Glenville open new facilities

GAA President Larry McCarthy was the guest of honour recently as Glenville officially opened a series of new developments.

Over the course four years, the club have built a new floodlit astroturf pitch as well as floodlighting their main pitch while a new scoreboard and coffee shop have been added as well as a car park.

An evening of celebration at the grounds featured boys’ and girls’ blitzes for players U7-11 while there were exhibition matches involving players from U14 up to U17. A piper-led parade of the younger players was then followed by a combined game in which the players from the club’s Gaelic For Mothers And Others and Dads And Lads initiatives took part.

Glenville PRO John O’Connor is delighted to witness a lot of hard work come to fruition.

“We did all over a four-year period – through Covid,” he says.

“The astroturf came first and the floodlights were the last thing. We added in bits and pieces then in between as we went along.

“It cost us around €500,000,” he says. We got around €200,000 in grants from the Irish Sports Capital fund, the Munster GAA Council and Cork County Council.

“We got €100,000 from Tomar Trust. That had been set up the late Tom Cavanagh of Cavanaghs Motors in Fermoy and it has been a great help to a lot of local sporting organisations.

“We fundraised the rest of it then, around €200,000. It’s great, but it was badly needed!”

Already, the benefits of the facilities are being seen.

“People from five to 55 are playing on the astro now,” O’Connor says.

“Every week, we have Dads and Lads playing and the Gaelic For Mothers And Others. The kids can train during the winter now, which makes an awful difference.

“It has really transformed the place – previously, you’d nearly have to shut down for six months in the bad weather.

“Even for ourselves, we started Dads and Lads when the astro opened, the same for the Mothers and Others. We’ve been able to play away during the week and it’s brilliant, it’s so inclusive.

“Having the floodlights on the main pitch is really beneficial at this time of year, when it starts to get dark at eight o’clock. We can fit a lot more in.

“The coffee shop for the parents when the kids are training – it’s a small thing but it all helps.”

That the club’s efforts were rewarded with a visit from the president is a source of great pride, according to O’Connor

“It was a huge honour,” he said, “I can’t ever remember a GAA President coming to Watergrasshill or Glenville in my time.

“It was fantastic that he agreed to do it and he was very good, he spent a lot of time there. He didn’t just come for the speech, he stayed in Glenville that night and everything.”

Glenville are keen not to rest on their laurels. A clubhouse is next on the agenda and there is a strong feeling that the momentum gained should be put to good use.

“We want to upgrade the dressing rooms and put in meeting rooms,” O’Connor says.

“That’s the next thing that the application is in for.

“I think people can see now that we were talking about doing things and we did them. Now they can see the fruits of their donations and their help. It’s a case of striking while the iron is hot – we’ve proven that we can do it so let’s get the clubhouse up now and future-proof it as well.

“You want to put in everything you can think of for 20 years’ time as you only get one shot at it and so you want to make sure that it’s right.”

Meanwhile, the window for applications for club development grants from the GAA’s Central Council and Munster Council is now open.

The overall scheme consists of two schemes rolled in to one – Central Council and Munster Council with the overall budget to be confirmed once applications have been submitted and considered.

The scheme consists of six categories of funding at club level. Clubs are advised to submit their applications to their county safety and facilities officer by the closing date of Friday, September 29. More details can be found by contacting Joseph Blake or Noel O’Callaghan.