Carrigaline United secure new 24-acre site to cater for 2,000 club members

When your club has only two pitches but 75 teams and 2,000 members, finding time for training sessions and playing matches is always a problem for club officials.

There is only so much you can do on those two pitches.

It is never enough and Carrigaline FC were forced into finding a way to accommodate the constant demands on their pitches and membership growth in their club. Now thanks to a very committed and dedicated committee as well as a great new sponsor, they purchased 24 acres of land which will become their new home.

Delighted with the new land, chairman Joe Giltinan spoke about the impact it will make to the club and how grateful they were to all who helped make it come to fruition.

“The club has recently secured 24 acres on a site west of Ballea Park and it’s brilliant for us all involved. It will be funded in part by our members but we are delighted to announce that Astra Construction have come on board as a very substantial sponsor – we are incredibly grateful to Stephen McCarthy for his support at this key time.

"We would also be hopeful of securing additional Sports Capital funding in time to come to fully realise our plans for the site.

The Carrigaline United team that played Ringmahon Rangers in their U12 Blackwater Motors Local Cup final at Turner's Cross. Picture Dan Linehan

“We are in the early stages of developing these detailed plans. It is not a quick solution for the club – it will take a considerable length of time before we are training and playing matches at the Five Mile site but it will be brilliant to have.

Our club is one of the largest clubs in Ireland – we are heading towards 2,000 playing members.

"We have in excess of 75 teams playing matches week in, week out. We currently have just two pitches at Ballea Park.

"These were sufficient for our needs 15 years ago when the club was a quarter of its current size but we are now substantially underresourced in terms of playing pitches for our membership size. We do have intermittent access to local facilities from time to time – they do not fill the gap but we are very grateful for them all the same.”

FOOTBALL FOR ALL

Carrigaline United is very much a community-based club, rooted in the town and its surrounding areas. The motto is Football for All – Peil Do Gach Duine Eine – every child/player coming in from the town and its hinterland is guaranteed a game.

The new land will allow them to continue to live by their motto and values. Giltinan believes this is the essence of the club.

“Carrigaline will continue to grow in population over the coming years – the new M28 motorway is the latest indicator of this development. It’s essential at this stage to increase our footprint to cater for this new demand. As well as catering for extra players and teams, the new land will provide coaches with options for more contact time and larger training areas – these are core requirements if our players are to be developed to the best of their abilities.

Dylan O'Driscoll on the ball for the Carrigaline United U16s. Picture: Larry Cummins

“Our new land is on the Ballea Road – a short trip from our existing location at Ballea Park. Every player in the area surrounding Carrigaline is welcome in the club – we would certainly look to maintain and possibly increase our player numbers.

“The purchase process has been a lengthy one – we expect that it will be completed over the next two months. A number of people have been heavily involved in the acquisition itself and there has been widespread support across the Club for this essential strategic initiative.

"We would like to place on record our thanks to Michael McGrath, Seamus McGrath and Jack White for their unstinting support with our land acquisition process over many years.”

Giltinan took over the role as chairman after the untimely passing of their beloved Willie Walsh. Difficult boots to fill but Giltinan is doing a great job, while always having Walsh on his mind.

As you know Willie was a hugely influential and charismatic chairman and leader of the club for many years.

"His death earlier this year was an enormous shock to everyone in the club and the local community – he was popular with everyone he met. He was very much a community man and we are still very much reeling from his loss.

"This new land will also be the result of hard work from Willie over the years. We look forward to it been completed.”

Click here to read article