The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
After years of hard work by the local community, the Ballyvaughan Community Field will be officially opened this Sunday from 3pm to 5pm.
The field, which has undergone a massive transformation in recent months at the hands of the Ballyvaughan Community Development Group, has become a hive of activity for young and old members of the community.
A flood-lit exercise track has been developed, along with a multi-use games facility which caters for a number of sports including soccer, basketball and tennis.
The facility also provides a safe, traffic-free place for people to walk and has been a massive boost for the nearby Ballyvaughan National School.
According to Robert Wainwright, the co-chairperson of the Ballyvaughan Community Development Group, the local community have already got massive use out of the facility.
“As soon as the lights went on last Autumn people have been getting great use out of it. The kids around the village have been using it so much. So many people are using it, we all know how dangerous the roads around here are, so this is a safe place for everyone,” he said.
“The national school are located right beside it and every single day they go out for two laps around the field.
“When school is in session they are made to go out, but other times they go out to what they call the Field of Dreams, which is the astro turf facility.
“This is a good time for the whole community to come together and mark this facility. There will be a bit of music, a bit of refreshments, and a few races to mark the day. We are really looking forward to it.
“The community field has become more valuable to more people and to a wider range of the community.
“There is so much going on at the community field at the moment.
“We have tennis, basketball, soccer, people walking and exercising, there are so many people using the facility.”
The origin of the development came from the drafting of a Community Development Plan, where the local people could help decide what facilities were most needed.
“We found that we needed to make better use of the facilities that we have,” said Mr Wainwright.
“We don’t have massive facilities here in Ballyvaughan, we have the village hall and the community field. But another big message from the plan was road safety, especially creating places where young people could play safely.
“We looked at the Sports Capital Fund that was available, which would allow us to kill two birds with one stone by putting in a flood-lit track that people could use in the winter time and also a place where people could walk and exercise which was safe from traffic.
“The community lotto, which has been on the go for maybe 30 years, then came in behind the project. We were limited to a €50,000 grant, because we don’t actually own the field. At that stage the Community Recognition Fund was also coming online and we had had a lot of Ukrainian input into the village.
“We worked with Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) on that, and our aim was to develop a state of the arts multi-use games area at the site in Ballyvaughan.
“We were able to combine the two projects with the same builder and work on both at once.”
The field, which is owned by the Diocese of Galway but is on a long-term lease to the local community, has benefited from a number of funding schemes in recent months including the Sports Capital Fund and the Community Recognition Scheme. It has also been supported by the local community lotto, which has pledge €30,000 to the project.
The Ballyvaughan Community Development Group is currently attempting to raise €95,000 from the local community to complete the financing of the facility.
“This opening is about letting anyone who doesn’t know that the field is up and running see what there is on offer, but also to remind anyone who hasn’t yet donated to get involved,” continued Mr Wainwright.
“There is a big fundraising drive now to pay-off what is owed and to finish it to a level that we want to have it finished. We are aiming to raise €95,000. I think that because the facility is up and running that people think that the fundraising is over, but there is more to be done.
“So many people are going to use this facility. Everyone’s children are using it, and it just needs a €20, €30 or €40 donation now and then, through our gofundme page, and out total will build.
“Whatever people can donate is amazing, every single penny counts.”
The Ballyvaughan Community Development Group are currently planning for the next stage in the development of the facility and are preparing a funding application to the Community Recognition Fund to develop fencing and tarmacking of the car park as well as an application to the Sports Capital Grant Scheme for floodlights for the multi-use sports facility.
To support the development of the community field simply donate money directly to the project by searching for ‘Ballyvaughan Community Track and All Weather Pitch’ on gofundme.com. Businesses can also sponsor an advertising hoarding for five years, or sponsor one of 20 floodlights which will be named after the businesses, or donate to receive a plaque on the wall of the changing rooms.
Andrew Hamilton
Andrew Hamilton is a journalist, writer and podcaster based in the west of Ireland.
