Leading Offaly athletics club launches fundraising campaign for €1m development
A campaign aimed at transforming athletics and community sport in the wider Daingean area through the development of a state-of-the-art athletics facility has been launched by Naomh Mhuire Athletics Club.
A MAJOR fundraising campaign aimed at transforming athletics and community sport in the wider Daingean area through the development of a state-of-the-art athletics facility has been launched by Naomh Mhuire Athletics Club.
The club plans to invest approximately €1 million over the coming years in a two-phase project that will provide modern sporting infrastructure for athletes, walkers, runners, schools and community groups throughout Daingean and the wider Offaly region.
The development will be delivered on lands secured by the club and will create a lasting sporting legacy for current and future generations.
Phase 1 of the project will focus on the construction of a 400-metre athletics track, together with floodlighting and security fencing. The club has already secured planning permission and has successfully obtained grant approvals totalling approximately €200,000 towards the project costs.
To bridge the remaining funding gap, the club is launching its fundraising campaign today with an ambitious target of €150,000. Every euro raised will go directly towards delivering the first phase of the development and bringing the project closer to reality.
Phase 2 will see the construction of a dedicated clubhouse, providing essential facilities including changing rooms, toilets, showers, meeting space and community amenities. This phase will further enhance the facility's ability to serve local athletes and community organisations for many years to come.
Club Chairman Brendan Donagher said: "This project is about much more than athletics. It is about creating a facility that the entire community can be proud of. We want to provide a safe, accessible and inclusive environment where people of all ages and abilities can participate in sport, improve their health and wellbeing, and come together as a community."
Project Treasurer Gerard Cleary added: "The support we have received to date has been tremendous. We have secured significant grant funding and planning approval, but community fundraising will be critical to making this vision a reality. We are asking everyone with a connection to Daingean and the surrounding area to support this campaign and help us build a lasting legacy for future generations."
The proposed facility will provide opportunities for local athletes to train and compete closer to home while also encouraging greater participation in physical activity among children, adults and older members of the community. The development will support schools, sports clubs and community groups and contribute positively to the health and wellbeing of the wider population.
Daingean Naomh Mhuire Athletics Club invites individuals, families, businesses and supporters both at home and abroad to get behind the campaign and help create a first-class sporting facility for the community.
Further details on how to support the fundraising campaign can be found through the club's social media channels and fundraising platform.