BY Declan Varley
Galway GAA have announced that works on the refurbishment and reroofing of the stand at Tuam Stadium will commence next month.
The project will involve the removal of the existing roof, the erection of a steel frame Cantilever roof and new seating for 1,500 patrons. The upgrade has been made possible by a generous donation of €350,000 from the late Joe and Helen O’Toole of O’Toole’s Tuam, who committed to supporting the refurbishment in 2018.
Galway GAA Chairperson Paul Bellew welcomed the announcement saying that this is great news for Tuam Stadium.
“We want to sincerely thank the late Joe and Helen O’Toole for the extraordinary contribution to this project. In particular we want to acknowledge the work and commitment of Mary Lardner in making this a reality.
“We are also grateful for the fundraising efforts of DAFTS and the support of the Tuam Stadium Committee, Connacht Council and Croke Park in seeing this coming to fruition”.
Chairperson of Galway’s GAA’s Infrastructure Committee Mary Judge said this is a very exciting and welcome announcement for Tuam Stadium.
“It has involved a significant amount of work from numerous stakeholders. I would like to acknowledge the contribution of Conor Hayes, Tommy Kelly, Mark Gottsche and Sean Canney who worked diligently on behalf of Galway GAA to get us to this point.
“The Infrastructure Committee also wish to thank Mary Lardner and O’Toole’s for their generosity and support”.
Mary Lardner, CEO of O’Toole’s Supervalu said that Joe and Helen were proud supporters of Galway GAA throughout their lifetimes and they would have been delighted to see the refurbishment of the stand at Tuam Stadium.
‘On behalf of the O’Toole’s, I am proud to be able to be able to honour their legacy of supporting the local community and to continue their long association with Galway GAA.
“I would like to thank all involved for their commitment and to congratulate them on reaching the point where works are imminent.”
Sean Canney Independent TD welcomed the announcement, saying that this is very positive news for Tuam Stadium./
“After a long wait, works will begin on site within the next few weeks. This is a historic moment in the overall development of the Stadium.
“I want to acknowledge the generous contribution from the Joe and Helen O Toole Trust, without which this project would not have been progressed”.
“When all the works are completed, we will see a transformation of the stadium following on from the new terrace and seating which were completed a few years ago. It represents an investment more than €1.2 million with three tranches of funding under the sports capital grants supporting the project.
“Tuam Stadium will experience a major facelift and I expect that following the works now planned we will have a modern sports facility in Tuam which is the heart of Galway football”.
“I acknowledge the fundraising efforts of the DAFTS Committee whose fundraising kick started this development and the Tuam Stadium Committee who manage the facility on behalf of the County Board. I also acknowledge the commitment of the County Board to Tuam and the work of the GAA Infrastructure Committee of which I am proud to be a member”.
