GAA president Larry McCarthy visited the planned Renville Sports & Community Grounds of excellence on Monday and immediately made one local man happy, when he pulled the winning name in the Oranmore-Maree GAA One Club’s fundraising draw.
Cathal Mangan of Oranisland, Oranmore was the winner of the new Ford Puma ST-Line X hybrid, top prize for the draw to kickstart thre fuinds for the major project. Members of the wider Oranmore-Maree community backed the draw by purchasing tickets including diaspora from across the globe living in the US, UAE, and Canada alongside generous bonus prize donations made through the local business partnership initiative established between Oranmore-Maree GAA One Club and 12 local businesses.
Speaking at the ‘Win a Car’ Draw event Mr. McCarthy said it was “great to visit my first club as GAA president today and hear about their exciting development plans in Renville. What an ambitious club, and it is brilliant to see such great cooperation across the community.”
Renville Sports & Community Grounds, will serve the sporting needs of the area with a number of all-weather and full size pitches. The vision for the development is to deliver in Renville leading sporting facilities which will benefit members of Oranmore-Maree GAA One Club (comprising Oranmore-Maree GAA Club, Oranmore-Maree Camogie Club and Naomh Mhuire Ladies Football Club ) and the wider community for generations to come.
To date consistent work by the Oranmore-Maree GAA One Club and Renville Sports & Community Grounds Management Committee has seen the development being awarded a €2.1 million Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF ) grant by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
It is planned that Renville Sports & Community Grounds will include one 4G full size pitch (the first full size 4G pitch in Galway ); two all-weather grass based full size pitches; one juvenile pitch; three training / warm up areas; changing rooms with shower facilities; ball wall; a community facilities area; secure low level lit community walking / running track; a public children’s playground area; preservation of a ringfort as a local heritage and educational site, and a community parking area with accessible public toilets and baby changing facilities which can be used by all visitors to Rinville Park & Rinville Graveyard.
Oranmore-Maree GAA One Club has invested €900,000 in the project to date between the cost of the land purchase and substantial funds used for studies related to the planning application.
Gerry Rabbitte, chairman of Oranmore Maree GAA One Club, said they are privileged as a club to receive the support of GAA president Larry McCarthy for the planned Renville Sports & Community Grounds.
“This is a very large and ambitious project which we have embarked on, as it is intended to deliver the sports facilities required for generations to come, in addition to adding vital community amenities to the Renville area. The financial contributions of the club members, local community and businesses in the area have been absolutely crucial in getting us to this point.
“We are aware that we will need further financial support throughout the next few years to complete our full vision for this state of the art facility and we look forward to working with all the stakeholders on this flagship development for Galway.”
Chairman of the management committee for Renville Sports & Community Grounds, Padraig O’Callaghan said he was delighted to see the success of GAA president Larry McCarthy’s visit to the site of the planned Renville Sports & Community Grounds.
“I was further buoyed to see the hard work of the ‘Win a Car’ Fundraising Committee and Ticket Sellers as well as the incredible support from the Oranmore-Maree community including local business partners, paying off as they generated much needed funds to bring us closer to getting the development completed for Oranmore-Maree GAA One Club, most especially in these more challenging times. On behalf of Renville Sports & Community Grounds and Oranmore-Maree GAA One Club we wish to extend our heartiest congratulations to the winner of the top prize Cathal Mangan.
“It is essential we keep driving the project forward. This can only be done with the support of the community helping us to fundraise the essential costs required to pay for what will become a magnificent development for the area and its people. It will be something we can all be proud of. There has been a phenomenal amount of work done already by members of the club, the management committee, and the wider community. While we have a lot more to do, I have full confidence if we continue to pull together we will get there,” he concluded.
