Westmeath GAA and Athlone Town among big beneficiaries from latest sports capital grants
Over €3.3m has been announced in Sports Capital Grants today for sports clubs and organisations in Westmeath.
The two largest single allocations were made to Westmeath GAA and Athlone Town FC. The former is to receive €300,000 for the upgrade of TEG Cusack Park while Athlone Town AFC CLG will receive €251,674 for dressing rooms, toilet facilities and a fitness suite.
Other big local beneficiaries under the latest allocations included Athlone Institute of Technology which was granted €178,086 for artificial pitch & floodlight upgrade and Garrycastle GAA club which received €149,500 for main pitch floodlighting and gym equipment.
Fianna Fáil Minister of State Robert Troy has warmly welcomed the allocation which was part of a record nationwide allocation of €150m announced by Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport, Jack Chambers.
Speaking on the announcement Minister Troy said “The allocations announced for Westmeath today are a huge investment in the facilities and sporting infrastructure at many clubs throughout the county. This is also a huge sign of appreciation for the tireless work undertaken by volunteers and committees throughout the county who give so tirelessly of their time to provide sporting opportunities for current and future generations.
“Throughout the past 10 months I have worked extremely closely with a number of the successful applicants in putting together strong applications which sought to highlight the real impact which all of these successful clubs have on their local communities.
“It has been a tough two years for many sports clubs but the pandemic really demonstrated the importance of sport for our collective wellbeing. The grants which were announced today will significantly improve sports facilities in every county. There is a huge variety of different sports covered and I was particularly pleased that the scoring system placed an even greater emphasis on female participation.”
The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.1 billion.
By the closing date for applications (1 March, 2021) under this latest round, 3,106 applications had been submitted seeking over €200m in funding. This is the highest number of applications ever received.
“Sports Capital funding is a hugely important facility for clubs and organisations to develop their facilities to meet the needs of the future. In welcoming this allocation for successful clubs which I have worked with I am also conscious that a number of clubs were unsuccessful in this years programme. Therefore I am pleased to have secured a commitment from the Minister that the sum of €6m has been set aside to deal with successful appeals from clubs who have not been granted funding. I will be in touch with a number of such clubs in the coming days and working to submit strong appeals on their behalf,” concluded Minister Troy.
His fellow Westmeath Minister of State, Peter Burke, also welcomed the funding.
He said: “This is fantastic funding provided to grassroots communities and a reflection of Government’s commitment to invest in rural Ireland and local clubs and communities. Our sports club are the lifeblood of our localities, and are run by a network of volunteers who not only keep clubs going and young people engaged, they keep community spirit up. This money will be very well spent in Westmeath, and I was glad to have worked with many clubs in their applications. On top of an earlier round of funding this year, this shows that Government is committed to investing in sport and in local communities, no matter how small.”
The full Westmeath list of allocations:
List is of recipient, project and financial allocation in euros.
REGIONAL CAPITAL ALLOCATIONS
Athlone Institute of Technology
AIT Artificial Pitch & Floodlight Upgrade
178,086
Athlone Town AFC CLG
Dressing rooms, toilet facilities, fitness suite.
251,674
Westmeath County Board GAA
Upgrade of TEG Cusack Park, Westmeath GAA
300,000
Westmeath County Council
Athlone RSC Floodlighting and Track Works
123,226
LOCAL CAPITAL ALLOCATIONS
Athlone GAA
Athlone GAA Pitch Drainage and Gym Equipment
107,519
Ballinagore GAA Club
Installation of LED Pitch lighting
18,260
Ballymore Gaelic Football Club
Ballymore GAA - Gym and machinery store phase 2
48,778
Ballynacargy Boxing Club
Sports equipment/structural repairs to building
18,354
Buccaneers RFC
Buccaneers RFC Artificial 4G playing pitch
96,600
Bunbrosna GAA Club
Bunbrosna GAA Upgrade of Facilities Programme
150,000
Castlepollard Hurling Club
Gym Equipment & Floodlit Multi Use Sports Pitch
132,446
Castletown Finea Coole Whitehall Gaa
Sports Equipment
4,906
Castletown Geoghegan Community Development Group
Castletown Geoghegan áis óg agus aosta
10,557
Castletown Geoghegan Hurling Club
Gym Equipment & Sports Floor + Pitch Side Fence
71,199
Caulry GAA
fencing, scoreboard, floodlighting and mower
88,198
Clonkill GAA Club
Clonkill GAA Club Facilities upgrade
150,000
Collinstown Pitch and Putt Club
Machinery, course and clubhouse upgrade
32,299
Crookedwood GAA Club
New Club Dressing Rooms
150,000
Cullion Hurling Club
Upgrading All Weather Pitch and Other Facilities
85,477
Drumraney Camogie Club
Skills Area Development & Purchase of Goalpoasts
1,402
Garrycastle GAA club
Main Pitch Floodlighting & Gym Equipment
149,500
Killucan GAA
LED Floodlighting
96,951
Kinnegad Juniors AFC
Kinnegad Juniors AFC Changing rooms/toilets
116,950
Lakeside Wheelers Cycling Club
Lakeside Wheelers Cycling Club Grant
28,500
Lough Lene Gaels GAA
Fencing and Dugouts.
23,606
Maryland GAA Club
Training Pitch Construction & Associated Works
115,832
Midland Warriors RFC
Equipment and lighting for the Club.
13,524
Milltownpass Gaelic Football Club
Milltownpass GAA Pitch Development Project Phase 2
147,000
Moate All Whites GAA Club
Gym upgrade
115,049
Moate Community School
Walking Track & Sports Training Wall
51,362
Mullingar Athletic AFC
Construction of Small Sided All-Weather Pitch Soccer
123,851
Mullingar elite bc
Condition equipment canvas headguards bags
6,409
Mullingar RFC
Walking Track & Wall Ball
32,776
Mullingar Tennis & Badminton Club
Refurbishment of Badminton Hall Floor
14,333
Multyfarnham GAA Club
Multyfarnham GAA Club
6,509
North Westmeath Athletic Club
Sports Lighting
1,000
Raharney GAA
Raharney Hurling-Camogie Ball-Wall, Gym & Goals.
62,001
Raharney United Football Club
New Lawnmower and Fencing & Ball Stop Netting
10,552
Rosemount Community Committee
LED Floodlights, Roof repair, Fire Alarms
22,451
Shandonagh GAA
Finishing pitches and walkway.
150,000
St Lomans Mullingar GAA Club
Development of additional playing field
138,000
St Mary's, Rochfortbridge
Upgrading of Multi-Use Pitch, Lighting & Fencing
96,186
St Oliver Plunketts Hurling Club
Artificial All Weather Sports Surface Facility
150,000
St. Pauls Gaelic Football Club [Clonmellon]
St. Pauls 2020 Grant application.
67,455
Tang GAA Club
Tang 6 Project Development
41,902
Temple Villa A.F.C.
Pitch development program.
44,366
The Downs GAA Club
Refurbish/Replace Sports Hall Roof and Floor.
95,883
Turin Hurling Club
LED Floodlighting & goalmouth astro turf.
21,779
Tyrrellspass GAA club
Tyrrellspass GAA Adult playing pitch
83,645
Westmeath County Council
Athlone Tennis Club - New court carpet,New Led Light,internal fencing
97,119
Willow Park FC
Resurface Astro Turf
48,012