“It’s been tough, but somebody has to do it!

We received planning permission for the new changing facilities in April 2004 and commenced work soon afterwards. At this time we also constructed a new equipment shed beside the Guidant training pitch. The new changing rooms / gym were opened in time for the 2004 / 2005 season and were a great boost as the playing membership, between senior men and women and under-age sections, had grown significantly. At the end of 2004 we again applied to the Department to be considered for funding under the 2005 Sports Capital Programme. Hope springs eternal!

Were we exhausted? No – on to the next project! The club had now become a very big complex, with three pitches (one floodlit), one training pitch (floodlit) two all-weather pitches (floodlit), two changing-room buildings and, of course, the clubhouse itself. In the meantime the town of Clonmel had been rapidly expanding and we were being surrounded by housing estates. The club had not properly secured it boundaries – it was now overdue and this was the next project. Securing the premises properly would require almost 1100 linear metres of railings, gates and palisade fencing. A major project – more planning applications – more money needed.

We decided to wait to see how we would fare in the 2005 Sports Capital Programme grants. We waited until mid-Summer. The news was not good – we were not going to get anything this year. We licked our wounds and did some hard thinking – and carried on with the usual fundraising such as our Golf Classic which was again a great success. We made a decision – we needed the boundary fence. We would have to borrow most of the funding – our bank was again supportive – our track record over the previous three years, especially in respect of the all-weather pitches revenue, had been excellent. In the meantime we had become aware of the Capital Grants Schemes for Recreational and Community Facilities offered by the two Local Authorities. The fact that we lay astride both Authorities now worked in our favour! We applied to both Authorities for funding – more paperwork! – it was worth it – at this moment the Local Authorities have each allocated €10,000 to the club.

As this moment the boundary fence is being finished and will really enhance the security and appearance of the club. Despite all the activity over the last few years the club’s finances are in reasonably good shape. Again, it is important to record this period, probably the most productive period in the club’s history, and to acknowledge the massive effort put in by a dedicated group of people who should be remembered in the club’s annals. Are we finished? Never – right now we are compiling the application for the 2006 Sports Capital Programme and hope we’ll be lucky in 2006. Our next project will be the upgrading of the lights on Pitch 2 and possibly the re-laying and drainage of that same pitch which has seen so much action over the years. We hope to add in some pictures shortly so that you can get an idea of what has been done here. We hope we’ll have much more to tell you in 2006 and beyond.

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Download the Development Plan 1995 - 2005

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