Cork school unveils new state-of-the-art sporting facility 

GLANMIRE Community College has now officially unveiled its new state-of-the-art astroturf facility, which will benefit both students attending the college and the wider local community.

The works completed as part of this development included a floodlit all-weather pitch that measures 65m x 37.5m, a hurling wall, a 3m tarmacadam walkway around the existing grass pitch, and lighting of this walkway.

Principal of Glanmire Community College Ronan McCarthy welcomed the opening of the facility, and said it would prove beneficial for both the school and the community.

He said: “The school looks forward not only to offering a state-of-the-art facility to our students, but to also making it available to local community-based organisations. We intend to give priority to local clubs that cater for students from our school and have a long-term interest in the care and maintenance of the facility and its surroundings.”

He added: “We are grateful for the support of our board of management, parents, staff, students, Cork ETB, and the local community in Glanmire for making this development a reality.

“We hope all our community will benefit from its use for many years to come.”

Cork ETB chief executive of Denis Leamy said the board was happy to facilitate this development as patrons of the school.

“We will continue to strive to improve the facilities and resources in all of our schools across Cork city and county to meet the needs of growing student populations, and this development is just one practical example,” said Mr Leamy.

“It is also our role to support local communities that our schools are located in, and this new facility will also have a positive impact on the wider local community in Glanmire,” he added.

Mr Leamy continued: “I would also like to pay tribute to the board of management at the school, who have shown diligence and determination to see this project through to fruition since they first approached Cork Education and Training Board with their initial proposal in 2019.”

The all-weather pitch was built by Hourihan Sports Field Development. The consultant for the project was Pat Carey Lynch & Associates. Work commenced on the project in March earlier this year and involved upgrading the schools existing school pitch.