IT’S fitting that one of the top clubs in the region can also boast some of the best facilities.
Newcestown are the only Carbery GAA Club that campaign in both the premier senior football and hurling championships, and as well as making strides on the pitch, they are doing similar off the pitch.
Last Saturday this progressive club held the official opening of their new astro-turf complex and a newly-drained top pitch.
This project initially began in 2021 when Newcestown started fundraising, and with the generosity of the local community and various grants, work started in late 2022 before it was finished by late 2023.
Newcestown club president Seán Crowley with his brother Tim, former Cork senior hurler, at the official opening.
The new astro pitch is situated at the end of the newly-drained top pitch, next to the local school, Bishop Galvin Central School Newcestown. It overlooks the main pitch and has a dimension of 50x30m. Other features include floodlights, a hurling wall along one end of the astro and a viewing stand.
Club chairman Seán Dinneen is thrilled with the new development.
‘The biggest benefit is during the bad weather – it gives players the opportunity to train there, especially early in the season when the weather is bad. Last year in the spring, the weather was absolutely shocking. Only for it, we wouldn’t have been able to get our players out and training,’ Dinneen told The Southern Star.
‘The second benefit is the school next door. They have access to it as much as they need. From what I can see being up at the pitch, they use it all day. It is ideal even for kids running around for some physical exercise. They go back into the class clean, they couldn’t really play on the grass (in winter).’
Eadaoin O'Donovan, Noelle Buckley and Mary O'Donovan enjoying the opening of Newcestown's new facilities.
Dinneen also paid tribute to the local community for their generosity and support as the club safeguards its future with top-class facilities that will benefit all.
‘In 2021, we started a fundraising campaign. We went around the community and requested to make a voluntary donation. There was a fantastic contribution from the locality, GAA members and non-GAA people,’ Dinneen explained.
‘We had the top pitch redeveloped where we had to redrain it and put a lot of sand on it. We just did a proper job on it to make it more useful. You couldn’t use it a lot of the time when there was rain. The two developments go hand-in-hand. It was Eoghan Hourihane who did a lot of it and he did a fantastic job.’
At the official opening were Emma Murphy, Elma Barry and Mary Burrows.
