Offaly GAA’s expansion plans near completion

Plans to expand the facilities available to Offaly GAA at their flagship Faithful Fields Centre of Excellence in Kilcormac are nearing completion, with a crunch meeting due to take place this weekend to plot the path forward.

It is understood GAA officials who are due to meet tomorrow morning (Saturday) will make a final decision on whether to rubber-stamp a plan to proceed with the installation of an all-weather astro turf pitch, which is estimated to cost in excess of €1 million.

Offaly County Board Chairman, Tom Parlon, stressed to the Offaly Independent that while "no final decision" has yet been made on an all-weather pitch, it it something the GAA has had under "active consideration" for some time.

"We have travelled up and down the country looking at, not just GAA facilities, but also soccer and rugby facilities," he said, "so we have given a lot of thought and consideration to an all-weather pitch at the Faithful Fields, and it is not a decision we take lightly as it is a very big investment of €1 million-plus."

Mr Parlon said that, given the vagaries of the Irish weather, it is vital that Offaly GAA players have the option of all-weather training facilities going forward. "I think the impetus is there now with the success of our underage teams, and particularly the huge Leinster final win on Monday night last," he said. "We have this new phrase now, 'Offalyness', after that win, and we are going to need an awful lot of Offalyness to see a project as big as this through.”

As part of the process leading up to tomorrow's meeting to decide on Phase Two of the Faithful Fields development, local Fianna Fail TD, Tony McCormack, organised a meeting on behalf of Offaly GAA with the Minister of State at the Department of Sport, Charlie McConalogue, to explore possible funding streams for the project.

The meeting, which took place in Leinster House and was attended by Deputy McCormack, Tom Parlon, and Kieran Keenaghan, who was a key figure behind the original success of Faithful Fields, was described by Offaly GAA as "a positive move" towards realising the next phase of what they referred to as "this important project for Offaly's sporting future".

Tom Parlon said it would be possible for Offaly GAA to qualify for regional sports funding of up to €500,000, along with funding from the Leinster Council and Croke Park for Phase Two of the Faithful Fields development project, but he said the organisation is also planning a high-profile campaign aimed at bringing local companies and business people on board with funding.

It is understood that Phase Two of the Faithful Fields project will also incorporate a running a walking track, which will be developed in conjunction with Offaly Athletics.

Although the existing facilities at the Offaly GAA Centre of Excellence in Kilcormac are considered to be "among the best in the country," according to Mr Parlon, he points out that they are no longer sufficient to cope with the numbers of people playing GAA in the county at the moment, particularly at underage level. "We have had to ask parents to bring their children to training for 8am, or send them to other pitches around the county for training, which is not ideal, but the demand is unprecedented, and unless we can provide the facilities that demand will drop." The current Faithful Fields complex, which includes four full-sized floodlit playing pitches; meeting rooms; dressing rooms; a state-of-the-art gym; catering facilities; an all weather warm-up area, and a full stand and fencing – which were added later – was built debt-free for approximately €2.5 million through a combination of grant aid and a huge fundraising effort. "If we were to build the same facilities today, you would be looking at a price tag of probably €10 million or more," says the County Board Chairman, "so whatever decision we make about Phase Two we want to make sure that it is the right one".

Offaly GAA began making plans for an expansion of their facilities in Kilcormac after they acquired an additional 15 acres of land alongside the Faithful Fields on a long term lease at the end of last year. The land on which the current complex stands was originally in the hands of Kilcormac Development Association, who had plans to develop it as industrial units. However, the Celtic Tiger crash put paid to these plans and the land, comprising some 20 acres, was subsequently acquired by Offaly County Council.

Offaly GAA took out a 99-year lease on the land from the local authority and announced very ambitious plans in October 2015 to develop a dedicated Centre of Excellence which would serve as both a training ground and a centre to host games. The new complex was officially opened in September 2017.

Pledging his support for Phase Two of the development, Deputy McCormack praised the work of the volunteers who gave of their "time, energy and passion" to make the Offaly GAA Centre of Excellence a reality, and said their dedication is "the backbone" of its success.

He added that the landmark facility for Offaly stands as "a proud symbol of what can be achieved when a community pulls together".