Daingean Athletics Cub Raises €160,000 for new track
New athletics track in Daingean will be available for whole community
Naomh Mhuire Athletics Club in Daingean has thanked everyone who supported its recent fundraising campaign, which raised €160,000 for the development of the club's new athletics track at Gortakeel, Daingean, well past its original €150,000 target.
Between grants and fundraising, the club has now raised nearly €400,000 towards the development. The project remains a work in progress, however, and the club must keep going to reach the €1 million needed to complete it, including a full polyurethane athletics track.
The club launched its "From Bogland to Running Track" appeal in June. Over the months that followed, support came from families, businesses, community groups and former residents across Offaly, throughout Ireland and as far away as Britain, America and Australia. More than 100 people set up their own fundraising pages for the club, and the campaign was carried to its finish by the 26 Counties Challenge in September, when club members ran a marathon in each of the 26 counties on the same day.
Work is well under way on the ground, though there is a long way still to go. On what was cutaway bog at Gortakeel a year ago, the 400-metre track has been formed and the access road completed, and floodlighting has been ordered. The club has planning permission in place and has matched grant support from the Community Sport Facilities Fund and the LEADER programme with community funds at every stage. Between those grants and the community's fundraising, nearly €400,000 has now been raised towards the development. Engineering, architectural and planning work on the project has been given free of charge by a club member, so that as much of every euro raised as possible goes into the facility itself.
The next and most important step is to lay an eight-lane polyurethane running surface with a 100-metre sprint straight, bringing the track up to the standard needed for training, schools' athletics and competition. The surface is estimated to cost in the region of €600,000, an investment well beyond what a community club can raise through fundraising alone. In all, the club needs to reach the €1 million mark to complete the development.
The club has applied for public funding towards this phase and is hopeful of a positive outcome. Once complete, the facility will be open to the whole community, not just club members.
Athletes, walkers, runners, schools, other sports clubs and community groups from Daingean and the surrounding towns and villages of east Offaly and neighbouring parts of Kildare and Laois will be able to use it. The infield will also be used for girls' football training, and the track sits beside the proposed Bord na Móna trail, making Gortakeel a natural hub for outdoor activity in the area.
Club Chairperson Brenden Donagher said: “On behalf of everyone in the club, I want to thank every single person who donated, fundraised, ran, volunteered or shared our appeal. Raising €160,000 is an extraordinary achievement for a club of our size, and it tells you what this project means to the people of Daingean and to the many friends of the parish at home and abroad. A year ago Gortakeel was bog. Today you can see the shape of a 400-metre track out there, and that is down entirely to the community. But it's very much a work in progress, and there is a lot still to do. Our ambition now is to finish the job properly, with a polyurethane surface that will serve athletes, schools, walkers and families from right across the area for generations. The community has shown what it's prepared to do, and we're hopeful the support needed to complete it will follow.”
Project Treasurer Gerard Cleary added: “Every euro raised has gone directly into the project, and anyone who drives out to Gortakeel can see exactly where their money has gone. Between grants and fundraising we've now raised nearly €400,000, matching public funding with community money at every stage, and our own members have given their professional time for free, so support for this project goes a long way. But we need to keep going until we reach the €1 million mark to complete the development, and the polyurethane track is the biggest part of that. It's beyond what any club can raise on its own. We have applied for funding to bridge that gap, and we're hopeful of a positive outcome, because this will be a facility for the whole community and the wider region, not just for our members.”
Daingean Naomh Mhuire CLG would again like to thank all its donors, sponsors and volunteers. Anyone who would still like to support the project, and any business interested in being associated with it, can contact the club through its social media channels or fundraising page.