New Shelbourne owner Acun Ilicali said he'd found a "hidden treasure" in Dublin as he was unveiled to the media at the Aviva Stadium on Friday afternoon.
The Turkish media mogul and owner of Hull City was flanked by executive board member Tan Kessler and vice-chairman Andrew Doyle as he outlined his vision for the club, as well as how it relates to its "big brother" in the north of England.
Ilicali, who had earlier expressed an interest in Dundalk, as well as clubs on the continent, said that his ambition was to build a team capable of achieving success at European level.
"To be stronger in the football industry, we needed another club. So we started searching. In Portugal, in Belgium, we had some opportunities, good opportunities. And (elsewhere) in Ireland, some opportunities.
"But at the end of the day, in our meetings, what we discovered is that there is a hidden treasure in Dublin. And it is called Shelbourne.
"My whole life has been about improving things in my media business. I've bought so many formats, TV productions, TV channels around the world and lifted them to a higher standard. Now, in football, in the last two years, we have achieved good success in Hull City.
"At the moment, we see big potential in Irish football and we see big potential in Shelbourne. For us, it is the correct team for us to show our talent in making a big team a bigger team."
Ilicali insisted that Shels would not function as a mere 'feeder club' for Hull City but that both clubs would derive benefit from the relationship.
"The project is to put Shelbourne in a better position, with a better squad. Whenever we talk about Shelbourne, we talk about them individually.
"Of course, there will be a relationship between Shelbourne and Hull City, which will be to the advantage of both clubs.
"But this is not like there's just going to be a team in Ireland that will feed Hull City. No, it's not like that.
"We want to take this team - along with our coach (Damien Duff), who we believe in - to a higher position.
"If you ask me, what is the potential here? It is to go to the European cups and have European success. Our vision here is based on having victories here in Shelbourne.
"There can be some players (moving) from Shelbourne to Hull City, yes. From Hull City to Shelbourne, yes.
"But I want you to understand, this is an individual project for us, that we want to have big success with Shelbourne and the fans."
Asked why he ultimately settled on Ireland as the location for his second club, Ilicali pointed to the costs involved in the various alternatives examined, notably in Portugal and Belgium.
"The operational costs in Portugal and Belgium in order to be successful is high.
"In order to bring players to Britain, they have to play in Portugal or Belgium for almost four seasons.
"That operation, in order, to have a club to co-operate with Hull City takes too much power to make the team stay in the league. This effort would damage our Hull operation.
"It's not easy to run two teams with big budgets. Having two strong teams, I don't think it's an easy operation.
"From my point of view, we see this potential (of Shelbourne) going higher and higher. But don't forget, we are also pushing Hull City for the Premier League too, and we had a very good second half of the season last year and we are hopeful about (reaching) the play-offs next year.
"The operation should be two similar teams together. One team should be like a smaller brother."
As to the ongoing attempt to complete the purchase of Tolka Park from Dublin City Council, executive board member Kessler said he understood that the stadium was "sacred" and "special" to the club and its fans, though he was loath to make too many commitments on the matter.
"Our coach mentioned he played at Tolka but as for the technicality of the stadium, it's too early for an answer. Tolka is special to the club and there will be some improvements," Kessler said.
Doyle, the corporate lawyer who has served as Shelbourne chairman since 2018, insisted that the club were still in the process of negotiating the purchase of the ground, which has been Shelbourne's home since 1989.
"No, we're continuing with the negotiation. That obviously takes time. We're committed to the process."
