we have at the club. The club has recruited very talented people with important skillsets over the past couple of years. That is very necessary if we are to continue to grow. What we are trying to achieve is to move away from there being a situation where there was not a whole lot of diversification of labour, where people are doing a multitude of roles.
“It is an absolute credit to Lynn O’Neill that she was able to fulfill so many roles during her 35 years working for the club but as the football landscape changes, so too does the staffing requirements of what is now such a large organisation.
“Dan’s new role is a part of that, he can now fully focus on the crucially important areas that he is the very best at, as mentioned in his announcement earlier today, while I focus on the other aspects and we work together – with the wider team – to make Bohs the best club it can be on-and off-the-pitch.
“It was also part of the process in bringing in people like Ciarán O’Brien and Gary Keating, and Pat Fenlon, who is the vital conduit between everyone in the football section and the board. It is the same in the community section led by Aibhínn Conway, the climate section led by Seán McCabe, and the maintenance section led by Gerry Sexton.
“We want talented people specialising in the areas they are best suited to. Ultimately that will make us stronger as a club.”
Finally, Dignam’s journey to the role of Chief Operating Officer began with a love of the club fostered in his secondary school years, initially being brought to games by his schoolboy team coach, then going to games with classmates, before becoming an active member of the Notorious Boo-Boys.
He added: “I quickly got to know more people, particularly through getting involved in the Notorious Boo-Boys, a group which to this day is still a source of great pride to me – particularly this year which has been the most impressive season in the group’s history in terms of the displays they have done and the support they have given the team. The amount of time they put in and the initiative they show is to me a key part of what we are as a club.
“That spirit of selfless volunteerism is more important than ever at this current juncture of our history. Continuing to diversify our income streams is an integral aspect for the club, with so many large-scale projects in motion. Building out the club’s democratic model is key to this – bringing more members on to subcommittees, giving them a voice and an opportunity to use their skills and talents for the club. That is what makes Bohs such a special club.”