Oranmore Maree GAA has announced the opening of the first phase of the club’s new Sports Centre of Excellence, Chubb Renville Gaelic Grounds.
Phase I of the project covers the development of the pitches and associated facilities including the new entrance road and car parking. The phase will be divided into Phase IA and Phase 1B. Phase IA covers the delivery of the club’s state-of-the-art full-size 4G Astro Pitch, with Phase IB aiming to see the completion of three full-size grass pitches in the facility.
Phase IA is in its final stages of completion as the 4G Astro Pitch prepares to host its first games this weekend. The Oranmore Maree GAA One Club’s U11 teams will take on the U11 boys’ and girls’ teams from Dublin’s St Vincent’s and Kilmacud Crokes. It marks a major milestone for the project.
Chairperson of Oranmore-Maree GAA One Club Sean Greene said that one of the main aims of the new Chubb Renville Gaelic Grounds “is to facilitate young current club members and future generations to come”.
“This development will have an immensely positive impact on our club, both for its current and future members. They will have access to best in class facilities which will make a marked difference to inclusion, player participation and performance.
“The whole club is extremely excited to see the first games take place on the new 4G pitch. It is fitting that the first game will take place between juvenile teams,” he added.
Oranmore Maree GAA One Club Development Officer, Derek Cullinane, said that these are “really exciting times for the club”.
“Chubb Renville Gaelic Grounds will greatly enhance quality of life within the Oranmore-Maree Community, not only through the planned playing facilities but also through the Community Areas included in plans for the development. It is fantastic to see the full size 4G astro pitch ready to play on for our club members and visiting teams,” he said.
Phase IB will see completion of the three full size grass pitches in the facility. Two of the pitches were seeded in September of this year and will be ready for training and games by September 2026. The completion of the third grass pitch was held up this year due to weather related delays. This will now be completed in Q2 next year and available to play on in Q2 2027.
The club submitted a new planning application for the project in October. The application includes an updated design for the club’s planned dressing room building and updated locations for the planned ball-wall, storage shed, and the replacement of a playground with a sensory garden. The new dressing room building will consist of four dressing rooms, meeting rooms, public toilets, and a baby changing area.
The club set up Renville Gaelic Grounds Management Committee in 2017 to develop this project. Chairperson of this committee, Padraig O’Callaghan said: “A further boost to the development is the news we now have the grant for walkways around Chubb Renville Gaelic Grounds. We are extremely grateful to Galway County Council for their support and help in obtaining the grant. This facility will be used daily by members of the community during the darker months and will make a great difference to quality of life for people in the locality.”
On November 3, Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary TD announced the award of a grant of €245,700 for the development of walkways around the Chubb Renville Gaelic Grounds. The grant is issued through the 2024-2025 Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS ). This project was submitted through Galway County Council. The walkways will have low level lighting and therefore be available for use by the local communities throughout the winter, with the development being an important extension of the existing facilities in Renville Park.
Oranmore Maree GAA One Club originally invested over €1.1m in the project between land purchase, planning and fundraising costs to get to the start of the development phase. The budget for Phase I is €4m, which is partially funded by the Government’s Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF ).
The 4G Astro pitch will be available for use by other teams in the area – refer to the club https://www.oranmoremareegaa.com and project websites https://www.chubbrenvillegaelicgrounds.ie for booking links.
