Sporting Fingal players Eamon Zayed, Conan Byrne, Stephen Paisley, Kenny Browne, John Frost and Brian Gannon were present at Wynn’s Hotel in Dublin City today (Weds) to oversee the launch of the Sporting Fingal “Stay Onside – Say No to Drugs” collectors cards scheme.

The cards have been produced by the Sporting Fingal Community Trust, the charitable arm of the club, in conjunction with County Dublin V.E.C. Today's event took place as part of the Greater Blanchardstown Response to Drugs annual Media Awards.

The idea behind the scheme is that young people are hopefully more likely to be influenced by their local sporting heroes’ endorsement of healthy lifestyles. The cards will be distributed to youngsters in Fingal, through schools, summer camps, matches etc.

The Sporting Fingal squad have been deeply involved in this project since its inception. All involved at the club think it is a very worthwhile idea and is one of a series of initiatives being delivered jointly by the Club and the Community Trust.

Sporting Fingal defender Brian Gannon addressed today's gathering on behalf of the squad and his manager, Liam Buckley.

He said: “We feel it is our responsibility as professional players to act as role models for the younger generation. As the club ethos is centred on community spirit, us squad members wanted to involve ourselves in the various activities to assist in our localities.

"We are therefore delighted to participate in this imaginative initiative which encourages young people to reject drugs and embrace healthy lifestyles”.

The annual Media Awards competition encourages secondary school students and aspiring journalists to research and write original articles about drug-related issues. The two themes in this year’s competition were: “Head Shops – legal but potentially fatal?” and “Tackling Drugs – the real cost of budget cuts?” and the winning articles will be published in local papers from next week.

Speaking on the morning of the ceremony, Phillip Keegan, Co-ordinator of the Greater Blanchardstown Response to Drugs and the Media Awards, said: “Many people decided to write their article around Head Shops, which wasn’t surprising. However, although the Head Shop debate has seemingly moved on, communities must remain vigilant to prevent these Head Shops from going underground.”

This year’s Media Awards winners include an article around Head Shops by 14-year-old Rebecca Murphy from Rockford Manor Secondary School; another Head Shop article by 17-year-old Lisa Murphy from Cabinteely Community School ; teenage siblings from Clonsilla, Uzair Saif Qureshi from the Institute of Education and Sehreen Qureshi from Trinity College, both writing about the effects of budget cuts; Ian McFarlane, age 18, from St. Kevin’s College in Finglas, writing about how Head Shops can give “under-privileged areas” a bad name; Emer Halpenny, a mother of two and Independent College student from Stillorgan writing about the “gingerbread house” appeal of Head Shops and Majella Twomey, a qualified barrister and diploma in journalism student from Independent College asking: “is resistance futile?”

The G.B.R.D have a long tradition of supporting educational initiatives and are welcoming the announcement of a drugs education ‘trading card’ initiative from Sporting Fingal Community Trust at today’s ceremony. The new Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. Ken Farrell will officially launch the ‘Stay Onside’ pilot programme later today, which features player profiles with anti-drugs messages from members of the Sporting Fingal Football Squad.

Liam Buckley, Director of Football with Sporting Fingal commented: “Through the ‘Stay Onside’ initiative, we’re encouraging children and teenagers to become more active and to get involved in sports, with the goal of diverting them away from unhealthy lifestyles”.

The ‘Let’s Talk About Drugs’ Media Awards are organised every year by G.B.R.D., in partnership with Dublin People Group of Newspapers, Blanchardstown Local Drugs Task Force through the Young Peoples’ Facilities and Services Fund, and County Dublin Vocational Education Committee. All winning entries are free to download from the G.B.R.D. website from today at www.gbrd.ie