Help fund our facility development! Click on one of the links below for more information and read on for our progress to date and plans for the future.

• Enter the Inflatable Colour Run (click here for details)
• Enter the Family 5k (coming soon in September 2017)
  
• Make a donation to the club
• Become a Park Member – register online
• Advertise your business with us
• Use our recycling facility to recycle old clothes and shoes

Craughwell AC is the largest juvenile athletic club in Ireland with close to 600 children and teenagers, a remarkable statistic for a rural area. This has happened due to the tireless work of volunteer coaches and committee members and support from enthusiastic members and their parents.

The largest club in the country needs large facilities and we have made remarkable progress on this in recent years. The club is indebted to a number of professionals who have given of their time freely or at little cost in helping with our developments to date, including Noel Gorman for architectural drawings/planning applications, Iggy Greaney for engineering drawings and RFQs, Conor Waters for QS costings and Ciara Lennon of RDJ Solicitors for legal work associated with the development. The club would be delighted if you took note of their names for any future work you might have in their area of expertise as they have been of tremendous help to us.

• 2014
  • The club embarked on an ambitious project to purchase and develop its own facilities
  • An 8-acre site was purchased by the club in September
  • 5 poles supporting 15 floodlights installed
  • Huge financial support from parents in the form of donations and loans
  • And loans from Community Finance Ireland and Loughrea Credit Union
• 2015
  • County Council make access roadway public
  • Internal roadway developed
  • Grass running routes developed
• 2016
  • Sports Capital Grant of €100,000 and further loans from Community Finance Ireland
  • Internal roadway and carpark developed
  • High jump and long jump areas constructed
  • 140m x 10m sprint lanes constructed
  • 8 more poles supporting 24 floodlights installed

The club has invested over €470,000 in total in the facility and has approximately €192,000 in outstanding loans, remarkable progress achieved in a relatively short space of time.

The next steps on which the club is about to embark will include the development of a substantial indoor training centre – which will eventually be the largest of its kind in the west of Ireland – and the extension of the tartan track. The club is seeking a further sports capital grant and loans towards the indoor centre.

The club already has planning permission for the first 2 phases of the building, namely

• a 24x36m sports hall and
• a 28x36m multi-purpose block (toilets, showers, changing rooms, gym etc)

The sports hall will be extended to 84x36m in future phases. The club hopes to commence construction if we get a Sports Capital Grant.

And the existing track is planned to be extended to a J-track or a full circular track depending on funding.

You can see from the above that the club has an enormous need to raise a lot of funds. The club needs the support of its members and the community to deliver these facilities for use by all. Without your support we cannot succeed.

Even for parents whose children are reared, there is merit in supporting us – these facilities help to keep the youth busy and out of trouble which helps the area to remain a nice place to live and therefore directly benefits you. Plus of course you will hopefully use the facilities yourself or your children may return to settle in the locality.