A New Dawn for Ballinrobe GAA

Looking back, our lives are not measured by what we reap…

In Ballinrobe GAA and LGFA Club, we are bound by a shared belief in the potential of our players and everyone else in our club.

We see ourselves as a coming force.

Every season, our numbers grow. They join as Robe Rockets and develop from there.

Local girls and boys, and women and men, chase their dreams in the maroon and yellow. This is a time of great opportunity in Ballinrobe GAA and LGFA.

In 2023, the club fielded 29 teams. We played 275 competitive games and held 760 training sessions – staggering figures of which we are justly proud. But our facilities cannot bear the weight of the growing usage. We have just one playing pitch at Flanagan Park, which is struggling with our wetter winters.

Chasing your dreams

Our changing facilities are inadequate, particularly for females, and our sanitary facilities are poor. We have no gym, no all-weather facility, and no space for team meetings and group gatherings.

The current situation is unsustainable. For our players to maximise their potential, they need the proper facilities to be put in place – now!

We have a challenge – and now we must rise to that challenge.

As you read this brochure, we ask you to bear in mind the glorious opportunity that now lies before us to build a bold and bright future for our club, our families and our community.

It is an opportunity we simply cannot miss. It is our time to shine.

… but in the seeds that we sow.

Clann Róba Development

Clann Róba Development presents a clear vision for a new and expanded Flanagan Park complex.

The project comprises the following:

  1. Transformation of the four acres of land we have purchased beside Flanagan Park into a full-size, sand-based, grass pitch.

  2. A new clubhouse that will provide:

    a. Additional dressing rooms.
    b. 218m2 multi-function room to facilitate team / club meetings and social gatherings.
    c. Press / commentary box.
    d. Modern kitchen.
    e. Appropriate toilet facilities for all.

  3. New gym to facilitate athletic development.

  4. New 45mx35m enclosed astroturf pitch for warm-up and high intensity drills.

  5. Enhanced entrance and parking facilities.

entrance

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Preceding generations left us with so much of what we enjoy in Ballinrobe today. Now it is our time to give our young people the facilities they deserve today and to leave something of value to those who will come after us all.

Delivering this will require unity, purpose and effort. We are asking club members, the local community and global Ballinrobe to rally to the Clann Róba cause.

Together, we can do this. It’s in our hands if each of us contributes in word and deed. Together, we are Clann Róba.

If not now, then when? If not us, then who? If not together, then how?

To realise this project, multiple sources of funding will need to be put in place. Every public funding opportunity will be pursued, and all other potential revenue avenues explored. No stone will be left unturned.

A significant community contribution will also be required – and that is where you, our members and supporters, are being called into action.

The vision and courage of those who bought and developed Flanagan Park 60 years ago is uppermost in our minds as we embark on Clann Róba Development. Their legacy has served us well. Now is the time for a new generation to create a further legacy.