Oranmore/Maree GAA Club looks set to become the envy of the county after releasing details of their proposed 24-acre development, which includes a full size all-weather 4G astro-turf pitch and a number of sand based pitches on a site they have just purchased in Rinville.
Adjacent to the breath-taking Rinville Park, the new development, which will also serve the needs of Oranmore Camogie Club and Naomh Mhuire Ladies Football Club, will also include juvenile playing pitches, a low-level illuminated walking/jogging track and state-of-the art changing facilities.
With the cost of the land alone amounting to €350,000, it is a hugely ambitious project being undertaken by the three clubs. “We have very ambitious plans and they are all there (in the brochure),” begins Oranmore GAA Chairman Gerry Rabbitte, who earlier in the morning had presided over an extremely successful fundraiser breakfast in the Lough Rea Hotel.
Aptly entitled ‘Creating A Winning Culture’, guest speakers were Maree resident Pat Lam and Supermac’s owner Pat McDonagh, both of whom praised the clubs involved for their vision while also offering some pearls of wisdom in relation to establishing a winning mindset.
“We had almost 290 people at it, which was great because it was just not a fundraiser,” continues Rabbitte. “We also wanted to highlight the fact that we have purchased 24 acres of land and that we are now about to embark on the planning process. We would like to work with the goodwill of the parish and the neighbours around now on taking that process forward.”
The land, itself, had come up for sale over a year ago and with little movement on it initially, Oranmore/Maree GAA decided to take the proverbial punt. “To be honest, once we did, the family who were selling it also showed an interest in the club being very much part of it (the sale) and there was a lot of goodwill from the family who owned it.”
A year on, and Oranmore/Maree GAA, along with its sister clubs, are ready to begin and Rabbitte believes with the area’s population exploding over the past decade or so – it has now grown to over 8,000 inhabitants – it is not before time. Indeed, he throws out a number of statistics to emphasise his point.
As written by Stephen Glennon of the Connacht Tribune
